Though upset by the injury suffered by their teammate Greg Garza, Atlanta United's Michael Parkhurst and Miguel Almiron said they enjoyed the experience in the MLS All-Star game on Wednesday at Chicago's Soldier Field.
The All-Stars tied Real Madrid 1-1, but were beaten 4-2 in penalty kicks. Almiron converted one of the penalty kicks with a left-footed blast into the lower left corner.
“It was a great experience for me, but also all for my teammates too” said Almiron, who played the entire second half.
Almiron, an attacking midfielder and one of Atlanta United’s three Designated Players was voted onto the MLS All-Star by the fans. He has eight goals and nine assists this season.
Almiron said he didn’t exchange jerseys with any of Real Madrid’s players. He said each player received two jerseys. He’s going to keep one and give the other to his mother.
Almiron had a few good plays in his 45 minutes. His run and pass led to the corner kick that eventually resulted in Dom Dwyer’s tying goal for the MLS All-Stars in the 86th minute.
Parkhurst, who was selected to the team by Chicago manager Veljko Paunovic, also had a few good plays, making several clearances of crosses.
He also received something he wanted: a chance to face Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. Parkhurst said he wanted to see their level. They didn’t disappoint.Bale struck the right post with a left-footed shot from the left side in the 68th minute.
“It was as high as expected,” said Parkhurst, who was playing in his fifth All-Star team. “When they brought a few of the starters in you could see the level pick up, the pace of the game picked up. They were a lot cleaner and fresher. It was high-quality all around.
“We bent but didn’t break and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Parkhurst said he will keep his jersey and also received a Real Madrid jersey. He got his kids some T-shirts, and he said each player also received a plaque-like object from the Chicago Fire.
Parkhurst said the week was fun, but also tiring with different responsibilities.
“It comes with the honor of going out to represent the league,” he said. “We are willing to do it. The most important thing was to come here and show well and I think we did that.”
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