MLS: Man United crushes All-Stars
July, 28, 2010
7/28/10
8:52
PM PT
By Scott French | ESPNLosAngeles.com
Major League Soccer's All-Star team had never been beaten by club competition. It's likely teams coached by Bruce Arena hadn't conceded nine goals in two nights.
Well, those are two of the firsts from Wednesday night's one-sided but often thrilling All-Star Game in Houston. Manchester United, fielding a young side as it prepares for English Premier League and UEFA Champions League campaigns, romped to a 5-2 victory, scoring its first goal after just 21 seconds and turning back the resurgent All-Stars with three goals in a 15-minute stretch near the end of the second half.
Italian teenager Federico Macheda was the game's MVP after scoring twice in the first 12 minutes -- the first after picking off Kevin Alston's weak pass back to fellow defender Jamison Olave, the second a header from Nani's corner kick -- but what most thrilled the 70,728 who packed Reliant Stadium was Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez's debut for Man United.
The Mexican striker, acquired from Guadalajara in May, came on in the 62nd minute and provided energy and creativity for the Red Devils. He scored the final Man U goal with a nifty move to get clear and a swell half-volley over advancing goalkeeper Nick Rimando from Paul Scholes' long ball.
“It's the perfect start to score a goal, but it's not just the goal, it's his overall movement,” Manchester United captain Ryan Giggs said of Hernandez's debut. “That's what we expect from him. He's a great talent, and we can't wait for him to play in the Premier League.”
GOALS ALLOWED: Arena's teams are getting pummeled. The Galaxy lost, 4-1, Tuesday night in its preliminary-round first-leg meeting with Puerto Rico Islanders in the CONCACAF Champions League, and the All-Stars surrendered more goals than they had in five previous games against British opposition.
FIRST LOSS: This was the seventh time MLS's best has taken on a foreign club. They were 5-0-1 (with wins over Guadalajara in 2003, Fulham in 2005, Chelsea in 2006, Celtic in 2007 and West Ham United in 2008, plus a draw last year against Everton, which then prevailed on penalties).
HOME SWEET HOME: Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching was behind both goals, scoring from FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira's free kick to trim the deficit to 2-1 in the 64th minute, then setting up Toronto FC's Dwayne De Rosario -- his former Dynamo teammate -- in the 90th.
GALAXY GUYS: Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was the only L.A. player to start, and he had a couple of shaky moments in 45 minutes of action. Defender Omar Gonzalez played the entire second half, and Landon Donovan subbed in in the 74th minute. Forward Edson Buddle was the only All-Star who did not play. Donovan and Buddle played 90 minutes Tuesday night; Ricketts and Gonzalez did not play against Puerto Rico.
OTHER LOCALS: Riverside's Chad Marshall, from the Columbus Crew, started on the backline and played 64 minutes. Montclair's Nick Rimando, the former UCLA star who plays for Real Salt Lake, was in the nets in the second half.
ON THE WAY OUT?: Donovan wasn't dismissive when asked if he might be going abroad soon. Manchester City is pursuing the Galaxy captain, and the transfer window remains open until Aug. 15. “We'll see in the next month or so,” he said.
BEST GOAL: Got to go with Tom Cleverley's beauty that lived up to his name and gave Man U a 4-1 lead in the 73rd minute. Cleverley played a give-and-go with Darren Fletcher, juggled it over Wilman Conde and volleyed it home.
LEGENDS ON THE FIELD: Manchester United started Giggs, finished with Scholes and used Edwin van der Sar in goal. Among the missing: Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Park Ji-Sung, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra.
BIG CROWD: It is believed that Wednesday's attendance is the fifth-largest in American all-star game history, any sport. The top four: 2010 NBA at Arlington, Texas (108,713), 1996 MLS at East Rutherford, N.J. (78,460), 1959 NFL at the Coliseum (72,250) and 1981 baseball at Cleveland (72,086).
LANDON'S TAKE: “An awesome night,” Donovan said afterward. “The crowd was incredible, we saw seven goals -- I think it was a great night for everyone minus the 25 of us (on the MLS All-Star team).”
SOME AGATE:
MU -- Federico Macheda 1
MU -- Federico Macheda (Nani) 12
MLSAS -- Brian Ching (David Ferreira) 64
MU -- Darron Gibson 70
MU -- Tom Cleverley (Darren Fletcher) 73
MU -- Javier Hernandez (Paul Scholes) 84
MLSAS -- Dwayne De Rosario (Brian Ching) 90
Scoring:
The MLS lineup: Donovan Ricketts/Galaxy (Nick Rimando/RSL, 46); Kevin Alston/New England (Dwayne De Rosario/Toronto FC, 74), Jamison Olave/RSL (Omar Gonzalez/Galaxy, 46), Chad Marshall/Columbus (Wilman Conde/Chicago, 65), Heath Pearce/FC Dallas (Landon Donovan/Galaxy, 74); Shalrie Joseph/New England (Brad Davis/Houston, 76); Guillermo Barros Schelotto/Columbus (David Ferreira/FC Dallas, 46), Javier Morales/RSL (Jaime Moreno/D.C. United, 65), Marco Pappa/Chicago (Jeff Larentowicz/Colorado, 46); Juan Pablo Angel/New York (Brian Ching/Houston, 46), Sebastien Le Toux/Philadelphia (Bobby Convey/San Jose/46).
Did not play: Buddle/Galaxy.
