Major League Soccer’s annual gigantic waste of time All-Star Game is many things. It’s chance to see some of the league’s best players on the field together against foreign competition. It’s a chance for league officials and team executives to meet and mingle, and an opportunity for fans to have fun.
Bayern Munich vs. MLS, 2014 All-Star game: Preview and TV schedule
The annual MLS All-Star match will be played on Wednesday night in Portland with German giants Bayern Munich in town.
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What it’s not, at least on the field, is a game that matters in any way at all.
For Bayern Munich, this is just another preseason match as they continue their preparations ahead of the upcoming Bundesliga season. Several of Munich's biggest stars are just coming back from a post-World Cup break and may or may not see time in the match. Robert Lewandowski is not one of those players, and has already scored four goals for Bayern so far in the preseason.
As for the MLS All-Stars, this game is about making a strong showing against one of the world’s best teams and not getting injured. Several players have already withdrawn over injury issues including the likes of Jermain Defoe, Chad Marshall, Omar Gonzalez and Robbie Keane. Kyle Beckerman also withdrew at the last minute, leading to the call-up of Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell, who has played just three games in MLS.
The biggest point of interest in this game for American fans might not be on the MLS side, but rather the Bayern side. Julian Green, the young USMNT player, is trying to crack Bayern’s first team for this upcoming season. Preseason matches like this one are opportunities for him to make a good impression, and he should get plenty of time to prove himself on Wednesday night.
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. local, 9:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
TV: ESPN2 (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.), TSN (Canada)
Online: Watch ESPN (U.S.), TSN Go (Canada)
Listings via LiveSoccerTV, where you can find listings for other countries.
