Manchester United has not been very impressive
in its two exhibitions against Major League Soccer opponents, but veteran Ryan
Giggs believes the English club "will be up for the challenge" against the MLS
All-Stars on Wednesday night.
United started its North American preseason tour with a 3-1 win over Scottish
rival Celtic but only edged the expansion Philadelphia Union, 1-0, and lost to
the Kansas City Wizards, 2-1.
The English giants battle an MLS All-Star squad likely void of a number of its
top players, including Landon Donovan, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas at
8:30 p.m. (ET), but Giggs doesn't expect any less of a challenge.
"When you play for United, every game teams are motivated to beat you," Giggs
said. "We have seen that in the first two games against American teams already
and we don't expect anything different."
MLS All-Star coach Bruce Arena has major selection issues ahead of the match,
as five MLS First XI players are likely going to be unavailable. Donovan and
the rest of the Los Angeles Galaxy play a CONCACAF Champions League match one
day before the All-Star game.
Donovan, MLS leading scorer Edson Buddle, Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts,
who all play for Arena in L.A., will likely be unavailable if they participate
against the Puerto Rico Islanders.
Toronto FC captain Dwayne De Rosario, third in MLS with eight goals, may play
in the CONCACAF tournament as well and is another player Arena may not be able
to use who was selected to the First XI.
"It's difficult to say," All-Star assistant Dominic Kinnear said. "You can't
put the players' health at risk. I know the fans voted the players in and the
fans want to see them play, but as far as the time on the field they spend,
it's a big decision for Bruce."
Arena will still have a solid team, regardless of whether those five play, but
will suffer offensively without United States star Donovan and Buddle. Donovan
is first in MLS with 11 assists and has teamed with Buddle to lead L.A. to the
best record in the league.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is also without a few of his top guns, including
star striker Wayne Rooney and center back Rio Ferdinand.
Ferguson has veterans Giggs and Paul Scholes available, among others, and will
also likely debut offseason addition Javier Hernandez.
Hernandez was signed just before the World Cup and he had a strong performance
for Mexico in South Africa with two goals. He just joined United on Monday but
Ferguson hopes to be able to use his new player for the first time.
"We want to try to integrate him into the team as quickly as possible," said
Ferguson.
MLS has a great record against English opponents in the All-Star game, beating
Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham, before falling to Everton in penalty kicks after
a draw last season.
"It will be a tough challenge," Giggs said.
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