BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois, 7 August 2006 — Chelsea’s high-priced talent wasn’t enough to beat Major League Soccer’s All-Stars.
Dwayne De Rosario scored in the 70th minute Saturday night and backup goalkeeper Joe Cannon made several nice saves late, giving the MLS All-Stars a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, the two-time champion of England’s Premier League.
It’s the third time MLS’ All-Stars beat an international squad, and the second straight win over a Premier League team. The MLS squad beat Fulham in last year’s All-Star game.
Chelsea has spent big since Roman Abramovich took over four seasons ago, shelling out about $750 million to build a roster of international stars that now includes Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Joe Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Hernan Crespo and Michael Essien.
Shevchenko, the European Player of the Year in 2004, and Ballack, Germany’s captain, are the latest additions, making their debuts for The Blues on Saturday after being acquired during a two-week span in May. Both were substituted for at halftime. But the big names didn’t translate into goals for Chelsea, despite a flurry of late chances. Essien’s shot in the 84th minute went right into the hands of MLS goalkeeper Joe Cannon, and Arjen Robben’s header in the 90th sailed wide of the goal. Terry also had a shot in the 87th, but it banged off of Cannon, the Colorado Rapids’ goalkeeper. Instead, it was De Rosario who came through.
De Rosario is from Canada, which didn’t qualify for the World Cup in Germany, and the midfielder had said he would treat this game as his tournament. It showed in the 70th minute, when he took a pass from Ronnie O’Brien, balanced it on his foot and then took a blistering shot that Hilario, Chelsea’s backup goalie, had no chance at.
Still, the loss isn’t likely to cause much concern for Chelsea. Coach Jose Mourinho is more concerned with finding the right lineup before Chelsea starts Premier League play Aug. 20 against Manchester City. Chelsea also has a Community Shield game next Sunday against Liverpool.
