Photo by Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
Since 2005, the MLS All-Star Game has pitted the league’s top stars against foreign opposition.
But if Pablo Mastroeni and Clint Dempsey had their way, things would be a bit different.
The Colorado Rapids head coach says he wouldn’t mind seeing the league move back to the more standard East vs. West format, allowing more of the league’s stars to shine and earn recognition for their in-game achievements. Mastroeni went so far as to suggest a raising of the stakes, similar to that of Major League Baseball, awarding MLS Cup hosting rights to the conference that claimed the mid-summer victory.
“I think moving forward as the league continues to develop I think there’s a shout to kind of reconsider that East vs. West as you continue to have great talent coming in and to showcase all of it in a way that’s ultra competitive,” Mastroeni said in Monday’s pre-game press conference.
“This is me kind of just speaking out of turn but Major League Baseball does this: maybe if the West wins, the West hosts MLS Cup. That’s just super exciting stuff to think about, but as far as the format as it stands, it provides great entertainment, great excitement, and a really competitive game.”
Dempsey, meanwhile, admitted that he does appreciate the opportunity to take the field against some of the world’s top teams and, in games like last year’s, even beat them. Last year, the MLS All-Stars toppled Bayern Munich in a game that looked much less like a glorified friendly and much more like a competitive match.
Dempsey says that achievements like last year’s don’t get the credit they deserve. While the opposition tends to be working towards fitness, Dempsey says that defeating them shouldn’t be written off as irrelevant or flukey. Rather, Dempsey hopes to someday avoid double-edged sword that comes with taking on big teams as the MLS All-Stars begin to get more and more credit.
“For us if you win the game, [people will say] we’re in midseason form and they’re in preseason form,” Dempsey said. “So yeah it’s good, but I don’t think maybe we’ll always get the credit it deserves. And if we don’t perform well you look at the league as a whole and say maybe the league isn’t moving in the right direction.
“I like the East and West thing as well. I think the more players your reward the better. But at the same time it is is cool to be able to play against some top clubs, so it’s a difficult decision MLS has to make.”
What do you think of Mastroeni’s and Dempsey’s comments? How do you think the All-Star Game should be formatted? Do players get enough respect for their performances in these contests?
Share your thoughts below.