MLS has toyed with formats

SANDY — When the Major League Soccer players take the Rio Tinto Stadium field Wednesday night against Everton FC of the English Premier League, it will mark the 14th edition of an MLS All-Star Game.

It also makes the fifth consecutive year where the MLS side has taken on an international team, with MLS holding a 5-0 advantage with wins over Guadalajara Chicas — the first of such games held in 2003 — Fullham, Chelsea, Celtic and West Ham. While MLS has found success with its new format, it hasn't always been played against a foreign team.

In 1996 the upstart professional soccer league held its first All-Star Game at Giants Stadium in front of more than 78,000 fans. It was played in the tradition of other pro leagues in the country with an East vs. West format.

"Probably my most memorable moment from an All-Star Game was that first one in front of a huge crowd and just being able to represent our league," said Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis, a five-time all-star who scored a goal in the inaugural All-Star Game and had a goal and an assist in the 2002 contest. "It was a new thing and we all wanted to play well and show what we could do. It was also a pretty good game if I remember right."

The East prevailed over the West in a 3-2 game that wasn't decided until the 88th minute. While the initial game was compelling, they weren't all as well played or able to keep the fans' interest. A soccer purist couldn't really appreciate a 9-4 game like it was in 2000 or 6-6 draw in 2001.

"Most of the time the guys took it lighthearted and just had fun with it," said RSL's Clint Mathis, who was a two-time selection. "That is why you could see games that were 6-5. It is probably a little bit more competitive when you are playing a team like Everton and the guys take pride in representing our league well.

"I think that it was good to have a true All-Star Game of guys throughout the league to get to play against each other, but it is understandable when you are trying to grow a business and make the league bigger to bring these teams in to get a different fan support."

The league experimented with two teams made of MLS players based on whether they were U.S. or foreign born in 1998, and in 2002, a squad of MLS All-Stars took on the U.S. Men's National Team, but with a little trial and error, the current format appears to be the most successful.

"We'll always look at evolving the concept so that we can continue to entertain and inspire our fans and (give) us the game to strategically position the league," said MLS commissioner Dan Garber. "Right now, I think we have a pretty good formula down. I like the fact that our fans, broadcast partners and our TV audience anticipate who we will be playing against, and trying to guess who that might be and then there's excitement when the team is selected.

"I don't want to lock us into this format forever," added Garber. "If there's something else that comes up in the future, I'm sure we'll take a look at it."

Whether the format changes in the future, one thing is certain, it is working right now.

"Playing international competition has been good for the fans. It's been good for the players," said Everton goalkeeper, former U.S. National Team member and former MLS All-Star Tim Howard. "I've played in two all-star games myself. It's the best of the best. We know there's going to be some big name players …We're going to have our work cut out for us."

e-mail: mblack@desnews.com