All the glitz and glamour was on hand Wednesday night in Kansas City, as the MLS All-Stars lost 3-1 to Serie A heavyweights AS Roma in front of 21,175 fans, a new Sporting Park attendance record. It marked the 10th time the MLS played an international side in an All-Star game (7-2-1) and marked the fourth loss in the past five years for the All-Star squad.
“It was a good match against a great MLS team,” Roma head coach Rudi Garcia said via an interpreter after the match. “We still have a lot to work on, seeing how we did not keep a clean sheet. They were a very strong side and for us to win is a good sign. It was important for it to be like a league game and to beat a strong side was really important.”
Goals came from Kevin Strootman, Alessandro Florenzi, and Junior Tallo, while Omar Gonzalez notched the only MLS goal in extra time.
“I really appreciate that AS Roma was willing to come in and play this match,” MLS All-Star and Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes mentioned. “It’s important for us to have high class opponents in this game and they were obviously great tonight. It was great for the fans to see and the players did a great job of representing their MLS clubs on and off the field.”
Hometown defender Matt Besler said of the event: “We look forward the most as players is facing these guys all season long, but you never get to sit down with them, that’s an exciting part for us players. We get to come together for a few days and have some fun, that’s what I will remember.”
Many storylines swirled around the All-Star match, but none was more prominent than former MLS player, member of the USMNT, and current AS Roma midfielder Michael Bradley making his return to the States.
“This was a good chance for us to go against a good team in a great environment to move ourselves forward,” the midfielder remarked. “There was motivation since I play against guys who are teammates on the national team, a lot of friends. It’s motivation and to come with your club team knowing that these are talented guys and it’s uplifting.”
Bradley would play all 90 minutes and added an assist.
The Roman squad got off to a terrific start as newly signed Dutch international Kevin Strootman scored just four minutes into the match. Strootman was hit perfectly in stride with a ball from Alessandro Florenzi that beat the MLS center backs. The ball took a slight deflection off a sliding Aurelien Colin, a Sporting KC defender, but still beat FC Dallas keeper Raul Fernandez for the early 1-0 lead.
“We scored quickly and it helps us in the game, and after that, not too many problems. We were lucky were could score the goal and wait a little bit,” the Dutchman said.
Roma followed after the half with a goal from Florenzi, who put away a right-footed shot from the cross of Federico Balzaretti past RSL’s Nick Rimando, fresh off a CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship. The Romans followed with a goal in the 67th minute from Tallo, as the Italian side controlled the ball in the attacking third and a series on sharp passes (starting with Bradley and finishing with a center pass from Strootman), as the Ivorian Tallo had no problems lifting his squad to a 3-0 lead.
“We played really well and I am happy that the third goal was collectively a team goal,” Garcia remarked about his squad’s final goal.
Finally, in extra time, LA Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez broke up the clean sheet with a difficult header off an in swinging free kick from the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Camilo.
“I don’t think that the result was the key focus,” Vermes said. “It was really about a vision that becomes a reality. When you look at the overall picture of the past few days, it’s a first class experience and great event, we’re not losing three points, so it was a great opportunity to show Sporting and Kansas City.”
As for the player’s reaction about KC, everyone was very positive about their experience:
“It was nice to see the supporters fill the stadium, always singing, it was very special to play in this kind of game. It was very good to be here.” – Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman
“It comes very close (to the supporters in Seattle), of course I have to give it to my hometown, but Kansas City was great. The fans are amazing and a lot better than I expected. So kudos to them.” – Seattle Sounders defender DeAndre Yedlin
“They are a class act here. I think this was a big week for everyone, and everyone will learn from this. it was odd being on the home side in this place. You are doing the national anthem, but you don’t know anybody, but they are cheering for you. It was fun and I thought the fans were incredible, so it was fun to be on the home side. ” – Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman
