photo by Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Talk about a change of heart.
Two days after suggesting that the MLS All-Star game should go back to an East vs. West format, head coach Pablo Mastroeni felt differently on Wednesday night. He had led the MLS All-Stars to a 2-1 victory over Tottenham, and the result and performance against the talented Premiership club left him with a very gratifying feeling that made him change his mind about the annual game’s structure.
He was not alone either.
“We talked about the All-Star being conference against conference, but after today, I can say that it’s very good (the way it currently is), the sensation is very good,” said Kaka, the MLS All-Star Game MVP. “When you just met these kind of players and you have the new coach that put everything together and we beat a team like Tottenham, the feeling after the game is very good.”
While playing a European club has its benefits, including increased global exposure, there has been talk all week about whether MLS should go back to an East vs. West format. Fans and pundits have both argued that there is enough star power in the league now to fill two squads, especially with the likes of Giovani Dos Santos, Steven Gerrard and Andrea Pirlo now in the league competing with American standouts like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore.
MLS commissioner Don Garber said on a couple of occasions this week that it might be time to revert back to an East vs. West game, which has not been played since 2004. MLS plans to assess that in the coming months, weighing all the pros and cons of both the current and former formats.
Some players would welcome that change, however.
“I’ve been always about East vs. West. It’s out there that we can play with these guys,” said goalkeeper Nick Rimando. “If that was the fact of bringing in these teams for the fans and seeing how we play against them, level ourselves against them. I think East vs. West we have enough players that we could put two good teams out there and really give the fans something to cheer about.
“If there’s something at the end of the game, if it’s meaningful, if it’s a prize, if it’s a bonus, something, it would be an even better game. Guys will come in and instead of one day of practice maybe we’ll have a couple of days of practice and be on the same page and I think the fans would really enjoy it. ”
There would be some things that would have to be worked out if there was a change so that the annual game doesn’t end in a high score line with little to no defense played. Such is the case in other sports like in NBA or the NFL.
If MLS deems that too complicated, it could simply opt to stick with the current format and plenty of people would be happy about that as well.
“We’ve always been perceived as a league that’s up and coming, and I’m saying that as the years go by, we will soon be that league that everyone thinks we can be,” said Mastroeni. “It’s easy to make statements when you haven’t experienced it yourself, but having experienced it, like Kaká said, it feels great to get the type of validation from winning against a team like Tottenham, as far as where we’re going in the near future in this league.”
keep current format – more international exposure for TV contracts and domestically as well for fans of the euro team they play. There were stories of euro team fans on this side and in England/etc. who started watching MLS after seeing their team play the all stars in the game – it has a higher profile and may even mean more on the field as well = a better game/product.
I’m a big NBA fan but couldn’t care less about their silly all-star game. About all I care about the MLB all-star game is the final score and did any of the local Atlanta Braves do anything. The MLS all-star game against a European team is something else – a game that seems to mean something (even if it doesn’t really, it gets my heart pumping). Keep the current format.
I think the MLS ALL STAR game format is perfectly fine. What they should include is a skills challenge competition that would be fun to watch.
I don’t have a problem with the all-star game in its current format. For all those advocating getting rid of it, all-star games are American and MLS is an American league. I don’t see the need to do away with it. They need to make it more of an experience. Hold it on a Sunday and make a weekend out of it. Have a legends game on Saturday featuring people like Landon, McBride, etc…throw in Mia Hamm, Brandy Chastain. Or even throw in celebrities. You can double it up with the futures game. Have concerts, exhibits featuring soccer history in America or something like that. Have a tent with a FIFA tournament – you can even throw celebrities into that as well.
Let’s face it, part of the allure and marketing of this game is the Euro opponent. I’m pretty sure there would have been quite a few empty seats in Denver on Wednesday night if it were EvW MLS. The Euro snobs will come out to see the Euro team and it gives MLS a chance to show that they are not a bunch of hacks to those who would not normally watch it. Let’s add the Mexican teams into the mix as well. Santos v MLS all-stars would be a big sell in Texas.
