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The MLS All-Star Game against Liga MX needs ‘Goalie Wars’

By Kristian Dyer

MLS Commissioner Don Garber (left) and LIGA MX Executive President Mikel Arriola pose for a photo after announcing the location of the 2021 MLS All-Star Game to be held at Banc of California Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
MLS Commissioner Don Garber (left) and LIGA MX Executive President Mikel Arriola pose for a photo after announcing the location of the 2021 MLS All-Star Game to be held at Banc of California Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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If the MLS All-Star Game with Liga MX is going to be done right, it needs to make the whole week about competition. Mano a mano.

It needs to bring back ‘‘Goalie Wars’’ for starters. The MLS All-Star Game must feature ‘‘Goalie Wars’.’ But let’s digress for a moment, some background is needed.

With this week’s announcement that the MLS All-Star Game will (finally) feature the league’s counterparts from Liga MX, it would make sense to make the whole build-up to this game more than just an event. It should be about proving that MLS can compete with the best league in the region.

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It should be about the rivalry between these two nations on the field while providing memories for both sides of the border.

Since the league’s inception in 1996, MLS has always had a ‘little brother’ mentality when it comes to the Mexican first division. And why not? Liga MX has far more history, better international players, higher overall pay and a better standard of play. The run of success in the CONCACAF Champions League, which an MLS team has not won in its current incarnation, is proof that Liga MX is a better league.

Sorry MLS fans, but it is true.

Look at the support of and for Liga MX in the United States, where television ratings dwarf those of MLS. Yes, the North American league is growing and is doing so each year. But right now, Liga MX is the better league.

Pit an MLS team against a Mexican team in most markets and the MLS fans are being drowned out by ‘Oles’ and the scent of Rafa Marquez’s cologne.

Which leads to this All-Star Game on August 25 at Banc of California Stadium, the beautiful home of Los Angeles FC. MLS has to do everything it can to prove that ‘little brother’ is beginning to grow up.

So bring on ‘‘Goalie Wars’.’ And less of Marquez’s cologne. Please.

The MLS All-Star Game hasn’t meant something for a long time. Now, there’s the chance to make it competitive. Everything about the build-up has to be about this competition, about infusing the region’s best rivalry into a glorified friendly.

Now for those of you who don’t remember when Landon Donovan had bleached blonde hair or think it is laughable that D.C. United was once a dominant MLS side, ‘‘Goalie Wars’’ was a part of All-Star weekend in a most unique way. The top goalkeepers of the league battled it out for supremacy of the pipes.

Actually, just watch this video right here. It is better than explaining.

‘Goalie Wars’ was awesome. ‘Goalie Wars’ is awesome.

But this All-Star Game may actually mean something. Now, it is impossible for an All-Star squad, representing 20-some odd players from throughout the league, to come together in 72 hours and actually be a functioning team.

To do so against the likes of Real Madrid, a cohesive team with a system in place, is impossible.

But Liga MX will feature the same issue with their all-star cohort. And neither league will want to back down. Look no further than Sunday’s match in the Nations League final when the United States beat Mexico 3-2.

That tournament meant nothing and had no history and yet, it featured organized chaos on the pitch. Nothing was on the line on Sunday in Denver but one wouldn’t know it. The players wanted to win. They needed to win.

MLS won’t want to lose to Liga MX and for sure, the stars of the Mexican league won’t view this as a holiday. ‘Big brother’ never wants to be shown up.

So make the ‘Skills Competition’ mean something and expand it. Have the MLS Homegrowns play the young Mexican league talent. Make everything count.

Because someday, some of these young players will be playing against each other in a Nations League Final. Better they learn about the rivalry now.

And ‘Goalie Wars’ is simply cool. So bring that back if for no other reason.

Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex’ on Twitter @KristianRDyer

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