Real Madrid to play in MLS All-Star Game at Chicago
(Big Swede Guy/Flickr)
NEW YORK - Real Madrid will play the Major League Soccer All-Stars at Chicago on Aug. 2.
Los Blancos, the defending European champion and current Spanish league leader, feature reigning FIFA player of the year Cristian Ronaldo, but it is unclear whether Ronaldo will be with Real that soon after the Confederations Cup, which ends July 2.
The All-Star Game, which since 2005 has featured European clubs against MLS All-Stars, will be played at Soldier Field. It is the first time a La Liga team has played in the All-Star Game.
"It's good for the league," Toronto forward Jozy Altidore said. "If we're going to have this event, you want to make it worthwhile for everybody. To play the biggest club in world football, it's exciting for a lot of reasons."
New York City forward David Villa added: "To play against a team like Real Madrid, it's so very good," said NYCFC
The Chicago Fire, who play at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, will host the event. The last time the event was held at a non-MLS venue was in 2010, when the All-Star game was played at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
The Fire previously hosted the All-Star Game at Toyota Park against Chelsea in 2006.
Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was with Bayern Munich when he played in the 2014 All-Star Game in Portland, Oregon.
"I remember it quite well because it was after the 2014 World Cup, in Portland. I remember also my brother was included on the first team so that was quite nice for us as brothers," Schweinsteiger said. "We were both saying how much we enjoyed this match because the atmosphere in the stadium was so nice. It's something different we don't have in Europe, so we really enjoyed it."
Arsenal defeated the All-Stars 2-1 last year in San Jose, California.