Euro snobs and Klinsmann,
There are some things in soccer that the U.S. gets right and the rest of the world doesn’t. The MLS all-star game is one of them.
Just get rid of the allstar game. It is meaningless. All it does is it compresses the schedule preventing the league from removing more games away from the international FIFA dates for friendlies and other competitions. The Allstar game is a fascination of Garber in trying to make the league like the NFL as he doesn’t understand the true football fan who cares about having a relevant league on the international stage. Gone have gone other innovations like the golden goal, in have come supporters groups after resistance from Garber, etc…
Got to agree. Low priority for a league that still has a lot stuff to figure out.
Maybe take the AllStar team to Asia or South America in the off season and play in emerging TV markets.
Idk if this actually improves attendance at Rapids games going forward I might change my opinion but otherwise the whole idea of a midseason MLS love fest is kinda awkward.
Since the old East-West fo9rmat was brought up, anyone remember when Donovan was still with the Earthquakes and he scored a bunch in an All Star Game? It was after the 1999 Women’s World Cup and after a goal Donovan took off his shirt and underneath he had on a black sports bra, ala Brandi Chastain. Now there was an all star moment.
This is the bat format. No contest! Get a Spanish team already…
best format
I like the the European teams because it gives the league international exposure. The game needs something for bragging rights or else what’s the point. However, changes that I approve of could include:
–First off, move the game to a weekend and allow the players to take a whole week off. This way there are more players who are available to play as players would be rested a whole week. Also this should be a reward for the stars and a showcase for the league. A midweek friendly with players dropping like flies feels to forces.
–I like MLS All-stars vs Liga MX all stars if our neighbors down south approve. What else would be better?
–I like American players vs the world but maybe it should be the USMNT vs MLS all-stars. This would be an extra game for the USMNT to use to evaluate players. The full week off gives players time to meet with the coach and go through a light training session. Since clubs will not release Euro-based players this will likely be like the January camp or April friendlies of recent years and gets the national team to take another look at domestic players to deepen the pool. However, Klinsmann could call up some regulars and mix them with other domestic players. Guys like Bradley or Dempsey could either pass or play with MLS if they chose (may depend on if there’s a WC or GC that summer). Could be a fun match for all involved but it has potential to get too convoluted as well.
-Have a MLS captains draft like the NFL. Guys like Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman captaining two sides would be keep the integrity of competition high. Or perhaps Keller v Friedel, Dempsey v. Donovan in a few years.
i would love us/canada vs the world, and continue to be embarrassed that “my” league gets excited about beating a club team in their preseason
Sorry but East vs West will just look like one of those awful testimonial matches. At least there’s a little bit of pride on the line in these games.
Since MLS is the 1st division league for both the US and Canada I would suggest a format that pits the Best US & Canadian players Vs. the best foreign players in the League. Either have a guest coach (Donovan like) or select 2 coaches from within MLS.
It’s the US & Canadian League so we should be putting more of an emphasis on the quality within the US and Canadian player pools
Didn’t the NHL already do that?
US/Canada vs. World
(100% healthy MLS only squads)
US/Canada:
——–Altidore—Dempsey—–
Zardes———————–Zusi
————–Bradley————–
—————Jones—————
Beasley—Besler–Omar—Evans
————-Rimando————-
Bench: Mix, Dax, Feilhaber, Beckerman, Marshall, Hedges, Tierney, Beltran, Finlay, Wondolowski, Hamid
vs.
World:
Giovinco——–Villa———-Keane
—————–Kaká—————–
———Lampard–Gerrard———
Francis—Ciman—Waston—Iraola
—————Ousted—————
Bench: dos Santos, Drogba, Martins, Castillo, Pirlo, Juninho, Perquis, Rodríguez, Camara, Kemar Lawrence, Kwarasey
That event would sellout any MLS stadium worthy of hosting. No need to pay some European team to play.
