Austin FC sells a shirt with the slogan “Austin is a soccer city.”
The quote is attributed to Wolfgang Sühnholz, a German-American soccer player who had a long career coaching in Austin. And that statement is more true than ever this week at Austin’s Q2 Stadium, where Major League Soccer’s All-Star Game and festivities are happening.
Jimmy Maas, host of KUT’s Vamos Verde podcast about Austin FC, said the MLS All-Star Game is probably the biggest imprint American sports culture has had on the soccer world.
“The All-Star Game is sort of a collection of players from around the league playing each other for just one night, an exhibition,” he said. “Most of the time, it doesn’t mean very much, but it’s fun for fans to see all the great players.”
Wednesday night’s game, set for 8 p.m. CT, will feature the best 25 to 30 players in the league in the MLS based on a combo of fan voting, coach selection and several picks from the league commissioner. This year the coach is Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez, because Austin is hosting the game.
The MLS All-Star Team is playing a collection of players from Liga MX, the top league in Mexico.
“They have a slightly different selection process. They are between seasons right now. So this is more or less a best-of group,” Maas said. “Also, part of this is who agrees to actually play and commit their bodies to three days of playing and maybe some debauchery in Austin.”
Maas said as a newer team to the league, Austin applied to host this year’s All-Star Game by highlighting the attractions, hotels and stadium amenities it can offer fans.
“Texas does really well in this regard because they have that big events fund that helps lure large events like the Super Bowl, the Final Four and other all-star events to the state of Texas,” he said. “And this factors in that as well.”
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In the lead-up to the game, there has been a lot of buzz about Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter Miami CF in the MLS. If Messi plays in the game, it will be the only chance for fans to see him play in Austin this season. But Maas said Messi’s presence is not a given.
“Lionel has not shown any interest in actually participating. He missed all the training leading up to this game,” Maas said. “There still is a chance that he flies in. And maybe late 30s Lionel Messi doesn’t need training for an All-Star game. There’s always a chance he shows up. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players to check out and other stories to tell.”
Midfielder Gilberto Mora participates in a shooting challenge during the MLS All-Stars Skills Challenge night at Q2 Stadium on Tuesday.
Lorianne Willett / KUT News
Maas said another player to watch out for is Club Tijuana midfielder Gilberto Mora.
“He’s about to bust out on the scene and maybe be one of the bigger players in Europe,” Maas said. “This might be your last chance to see him play on this continent in person.”
There’s also Alex Zendejas, whose life follows the cross-border story many in Texas are familiar with.
“He was born in Juárez, he was raised in El Paso and has family in San Antonio, he went through FC Dallas’ academy, and now he plays in Liga MX,” Maas said. “But he also is a member of the U.S. Men’s national team sometimes. So there’s a lot of that cross-border connection.”
Maas said he expects the All-Star Game to play out differently than a regular league game.
“Everyone’s trying to preserve their bodies. They’re not trying to get hurt. I would expect a lot of goals,” Maas said. “Last night, there was a skills challenge which basically brings video games to life. (Players) go out and compete in these basically warm-up games on EA sports.
“So this is the kind of thing that like maybe these are abominations to international soccer fans, but at the same time, these are things that like, maybe in 10, 15 years, these are the things that people are gonna be talking about and seeking out on YouTube to watch over and over and over again.”
