MLS All-Stars bring joy to Skills Challenge: "It's just different"

COLUMBUS – Bradley Wright-Phillips offered Chituru Odunze a simple, but powerful exhortation just before the Crown Legacy goalkeeper began his run in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Goalie Wars competition at the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T at Lower.com Field Tuesday night:

Do it for South London.

The towering 21-year-old ‘keeper came through for his fellow Blighty expat, defeating North Texas SC’s Michael Collodi in the final to claim the champion’s belt – presented in style by professional wrestlers Sheamus and Sonya Deville – that’s become such a coveted prize since the old-school contest made its triumphant return at the All-Star Game two years ago.

While everyone participating in the Skills Challenge had their preferred aspect of Tuesday’s show, Goalie Wars remains a leading crowd-pleaser. FC Dallas ‘keeper Maarten Paes wore a broad grin as he took questions from reporters after competing in other contests, readily admitting his favorite part of the competition was one he didn’t take part in.

“I loved the Goalie Wars,” said Paes. “I was cheering for our second team goalie Michael Collodi; too bad he couldn’t win the final. But it was amazing to watch.”

As one of the night’s undercards, Goalie Wars featured MLS NEXT Pro shot-stoppers, though Paes sounded eager to give it a shot himself, marveling at the 6-foot-7 Odunze’s wingspan and reflexes.

“I said he did the best he could,” Paes said of Collodi, “and he had a really good other goalkeeper, I think he was very tall too. I know Michael’s strength is the throwing, but it was a little bit tough against someone who's that tall. But I said, you did the best you could and it's about appreciation – that he's been picked for that is massive for him. … he’s having a hell of a season.”

Cheers for Cucho, boos for Lucho

The presence of two WWE stars was quite fitting for the Skills Challenge, where all involved could ham it up a bit and give the crowd some light-hearted entertainment during this pause in the marathon grind of the regular season.

The home faithful did their part, too. Columbus Crew hero Cucho Hernández was cheered raucously, while cascades of boos rained down on Lucho Acosta of their Hell is Real rivals FC Cincinnati as well as Salomón Rondón, the CF Pachuca striker who played Crew killer in the Concacaf Champions Cup final earlier this year.

“It was spectacular!” said Rondon in Spanish afterwards. “They booed me when I came out, but, hey, we were lucky enough to win the Concacaf Champions Cup.”

These high-level athletes are ferociously competitive about practically every aspect of their profession and gave their all to claim the bragging rights, which the Liga MX All-Stars eventually secured in the main event. That made for a certain amount of pressure to stay on point with their technique – even, perhaps especially, for those supporting their teammates with the well-weighted crosses that are so important to success in the shooting activities.

“No, definitely it is, you're there and you're like, solely focused, because if you f--k up, you can't come back from that!” cracked Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna. “It was fun, but glad to not mess up and just put in some good service.”

Good vibes

Yet the spirit, camaraderie and simple joy of the occasion was the overriding theme of the night.

“It's just different. I think no other league in the world does this,” said Portland Timbers playmaker Evander. “It's for the fans also to enjoy, see some different things, some different stuff. It’s just different than normal soccer, and it's good. I think it’s great.

“The moment was good, the vibe was good.”

Luna agreed.

“It's pretty cool. It's just a little break where we take a break from our league and just have fun, right? Just bring more attention to soccer and just give the people something fun to watch. So I think it's pretty cool,” he said.

“It's just about taking a break of everyone locked in and focused on the league and just coming out here to remember, to remind everyone that we do this for fun and for joy.”

Federico Bernardeschi laughed out loud when asked what his countrymen in Italy might think of it all.

“Ah! It's good, it's good. They like it. Maybe we should have in Italy too, one time, one day. We'll see. But it’s good. They’d like it,” said the Toronto FC Designated Player.

“I never do in my life this kind of competition. It was difficult a little bit the first time, because I never do. But I enjoyed a lot. And I think if we would do in Italy too, it would be a great shot.”

Anyone across the Atlantic on the Old Continent harrumphing at this very North American concept might want to listen to what Paes, who grew up in the Netherlands, had to say.

“We in Europe we can learn a lot from America in terms of entertainment and in terms of how to build a show," Paes said. "If you look at the Super Bowl, for example, it's amazing. If you look at all the All-Star games over all the different leagues, it's an amazing thing to do, big spectacle, people come out … I think it was super fun. It was definitely something that I need to be every year, and yeah, great inspiration for next year, to be in Austin.”