DISCLAIMER: These lineups are based on player popularity first, performance second. All in the name of entertainment and selling tickets.
thanks, five. and what would a pair of east-west starting kind ups look like? i would love to see.
line ups
MLS allstars vs current Liga MX champion.
The best alternative is to do away with it forever. Put it onto the shelf next to countdown clocks, re-entry subs, golden goal, and shoot outs.
Absolutely. Let’s never see a sublime goal like Villa scored last night.
The MLS ASG is a celebration of the sport. Enjoy it for what it is.
I think this format works better. It’s helps if you get a bigger club than Tottenham in too. Bayern, ManU, Chelsea, those were good opponents.
And it works better with bigger stars in MLS. How about an MLS ASG with Messi & Ronaldo in the same squad?
Sounds good, see if you can make that happen. Sooner the better.
keep this format! the European clubs or Mexican clubs have motivation as they are trying to secure game day XI spots or spots in the 23 so they are motivated, Totteham is only 10 days from their season, MLS is motivated to shine, or be discovered, this is THE best all-star game in sports, actually the only good one in the US/Canada. East v. West will be a joke, zero defense, no tackles, too many goals etc.
If the game went back to East vs. West there would be very little motivation for players to exert themselves. In the current format the MLS players don’t want to be lose and be labeled as not ready for prime-time and the Europeans don’t want to have returned home losing to a bunch of Yanks; in the current format players try harder and the game prospers because of it.
Except it’s not losing to a bunch of yanks anymore. Look at the nationalities of the players. How about US MLS players vs. non-US MLS players. That might encourage too much obvious jingoism, but another similar option could be DP vs. non-DP players… that would really motivate the guys.
I get your point but I’m pretty sure that in North London MLS = Yanks no matter how many ringers.
BTW I love your idea of DP vs. Non-DP. It might open some eyes and expose some folly which pretty much guarantees that it would never, ever, ever, ever happen.
MLS All-Star Game 1998
USA 6 World 1
August 2, 1998
Citrus Bowl
MVP: Brian McBride (USA)
Ramos 5′
Lalas 15′
McBride 16′
Preki 40′
Lassiter 78′
Jones 83′
Ramos 89′
ORLANDO – The MLS USA All-Stars defeated the MLS World All-Stars, 6-1, in front of 34,416 fans at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
MLS USA, a team of United States All-Stars, scored four goals in the first half and never looked back.
Tab Ramos opened the scoring for MLS USA when he found the back of the net just five minutes into the match. Alexi Lalas doubled their lead in the 15th minute and Brian McBride, who earned MVP honors, added another goal just one minute later to extend the lead to 3-0.
Kansas City Wizards midfielder Preki capped off the first half with a strike in the 40th minute.
The second half saw much of the same results as the first.
Roy Lassiter tallied in the 78th minute and Cobi Jones netted a goal of his own in the 83rd minute to extend the lead to 6-0.
Mauricio Ramos added a consolation goal in the 89th minute for the MLS World All-Stars, a team composed of international MLS All-Stars.
