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.”