MLS Vs. Chelsea, 2012 All-Star Game: Eddie Johnson Wins It For MLS

Johnson came on as a substitute, but didn’t make much of an impact right away. But with the match in stoppage time and presumably destined for penalty kicks* he was able to find some space to run at the Chelsea defense. Luiz stepped up and didn’t leave him with many options so Johnson let rip. His shot then took a deflection and left the goalkeeper helpless as he went the wrong direction. The ball bounced high in the air then came down and settled in the back of the net, delivering the All-Stars a vital win that comes with a bunch of half-hearted high fives.

* They use penalties! proof that the match is important!

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

Aside from the goals, which weren’t particularly pretty anyway, there wasn’t much to talk about in the first half. I know, it’s shocking that a team in the preseason and another thrown together two days ago did not play beautiful soccer.

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

It can’t be fun to be an All-Star Game manager. You have to appease the league, the teams, the players and the fans, all while making sure you are taking the exhibition game seriously enough not to get embarrassed without taking it too seriously and risking players’ health. All the while, nobody really cares about you because seriously, you’re an All-Star manager.

Get all of your pre-match, live and post-match coverage in our MLS All-Star Game StoryStream.

I’ll give Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber a ton of credit for spending just over an hour reading and responding to questions on the MLS Facebook page today. Considering some of the questions, I probably would have slammed my laptop closed and gone to rub elbows with all the smart people in Philly for the All-Star Game, but he stuck around.

You can read the entire chat here, but the format is really strange so it’s not the easiest thing to follow. Essentially they posted an image and had the questions and answers posted as comments on the photo. With that in mind, I’ve mined the chat for the “best” questions because let’s be honest, Garber wasn’t going to say anything he hadn’t already said before.

Although the honor does give the players a monetary bonus, the honor is mostly symbolic as they will not participate in the festivities. The Collective Bargaining Agreement which the Players’ Union and league signed prior to the 2010 season mandates that at least 32 players be named to the All-Star Roster. This brings the total to 33. MLS player votes decided the final 13 spots.

The MLS All-Star Game is finally here. I know, contain your excitement.

In all honesty, if you are looking for some men’s soccer action today and can’t get the Brasileiro on your glowing moving picture box then the All-Star Game is for you. Well, that and the Liverpool vs. Roma friendly that is on before it, but let’s stay focused on the All-Star Game for your soccer fix.

It is time for everybody’s favorite midseason exhibition -- the MLS All-Star Game! The best in MLS will take on a power team from abroad in a match with everything on the line. Or nothing on the line. Yeah, nothing on the line.

Getting semi-serious (which is as serious as one can get about this), Chelsea are a bit more ahead in their preseason than other clubs and are actually almost halfway through. That means that they are getting closer to full strength and will take things more seriously. Winning still doesn’t matter, but playing well and playing some more of their better players does matter.