After calling Portland home for the last three days, the four Sounders FC players that made the trip to Providence Park for the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game will return to Seattle with a 2-1 victory over Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
It was an eventful jaunt through the Portland that displayed the game, the Rose City and the top players in Major League Soccer. The match itself served as the grand finale after three days showcasing the league’s great personalities around the city.
“It was a great experience,” Sounders FC defender DeAndre Yedlin said after the match, donning World Cup teammate Julian Green’s Bayern Munich jersey. “A lot of appearances, a lot of fan interactions, which is good. I think it’s important that we involve the fans.”
In the match, Yedlin started at right back, while the forward tandem of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins provided some entertainment to the fans at Providence Park, as well as those watching nationally on ESPN2 and Univision. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who was named an All-Star for the fourth consecutive year, played all 45 second-half minutes.
Despite the creative and dynamic play of the Seattle attacking pair, the All-Stars went into the break trailing 1-0 after a Robert Lewandowski eighth minute goal. However, a second-half burst from New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips and LA’s Landon Donovan earned MLS a 2-1 comeback result.
“We have a great chemistry playing off of each other. We had some good touches,” Dempsey told media in the locker room. “We would have liked to have a little more link-up, but we caused a few problems and got a few good looks.”
Yedlin took him one step further.
“Clint and Oba up top … it’s not fun to be the opponent against them. They do stuff you don’t even think is real,” he beamed. “It’s like a video game with them. I think they’re the best duo in MLS. They’re just unbelievable.”
Dempsey and Yedlin were recognized before the match as part of the U.S. National Team contingent on hand for the match, a reminder of just how much the World Cup run to the Round of 16 swept the nation. Also present during pregame ceremonies was intensity of the Seattle-Portland rivalry, one that is unmatched in MLS.
While hearty cheers greeted each of the players as their names were announced, Dempsey and Yedlin were booed by many of the fans in attendance, drawing smiles from the Seattle duo and chiding laughter from their U.S. and All-Star teammates.
It served as no offense to Dempsey, though.
“The fans are passionate here,” he smiled. “That’s great to see.”
Yedlin, Dempsey, Martins and Alonso will resume training with Sounders FC on Friday as the team prepares to meet the Houston Dynamo on Sunday at CenturyLink Field.