Scoring summary
MLU—Ramos (McBride, Balboa) 5
MLU—Lalas (unassisted) 15
MLU—McBride (Jones) 16
MLU—Preki (McBride, Harkes) 40
MLU—Lassiter (Agoos) 78
MLU—Jones (Bravo) 83
MLW—Ramos (Campos) 89
USA: Tony Meola (Zach Thornton 45), Marcelo Balboa (Jeff Agoos 45), Alexi Lalas (Robin Fraser 45), Eddie Pope, Cobi Jones (Ross Paule 45), Thomas Dooley (Chris Armas 45), Tab Ramos (Ben Olsen 45), John Harkes (Cobi Jones reenters 69), Frankie Hejduk (Mike Burns 45), Brian McBride (Paul Bravo 45), Preki (Roy Lassiter 45)
WORLD: Jorge Campos (Thomas Ravelli 45), Geoff Aunger (Martin Machon 45), Jan Eriksson (Richard Gough 45), Lubos Kubik (Uche Okafor 45), Diego Sonora (Mo Johnston 45), Adrian Paz (Leonel Alvarez 30), Mauricio Cienfuegos (Welton 45), Carlos Valderrama (Geoff Aunger reenters 75), Marco Etcheverry (Mauricio Ramos 45), Raul Diaz Arce (Stern John 45), Jaime Moreno (Jorge Campos 69)
Referees: Esse Baharmast; Greg Barkey, Arthur Reed
http://www.mlssoccer.com/history/allstar/1998
it seems that the mls “world” all-stars were mostly comprised of players from concacaf. (just sayin’.) the idea of (hypothetically speaking, of course) a 2016 mls usa versus mls “world” sounds awfully exciting to me! and i agree with alexh that also, ” It might open some eyes and expose some folly which pretty much guarantees that it would never, ever, ever, ever happen.”
you want marketing? such a game would have plenty of international appeal (kaka, villa, pirlo, lampard, etc.). sell tickets, jerseys. check all of the marketing boxes.
the game itself might be better. the players would all be in mid-season form. both teams would travel about the same amount (one team doesn’t fly across the atlantic).
and, come on! tell me you wouldn’t like to see what would happen if all of mls’s international dp’s ganged up on our domestics? rather fascinating, isn’t it?
on the down side, i think this format makes players like kaka, pirlo, lampard seem like, well, FOREIGNERS.
as in, “look at the foreigners. watch them play football against us americans.”
whereas, in the current format, i like it because the mls all stars are all on ONE TEAM. the opponent is Tottenhem (no offense). but the mls players are united.
see?
There was a league back then?
yeah, and it was good, too, danny.
a “star” in those days was jaime moreno, a pretty gifted player from south america, i think.
mostly all concacaf.
but, yeah, there was, and it was fun to watch
(unless you were a eurosnob, then you mocked it.)
and anyway yes the all star game had that format that you suggested. just thought you might like to know.
They could add a Celebrity game(s) (possibly East vs West). Plenty of former players, actors, actresses and musicians with soccer ties: Landon Donovan, Taylor Twellman, Alexi Lalas, Beckham, Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm, Steve Nash, Elizabeth Sue, Drake, etc.
This is the only all-star game that actually works. The fans and players care about the outcome. Why in the world would there even be a discussion to go to something like the NBA instead? That all-start game is garbage. The current format generates a great game and international interest. Dumbest thing of all time would be to change it to east versus west. Who would care about watching it anymore?
I agree. I just don’t think I’d care as much about winning against the galaxysounderstimbersquakes as I do against a Euro team who is considered good. Its not time in my opinion. The league’s narrative is one of fighting for respect, until there is that respect I want the MLS all-stars to beat Euro teams year after year.
Who would care?
I dont know, maybe the guys that matter the most. MLS’ fans.
What a rediculous question.
Best MLS All-Star Game = NO MLS ALL-STAR GAME
We’re not MLB, time to grow up.
We already have this conference-playoff system.
Lets leave it alone and stop trying to Americanize everything.
It was fine the first 4-5 years.
Now its embarrassing, especially with Garber putting his mitts on it.
Who’s embarrassed? Eurosnobs who think everything has to be exactly like Europe. I’m even for some eurosnob obsessions like pro/rel and fewer teams in the playoffs but we don’t have to be total copycats.
Agreed. I couldn’t care less about watching a scrimmage — and this includes these bogus ICC friendlie$$$.
MLS teams aren’t yet in financial position to turn down a sold out friendly at jacked up prices against a European team.
Judging by the current preseason tours of the top EURO teams….. I don’t believe you are ever in a financial position to pass on massive pay days for meaningless games.