D.C. United playmaker Dwayne De Rosario was named an MLS All-Star this week. But he won’t play against Manchester United when it faces the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday (ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.).
It’s among a number of confusing aspects surrounding Major League Soccer’s mid-summer classic, which suffers from a convoluted player selection process and is increasingly overshadowed by the overwhelming number of friendlies involving its own teams and major European clubs on cash-grab North American preseason tours.
“I’m not sure what the All-Star team means right now,” D.C. United coach Ben Olsen said. “The voting, I’m still not completely sure how the whole thing goes down.”
To recap, MLS lined up its second straight All-Star Game against Manchester United back in March. Last summer, the All-Stars lost 5-2, their first defeat in regulation in seven matches (in 2009, Everton won in penalties) in the format that pits MLS against an international side.
Instead of the record crowd it drew to last year’s showcase at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, this summer the league opted for the exposure that comes with staging the game in New York City, even if it technically is at 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
MLS chose Red Bulls coach Hans Backe to coach the All-Stars because he’s based in New York. Despite a fan-chosen MLS All-Star XI, MLS told Backe to pick any players he wanted while MLS commissioner Don Garber threw in two of his own choices. After accounting for injury replacements and unavailable players, six “inactive” roster spots were determined by player vote. The MLS collective bargaining mandates 32 total players be rewarded with MLS All-Star bonuses. De Rosario, a five-time All-Star, not surprisingly made the cut.
Yet, while he won’t play against one of the best teams in the world, non-All-Star caliber players from three different MLS teams already have. In the last two weeks, Manchester United beat New England 4-1, throttled Seattle 7-0, and topped Chicago 3-1.
With a looming rematch of its Champions League final loss to Barcelona at FedEx Field on Saturday, Manchester United could be forgiven for overlooking the All-Star Game altogether.
Should the same be done for MLS, which has overlooked that it’s summer centerpiece has been completely upstaged?
