The 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star game is finally here and the two Rapids representatives, Drew Moor and Sam Cronin, as well as Rapids and MLS All-Stars head coach Pablo Mastroeni are ready for a home field, star-filled game. Excitement in the Mile High City is bubbling as the MLS All-Stars will take on Tottenham Hotspur.
I get to be a part of the #MLSAllStar2015 game today!!!!!!!!!!! Somebody pinch me!!!!
— Drew Moor (@drewmoor) July 29, 2015
Cronin was a late addition to the All-Star roster, but that isn’t shaking him from taking in the feeling of the experience.
“Obviously we’ve got some great players around here and quality opponents,” Cronin told the Denver Post. “It will be a fun experience. Happy to be part of it.”
Head coach Mastroeni probably has one of the hardest jobs of this week, trying to build cohesion amongst an unfamiliar roster, but he is coaching a team that is the best of the best, so he isn’t too worried.
“For me, it’s by far the most talented group of players representing the MLS since I’ve been a part of the league,” Mastroeni said in an interview.
The All-Star game has usually been categorized as a “friendly” however, the Spurs are in their preasons and the MLS players are mid-season, so players on both sides of the pitch will be putting forward a top (albeit safe) effort.
“You put teams against each other and you put two goals at either end, the two teams want to win, so that’s certainly our attitude and our mentality,” Moor told CBS Denver. “We definitely want to put on a good show, we want to enjoy it. I don’t think there’s going to be any crazy tackles or anything, we don’t want to have an injury. It’s going to be competitive.”
After tonight’s game is complete, each MLS player will return to their home club and prepare for their next game, which for the Rapids, is right around the corner. The Rapids take on the LA Galaxy on Saturday, August 1, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“We’ve been trying to get on the same page. I think it’s taken us a little longer than we would have hoped and have thought, but it’s all part of the process. The league is a really strong, competitive league and you have to earn everything you get. We’re starting to see the fruits of all the hard work we’ve put in. We’re on a good run here, and looking for a good win this weekend against LA,” Cronin told the Denver Post.
This will be another tough match for Colorado, but after beating then-top seed Seattle earlier this month, anything is possible with the Rapids. Coach Mastroeni and the team aren’t letting the hype of tonight’s game get in their way of the chance winning their fourth game in a row.
And even though today is All-Star Game day, Mastroeni still had his club on the practice pitch, preparing for Saturday.
#Rapids96 training was the start of a busy day for Pablo. It's #MLSAllStar today but #COLvLA on Saturday pic.twitter.com/CstsCXSCCu
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 29, 2015
Sabrina Naccarato, a Mile High Sports intern and MSU-Denver student, contributed to this report