D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney was given the honor of being the coach for the 2023 MLS All-Star team. The game won’t be a fond memory for Rooney as he watched his side get trounced by Arsenal 5-0 on Wednesday.
The match wasn’t pretty as the All-Stars only managed a single shot on target the entire game and were torn apart on defense.
After the game a reporter asked Rooney what his takeaways were as head coach. His response was incredibly on brand.
Wayne Rooney response to reporter
Reporter: “Wayne, what did you take out of this game personally as a coach and honing your craft as a young coach, what did you take out of it?”
Rooney could have gone for the PR-friendly rinse and repeat answer of: “You know, every game is an opportunity to learn and improve and going against a top side like Arsenal is a perfect example of that.”
Instead, he said exactly what he was thinking.
Wayne Rooney on what he took out of the 5-0 loss to Arsenal as a coach: “Absolutely nothing!” #afc pic.twitter.com/u4abhDxdA6
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 20, 2023
It would have been hilarious if he just ended it there, but he did provide an honest follow up. Rooney explained how difficult it is to build chemistry for an All-Star team when they’ve never played together and had limited time training.
"What do you take out of this game personally as a coach?"
Wayne "Absolutely nothing."Wayne Rooney's reaction to the experience of coaching the MLS All-stars pic.twitter.com/0MPOYQiaFm
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 20, 2023
Wednesday’s match was the first time since 2019 that the MLS All-Stars faced a big European club. In the past two years the All-Star game was between the best in MLS and Liga MX’s stars.
Getting a group of MLS players who have never played together to defeat the well-oiled machines of Europe is no easy task. Prior to Wednesday’s match, the MLS All-Stars had lost their last four encounters with European clubs. The last time a team lost to the All-Stars was Tottenham in 2015 when they were defeated 2-1.
The 5-0 defeat to Arsenal is the worst defeat the All-Stars have ever suffered. They should’ve put Lionel Messi on the team for the hell of it.
