The MLS All-Stars were not supposed to be a threat to the
two-time defending English Premier League Champion Chelsea when
they faced off in Chicago on Saturday. However, when the ref blew
the final whistle, the MLS All-Stars had won 1-0 on the strength of
a goal from Dwayne De Rosario in the 70th minute.
The win shows the growing strength of the American league, and
the strides being taken to become competitive on the world scale. A
lot has been made about the respect earned for the MLS in defeating
the English side with a payroll larger than the New York
Yankees.
It’s big for American soccer, but it’s not that
big.
The MLS players were in top physical condition, being in the
middle of their season, while Chelsea was at the very beginning of
its preseason.
“We’re not training really, really hard,”
captain John Terry said in a press conference the week before the
match, while Chelsea was training at UCLA. “We’re
getting the fitness slowly but surely. And when the games come
about we’re gonna be fit. (The) last couple of days have felt
very good, getting that sharpness back, and after that the fitness
will come with it.”
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The match was also very much a friendly. Chelsea sat big-time
signees Michael Ballack, who captained the German World Cup team,
and Andriy Shevchenko, who captained the Ukrainian team, for the
second half, despite the game being knotted at 0-0.
The lone goal of the match came when De Rosario freed up some
space in front of the goal by cutting the ball back and blasted a
shot past another face from the Chelsea locker room, third-string
goalkeeper Hilario.
To the MLS side’s credit, the All-Stars won without Landon
Donovan, arguably the league’s best player, who was
unavailable for the match because of a hamstring injury.
In recent history, both the skill level and prominence of
American soccer have increased. But there is still a long way to go
before the MLS can rank itself among the best leagues in the
world.
Asked in a press conference if he would ever play in the MLS,
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole remarked, “Maybe one day. At the
moment, obviously you have to compete in Europe, because
that’s where the best teams are and you can test
yourself.
“Maybe one day if it comes about. (The U.S. is) a great
place to live, and you’ve got the weather and the people are
great. We always enjoy coming out here for preseason for that
reason. I would never count it out, myself.”