Well, those are two of the firsts from Wednesday night's one-sided but often thrilling All-Star Game in Houston. Manchester United, fielding a young side as it prepares for English Premier League and UEFA Champions League campaigns, romped to a 5-2 victory, scoring its first goal after just 21 seconds and turning back the resurgent All-Stars with three goals in a 15-minute stretch near the end of the second half.
Italian teenager Federico Macheda was the game's MVP after scoring twice in the first 12 minutes -- the first after picking off Kevin Alston's weak pass back to fellow defender Jamison Olave, the second a header from Nani's corner kick -- but what most thrilled the 70,728 who packed Reliant Stadium was Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez's debut for Man United.
The Mexican striker, acquired from Guadalajara in May, came on in the 62nd minute and provided energy and creativity for the Red Devils. He scored the final Man U goal with a nifty move to get clear and a swell half-volley over advancing goalkeeper Nick Rimando from Paul Scholes' long ball.
“It's the perfect start to score a goal, but it's not just the goal, it's his overall movement,” Manchester United captain Ryan Giggs said of Hernandez's debut. “That's what we expect from him. He's a great talent, and we can't wait for him to play in the Premier League.”
GOALS ALLOWED: Arena's teams are getting pummeled. The Galaxy lost, 4-1, Tuesday night in its preliminary-round first-leg meeting with Puerto Rico Islanders in the CONCACAF Champions League, and the All-Stars surrendered more goals than they had in five previous games against British opposition.
FIRST LOSS: This was the seventh time MLS's best has taken on a foreign club. They were 5-0-1 (with wins over Guadalajara in 2003, Fulham in 2005, Chelsea in 2006, Celtic in 2007 and West Ham United in 2008, plus a draw last year against Everton, which then prevailed on penalties).
HOME SWEET HOME: Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching was behind both goals, scoring from FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira's free kick to trim the deficit to 2-1 in the 64th minute, then setting up Toronto FC's Dwayne De Rosario -- his former Dynamo teammate -- in the 90th.
GALAXY GUYS: Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was the only L.A. player to start, and he had a couple of shaky moments in 45 minutes of action. Defender Omar Gonzalez played the entire second half, and Landon Donovan subbed in in the 74th minute. Forward Edson Buddle was the only All-Star who did not play. Donovan and Buddle played 90 minutes Tuesday night; Ricketts and Gonzalez did not play against Puerto Rico.
OTHER LOCALS: Riverside's Chad Marshall, from the Columbus Crew, started on the backline and played 64 minutes. Montclair's Nick Rimando, the former UCLA star who plays for Real Salt Lake, was in the nets in the second half.
ON THE WAY OUT?: Donovan wasn't dismissive when asked if he might be going abroad soon. Manchester City is pursuing the Galaxy captain, and the transfer window remains open until Aug. 15. “We'll see in the next month or so,” he said.
BEST GOAL: Got to go with Tom Cleverley's beauty that lived up to his name and gave Man U a 4-1 lead in the 73rd minute. Cleverley played a give-and-go with Darren Fletcher, juggled it over Wilman Conde and volleyed it home.
LEGENDS ON THE FIELD: Manchester United started Giggs, finished with Scholes and used Edwin van der Sar in goal. Among the missing: Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Park Ji-Sung, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra.
BIG CROWD: It is believed that Wednesday's attendance is the fifth-largest in American all-star game history, any sport. The top four: 2010 NBA at Arlington, Texas (108,713), 1996 MLS at East Rutherford, N.J. (78,460), 1959 NFL at the Coliseum (72,250) and 1981 baseball at Cleveland (72,086).
LANDON'S TAKE: “An awesome night,” Donovan said afterward. “The crowd was incredible, we saw seven goals -- I think it was a great night for everyone minus the 25 of us (on the MLS All-Star team).”
SOME AGATE:
MU -- Federico Macheda 1
MU -- Federico Macheda (Nani) 12
MLSAS -- Brian Ching (David Ferreira) 64
MU -- Darron Gibson 70
MU -- Tom Cleverley (Darren Fletcher) 73
MU -- Javier Hernandez (Paul Scholes) 84
MLSAS -- Dwayne De Rosario (Brian Ching) 90
Scoring:
The MLS lineup: Donovan Ricketts/Galaxy (Nick Rimando/RSL, 46); Kevin Alston/New England (Dwayne De Rosario/Toronto FC, 74), Jamison Olave/RSL (Omar Gonzalez/Galaxy, 46), Chad Marshall/Columbus (Wilman Conde/Chicago, 65), Heath Pearce/FC Dallas (Landon Donovan/Galaxy, 74); Shalrie Joseph/New England (Brad Davis/Houston, 76); Guillermo Barros Schelotto/Columbus (David Ferreira/FC Dallas, 46), Javier Morales/RSL (Jaime Moreno/D.C. United, 65), Marco Pappa/Chicago (Jeff Larentowicz/Colorado, 46); Juan Pablo Angel/New York (Brian Ching/Houston, 46), Sebastien Le Toux/Philadelphia (Bobby Convey/San Jose/46).
Did not play: Buddle/Galaxy.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Scott French
Orange County native Scott French has been writing about soccer for more than 30 years for dozens of publications and Web sites. He was senior editor at Soccer America and was managing editor of MajorLeagueSoccer Magazine from April 2007 until summer 2009. He has covered three World Cups for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Los Angeles Daily News, two Women's World Cups for Soccer America, the Olympic Games, European Championship, nine MLS Cups and all five professional women's championships.
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