The 2024 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night will point a national and potentially international spotlight on host club Columbus Crew, which is more than worthy after being one of the league’s best teams in the last two decades.
The Crew are sometimes overshadowed by bigger markets — and were once even in jeopardy of a move from Ohio to Austin, Texas, under previous ownership — but they became only the third team in Major League Soccer history to win a third MLS Cup with their triumph last year over Los Angeles FC.
Crew manager Wilfried Nancy — who will guide the MLS All-Stars against a team of Liga MX All-Stars — is arguably the hottest MLS coaching commodity after success in one year in Columbus and two in Montreal.
The Frenchman has even been connected with the current U.S. men’s national team coaching vacancy.
“I’m really grateful about this publicity, because this is the national team,” Nancy told MLSsoccer.com this week. “After that, for me, life is about moments. And I’ll see what’s going to be next in the future, but I feel really good here also.”
This is the third time the game has been contested in the MLS-versus-Liga MX format. And it comes only two days before the second edition of the Leagues Cup begins, a month-long competition involving all 47 clubs from both leagues.
The MLS squad edged Liga MX on penalty kicks (3-2) after the 2021 game remained tied 1-1 in Los Angeles, and MLS won 2-1 in 2022 in Saint Paul, Minn.
Among the MLS headliners is 2023 MLS Cup MVP and Columbus attacker Cucho Hernandez, 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner and LAFC winger Denis Bouanga and 2023 MLS MVP and FC Cincinnati talisman Luciano Acosta.
In a league where not everyone plays each other each season, Hernandez says participating in the event has a lot of appeal despite the quick turnaround.
“What I really like is meeting new people,” Hernandez told MLSsoccer.com. “Sometimes you see this level of players on television and say, ‘What a player!’ or ‘What a golazo!’ and then he’s here beside you and you can chat with him. It’s a really nice experience.”
The biggest names among Liga MX’s contingent are Club Leon’s Andres Guardado and Club America’s Jonathan dos Santos, both longtime fixtures in the Mexico national team. The latter also spent portions of five seasons in MLS with the LA Galaxy (2017-21).
–Field Level Media
