MLS officials are expecting a record crowd for this year's All-Star Game, with nearly 70,000 tickets soldMLS
Tonight's MLS All-Star Game remains "vitally important to the business wing of the league," but in the "bigger picture, to some, the game remains something of a nuisance for players and coaches alike" due to its place amid a busy summer schedule, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.com. Galaxy F Zlatan Ibrahimovic will "skip the All-Star Game" in Atlanta between the MLS All-Stars and Serie A club Juventus, as the "opportunity to get some rest -- and avoid a cross-country trip for a game on artificial turf -- was deemed to be enough of an inducement for the league's marquee player to stay home." One possibility is to "move the game from midweek to the weekend and create a bigger run-up to the match, but that would rob the league's teams of getting a lucrative gate on a weekend night and push another game to midweek." There "seems to be no easing of the fixture congestion that comes as overseas teams travel to North America for preseason games against MLS sides." Would the All-Star Game have "even more hype" if both Juventus F Cristiano Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic "were present?" Carlisle: "Without question." But that "hasn't stopped Atlanta's denizens from embracing" the game (ESPN.com, 7/31). PRO SOCCER USA's Jordan Culver noted MLS officials are "expecting a record crowd" for the game. MLS Exec VP/Communications Dan Courtemanche said that nearly 70,000 tickets "have been sold." The "current attendance record" is 70,728, set when the match was "played in Houston" in '10 (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 7/30).
CROWN JEWEL: The AP's Paul Newberry wrote the All-Star Game is "more than the league showing off its best players." It is a "chance to flaunt one of its biggest success stories" in Atlanta United. The club has "shattered just about every MLS attendance record since joining the league" in '17. If the weather forecast "holds -- there was a strong chance of thunderstorms -- the camera lens-resembling roof will be closed to ensure a comfortable setting for both the players and the big crowd." Meanwhile, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said he was "disappointed" that Ibrahimovic would skip the "most important special event that the league has" (AP, 7/31). ESPN FC's Paul Mariner did not blame Ibrahimovic for skipping the game due to the hectic travel schedule, saying, "This is all about the league. If this is an important event for Major League Soccer, then they've got to schedule much better" ("ESPN FC, ESPN2, 7/31).
MISSING THE MARK: THE ATHLETIC's Adam Snavely wrote the game's "biggest sin" is that it "isn't fun." Too often it is "used as a measuring stick between MLS and the rest of the world." The game is "just one of those American things that the league doesn't seem remotely interested in kicking to the curb." Some "quick fixes" for the event include giving the game its own week and putting an end to playing European teams (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/31).
GOLD STANDARD: In Cincinnati, Patrick Brennan wrote Atlanta United's Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground is an "elite MLS practice facility." The facility "took center stage" last night for the MLS Homegrown Game, which "pitted younger MLS players that meet certain roster criteria" against Liga MX side Tigres' Under-20 team (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/1).
