10 Things We Learned from the 2010 MLS All-Star Game

By: Daryl | July 29th, 2010

The MLS All-Stars lost 5-2 to Manchester United in Houston last night. The All-Star game isn’t a very accurate measuring tool. So don’t worry MLS fans, this doesn’t mean your league is rubbish. But also Man Utd fans shouldn’t get too carried away, as the margin of victory reflected the fact that the victors were a team, while the losers were a collection of players who had never played together before.

Still, plenty of goals and a lot of exciting young talent given the chance to shine in red shirts. So here are 10 things we learned from last night’s game.

1. People will show up to watch Man Utd.
The attendance was 70,728 in Houston last night. The largest ever at the Reliant Stadium, and the fourth largest for any All-Star game (of any sport) in the United States.

2. Which means Kevin Alston embarrassed himself in front of a lot of people.
The game was only 17 seconds old when the New England right-back did this:

Federico Macheda went on to score a second and win the MVP award for the game.

3. Alexi Lalas’ overconfidence is hilarious.
His priceless punditry before the game: “The All-Stars can and should beat this Manchester United team.”

4. The more you say something, the less true it seems.
The more ESPN called Man Utd the most famous club in the world and Alex Ferguson the best coach ever and praised Ryan Giggs as not just one of the all time greats but some sort of saint as well, the less plausible it sounded. All of the above may actually be true, or at least arguably true, but when the commentators hammer it home, they make it somehow less believable.

5. Chad Marshall is the man.
In the first half, and some of the second, Marshall was both the All-Stars best defender and also their best hope of a goal.

6. Chicharito knows how to make a debut.
The crowd went wild when Javier Hernandez came off the bench for his Man Utd debut with about 30 minutes left in the game. He marked the occasion with this:

Looks offside, but you can see the right back is just about level with Chicharito when the ball is played.

7. Tom Cleverley is aptly named.
At least based on the evidence of this goal:

8. Darron Gibson is getting blase about his shooting:

Can’t decide whether to like or dislike him for the casual celebration, but the free kick itself was impressive.

9. Only current and former Houston players were allowed to score for the MLS All-Stars.
Current Dynamo Brian Ching scored to make it 2-1 before Man Utd pulled away, while former Dynamo Dwaye De Rosario got a late consolation.

10. The MLS All-Star game is entertaining and worthwhile, but…
giggs trophy

… the winner probably shouldn’t receive a massive trophy for a game they were invited to.