Pep Guardiola was not happy the night of August 6, 2014. His Bayern Munich side had just lost 2-1 to the MLS All Stars and Guardiola was furious; so furious that he refused to shake hands with opposing manager Caleb Porter. It was almost like no one told him before the exhibition that the MLS All Stars actually play this annual match-up against world powerhouses like it actually mattered.
And that’s why, despite recent calls for a return to the old East versus West format, MLS needs to continue playing their best against the world’s best teams.
On the surface, it could seem like playing East versus West, or some variant, like the other American professional sports would be a sign of self respect, a sign that MLS no longer needs to ride the coattails of its European predecessors to find success. And it’s true that the league is finally large enough and deep enough to actually justify two teams of All Stars, but that’s not the point. The point is that All Star games are inherently stupid and MLS is currently the only league in the United States with an All Star Game worth watching.
Take the NFL Pro Bowl, for instance. No one cares, not even the players. There’s no point risking injury in a game that doesn’t earn them leverage on their next contract or a title. Even the MLB All Star Game with its power to decide which team in the World Series gets home-field advantage, doesn’t really have the same level of competition of a typical Thursday afternoon businessman’s special. The pitchers are serving up softballs to protect their valuable and injury-prone arms and the batters put up obscene stats but no one’s really putting in the kind of hustle they would for a game that matters.
But for the MLS All Stars, whether or not they win really does seem to matter to them. Guardiola was likely upset with some of the aggressive play last year that would have been expected in, say, a Champions League semifinal, but not your typical preseason friendly. While it was frustrating for him and risky for both the MLS and Bayern players, it made for a much better viewing experience for fans. It’s also expected that the European visitors won’t play their real starting lineup. Only three of Bayern’s starters in last year’s All Star match were starters in either leg of their Champions League Semifinal against Barcelona. That’s normal preseason behavior. You don’t want to risk your experienced star players, but when Guardiola realized he was going to be embarrassed by the physical and hard-charging All Stars, he started subbing in the likes of Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben instead of the lesser-known bench warmers who may have seen the field had the All Stars allowed Bayern to walk away with it.
Bayern also wasn’t an aberration. MLS has brought in a top tier European opponent for the All Star Game every year since 2005 and has a record of 6-4 against those teams. It’s clear that the MLS players want to win these games.
It’s true that not every MLS All Star Game will be exciting, but that’s just as true for every El Clásico or any game involving Chelsea. The fact is that switching to an East versus West game means that none of them will be exciting, and that’s just not worth it for the the fans.
