In the 20th edition of the AT&T MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night, Major League Soccer celebrated the legends of the league that first took the field in 1996.
On that special night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando put in a legendary performance of his own in the first half as the MLS All-Stars topped Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the annual exhibition.
“It’s good whenever you can beat these big clubs that come over in this All-Star experience,” Rimando said in a postgame interview on FOX Sports 1. “It shows that our league’s growing, our players are getting better and we’ve got the talent to win these big games.”
Rimando finished the match with three saves – all on close-range shots from last year’s second-leading scorer in the Premier League, Harry Kane.
The first attempt came in the ninth minute, as Kane hit a volley from the right side after a deflected shot by Mousa Dembele. Rimando had the post covered and knocked it away for a corner kick for his first save of the evening.
After the All-Stars took a 1-0 lead on a penalty from Kaka, Rimando came up big again in the 22nd minute on Kane. This time Kane, who helped lead Tottenham to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League last year, got on the end of a cross from Nacer Chadli, but Rimando made a foot-save to keep the MLS team on top. Then on the other end of the field, Kaka set up a goal from David Villa and put the All-Stars up 2-0.
In the 34th minute, there were more heroics from Rimando as he met Kane at the edge of the six-yard box for his third save before Kane finally bested Rimando with a world-class goal, but it wasn’t enough to lead a Tottenham comeback and the MLS All-Stars won 2-1.
“It felt good to be out there,” said Rimando, who has been away with the U.S. National Team all month at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and rejoins Real Salt Lake in Washington, D.C., for a match against D.C. United on Saturday. “I was away a long time with the national team and didn’t get a lot of playing time so getting back on the pitch felt good. I came up with some good saves, I think.”
RSL defender Tony Beltran also showed well on the night, playing the first 45 minutes at right back for the MLS All-Stars. But Rimando’s night stood out among the rest and while 2007 World Player of the Year Kaka won MVP honors, it was Rimando that was the focus of a good portion of the game broadcast.
At one point, play-by-play voice John Strong noted that Rimando holds the MLS record with 121 career shutouts, but had never one Goalkeeper of the Year, a fact that seemed to startle his broadcast partner and former U.S. National Team goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
“He has been one of the great, great goalkeepers in MLS history,” a befuddled Freidel said on the FOX Sports 1 broadcast. “Who’s counting the votes?”
This season, Rimando is 4-5-7 with six shutouts and a 1.06 goals against average.
