Across The Midwest Pitch - #8

by Matt Besler - Kansas City Wizards

Hello everyone! Back again this week from “Across the Midwest Pitch.”


Just want to give a shout out to the US Men’s National Team for their Gold Cup performance and silver medal. Obviously, the final wasn’t the result we were looking for and not in the fashion we were hoping (especially to Mexico), but looking at the big picture, everyone on the squad deserves recognition for a successful tournament. Thanks to the Confederations Cup, I think the American public expects US Soccer to make it to the Final in every tournament, which is a good sign if we want to be the best in the world.

This has been a crazy summer for soccer in America. I was talking to my brother the other day and he said, “I feel like there is a big soccer game on ESPN every other night.” It’s been great to be able to watch some of the best teams play on TV and follow our National Team in their tournaments. Also, the MLS games of the week have been exciting too. It must be fun to be a soccer fan in America this summer.

Good luck to the MLS All-Stars this week as they take on Everton FC. Since many of the European teams are playing exhibition games here in the U.S., one question I got asked from a fan last week was, “If you could play against one team, who would it be?” This is a tough question because there are a lot of good teams out there, but I would want to play against Manchester United. I think overall, they are the most popular team in the world and over the past 10 years have been amongst the best every year.

This past weekend we played the LA Galaxy and tied 1-1. As a team, we were really looking for a win at home but the Galaxy played fairly well and we had to settle for a tie. If you didn’t get a chance to see the highlights, Claudio Lopez scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen. He collected a loose ball just behind midfield and scored from inside our own half.

Since I’ve been asked about 100 times, I should probably write about how it was facing David Beckham and Landon Donovan. Anytime you get a chance to face players of their quality, it’s exciting. I looked at the situation as an opportunity and challenge to measure myself against some of the best players in our league. I didn’t really think about it too much, and when the game started, it was a just like a regular game. Overall, I thought we did a good job containing both Beckham and Donovan’s influence on the game.

The Kansas City fans were great. It was another sellout (I believe our 6th consecutive) and the atmosphere was electric. As a player, competing in front of a crowd like that is what makes the game so exciting. Keep up the good work, Cauldron!

Talk to everyone again next week. We are off to Texas this weekend for a game Saturday night against FC Dallas.

Questions from the fans:

1.) What are your thoughts about the All-Star game format? - Josh
I like how the All-Star game format is. I think you see in other sports like hockey and basketball how high scoring the games can get without any defense being played. If you like that, then you’re probably against how it is now, but if you actually want to see a competitive game, I think this is the best way to do it. Also, the MLS players compete against each other all year long and this way it gives them a chance to take a break from that and play together. Not to mention getting a chance to see how MLS players rank against teams from Europe.

2.) If you weren't a professional soccer player, what would you be doing instead? - Jessica

If I wasn’t playing professional soccer, I would be applying for a grad school program in either Optometry or Physical Therapy. I definitely want to interact with people on a daily basis and I think helping people out would be fulfilling. I would try and apply to a school in Chicago. Many of my classmates and friends got jobs in Chicago and it is a great place to live when you’re young.

If for some reason either of these didn’t work out, I would probably pursue coaching in the college ranks. I think being involved with a college team would be exciting and I could have some valuable insight for college players.


Kansas City Wizards defender Matt Besler returns with a new installment of 'Across The Midwest Pitch' each Tuesday on MLS Daily. If you have a question that you'd like answered in next week's segment, please send it HERE. Our sincere thanks go out to Matt for taking his time to write each week!