Outclassed

SPORTING GOODS

I'm not sure why I expected anything different. If I had only considered the facts before having some hope that an MLS select team could hang with Real Madrid.

The game was at Real Madrid, in front of a rabid crowd. The MLS players had traveled to Europe, and had been in Spain for only 36 hours before kickoff. Real Madrid is only one week from kicking off the season, certainly in decent form. The names on Real Madrid - Beckham. Ronaldo. Zidane. Raul. Roberto Carlos. The names on MLS - Donovan. And um...Clint Dempsey? The MLS team was represented by all teams, meaning most guys had never played together. Real Madrid has Michael Owen and Guti coming off the bench - both of these guys would be the best player in the MLS, by far. Hell, at least the first 15 players on Real Madrid would be the best player in the MLS.

In the end it wasn't pretty. And it was too bad, because I think that a real team, like the New England Revolution, could have fared better than this team of stars that don't play together. So it was probably a step back for the reputation of our budding league. But the good news was, its fans got to see one of the best teams in the world.

And as ugly as the 5-0 outcome was, there were some really pretty moments by the home team. Maybe next time Real Madrid invites a US squad, we'll give them a game. Maybe.