By Chris Wright
Pep Guardiola has caused a bit of consternation in MLS circles by visibly refusing to shake hands with his American counterparts after the All-Stars game in Portland last night.
Bayern Munich slumped to a 2-1 defeat, but the catalyst in Guardiola’s refusal to offer a sporting handshake was apparently an over-zealous 89th-minute foul that left Bastian Schweinsteiger nursing an ankle injury.
Guardiola then wagged a derisory finger at coach Caleb Porter and the rest of the MLS bench after the final whistle, walking onto the pitch to console his players without so much as a second glance.
His defence? Well, Pep insisted that he hadn’t actually noticed that the MLS All-Stars coaching staff had been stationed on the bench next to his all evening.
“I didn’t see them,” the Bayern boss muttered after the game. “I shook hands with my players and the players from the opposing team.”
MLS president Sunil Gulati then Tweeted after the game that Pep and Porter had indeed shaken hands after the match, just not out on the pitch as is the custom…
All good with Pep Guardiola and Caleb Porter. With them for nice handshake outside the locker room after the game. #MLSAllStar
— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) August 7, 2014
Oh well, all’s well that ends well, eh? Pep can sure act like a prissy little madam when he loses.
Anyway, here are the official MLS highlights of the All-Star game. Keep an eye out for a cracking goal from Bradley Wright-Phillips (yep!) and yet another pre-season strike from Robert Lewandowski…
Fun fact: Ex-West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell somehow squirrelled his way into the MLS All-Stars team of 2014 despite having made a paltry three appearances for Portland Timbers since arriving on June 25th.