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MLS All-Stars dominate West Ham, Baltimore's Cooper may leave MLS

24 Jul, 2008

By Chris Hummer, Potomac Soccer Wire Editor

The MLS All-stars showed up to play - for real - on Thursday night in Toronto, Canada. With the league's marquee players looking to prove to the world that Major League Soccer is a high quality league, last night's 3-2 defeat of famous West Ham United of the English Premier League saw some of the best team soccer ever played by an MLS All-Star squad.

In fact, the score does not do justice to the domination by the North American league's contingent of international and domestic stars. For a team that had only trained together two times before facing the "Hammers" from England, both goals allowed were clearly from lack of organization, and likely would have been prevented with any regular training together as a team.

On the other end, the skill, speed, passing, and creativity were abundantly evident in the attack. Former D.C. United star Christian Gomez was a force in the first half, scoring the opening goal just a minute after West Ham opened the scoring after Dean Ashton ran on to a flicked punt from the goalkeeper and calmly finished to the lower left.

Gomez was about as close as fans from our area could get to the game, as not a single D.C. United player was selected for the team, despite plenty of worthy candidates such as Luciano Emilio, the reigning MLS MVP who has been on a scoring tear in MLS play after a slow start to the season.

The game wasn't the only "story" on the night either. Plenty of rumors were flying about on the subjects of MLS expansion, a major trade involving Brian McBride, and the apparently imminent sale of Baltimore's Kenny Cooper to a European club.

Specifically, MLS announced their board had agreed to expand to 18 teams no later than 2011, placing a firm commitment to reach that number by a specific date where previously there was just a general "target" to reach that level by 2012.

Also, sometime Friday, details will be announced on a trade that will send Brian McBride to Chicago in exchange for what will have to be more than a single player and draft pick. McBride is returning to America after over four-plus years in the Premier League, and only wanted to play for Chicago. But Toronto had first dibs on the next major player signing by MLS, and decided to play hard ball before allowing the trade to happen.

Finally, several players were rumored as close to transfers out of MLS, with no bigger deal expected than for former Manchester United reserve player, and Baltimore native Kenny Cooper. Cooper has been in MLS for just a short time after failing to break into first-team soccer with Manchester and moving to MLS in 2007, but looks to be headed to Europe again with multiple news reports citing "several serious inquires from European clubs".

With the win, MLS is now undefeated in five All-Star games against proper international clubs, with each year getting more serious and competitive. With even more international stars sure to be plying their trade in MLS, next year's match should be another treat.

[+ read Steve Davis' match story on SoccerNet.com]


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