The MLS All-Star game against Bayern Munich Wednesday night had a little bit of everything. 

Two world-class goals. A game-winner from American legend and MVP Landon Donovan in what turned out to be his All-Star swan song. Thrilling, wide-open play. A slew of terrific saves. An unbelievable showing from Thierry Henry. Possibly the greatest substitution ever—the Bundesliga giants brought on four World Cup champions for the final 10 minutes. 

And yet, all anyone can talk about is what happened after 93 minutes of scintillating play.

Thanks a lot, Pep Guardiola. 

For the uninitiated, the 43-year-old grumpy manager, as a result of some aggressive, unnecessary tackles from MLS stars Osvaldo Alonso and Will Johnson, refused to shake hands with opposing manager Caleb Porter, offering his best Dikembe Mutombo impression in the process. 

SportsCenter's Twitter feed provided a look at the bizarre and attention-grabbing moment:

Alright yeah, it's certainly not something you see every day. It was supposed to be an exhibition, and it ended with the manager of one of the best clubs in the world going on a tantrum. It's something worth talking about. 

But it's not the only thing worth talking about. 

Instead, let's talk about a pair of unbelievable strikes from Bayern's Robert Lewandowski and the New York Red Bulls' Bradley Wright-Phillips:

Let's talk about Henry's performance. The former Arsenal and Barcelona superstar is 36 years old and seemed to be playing at about half speed, but it didn't matter. For the first 45 minutes, he was the best player on the pitch, delivering a slew of beautiful balls and nearly scoring on a gorgeous volley from outside the box. 

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, much like the rest of us, was especially astonished by the latter:

Let's talk about the moment when Henry, an international legend, was replaced by Donovan, an American legend. The 32-year-old Galaxy star discussed the honor of such an event, per Fox Sports' Kyle McCarthy:

While we're here, let's talk about Donovan's goal. It wasn't just the game-winner. It wasn't just a record-setter. It wasn't just against Manuel Neuer, arguably the best player from last month's World Cup. It wasn't just a moment of redemption after a tumultuous year that saw him snubbed from Jurgen Klinsmann's team in Brazil. 

It was a fitting sendoff, as he ended up announcing his retirement Thursday afternoon. 

Let's talk about the thrilling final moments that saw Guardiola bring on Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gotze and Arjen Robben. 

Let's talk about the terrific television ratings, via AwfulAnnouncing.com's Steve Lepore, just another indication that soccer in the United States continues to grow:

So yes, Guardiola's actions—whether justified or not—are interesting, but let's not let them overshadow what was easily one of the most thrilling All-Star games—in any sport—in recent memory. 

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The MLS All-Star Game pitted the league's best against Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich in Wednesday's exhibition match at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.

Bayern were favorites, but a winning goal by retiring MLS star Landon Donovan gave his band of All-Stars a 2-1 victory. Although this fixture offered no tangible significance aside from pure entertainment, it was a big step for Major League Soccer to enhance its stateside popularity and international respectability.

North American major sports have so many alternatives that the other continents simply don't have at their disposal. Another type of football is about to dominate the American sports landscape, but there's no denying that MLS' fanfare is growing.

As part of Donovan's retirement announcement, he emphasized how important the fans are in keeping the trend of soccer's ascent in the USA, per CBS Sports:

What will be vital is that American soccer can carry on the momentum generated by the MLS' landmark win over Bayern Munich, especially with its biggest star in Donovan walking away from the game at the end of the season.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the impact Donovan has had in the MLS—not just when he scored Wednesday's winning goal, but also overall:

Julie Stewart-Binks of Fox Sports 1 hinted at how strong of a legacy Donovan will be leaving when he retires from the Los Angeles Galaxy:

No one has scored more than Donovan's six All-Star goals either—another testament to how significant his presence has been for the U.S. over the many years of his illustrious career. The MLS needs a new, domestic face of the league to carry it into a promising new era, though.

Roger Bennett of ESPN FC reported in March that among American children, the MLS was equal in popularity to Major League Baseball for the first time since poll results were collected. Ranking ahead of America's pastime is quite an achievement for a sport that seems like an afterthought.

And in 2012, among those between 12 and 24 years old, soccer was the second-most popular sport, per the report. That's even ahead of the NBA, which has a ton of individual star power, along with many of the other major North American sports, that the MLS can't yet boast.

That's why there is much reason to be optimistic. As fans accumulate knowledge of soccer around the world; about just how good Bayern Munich is, it should heighten the incentive to pay attention to the MLS even more closely. Even though Bayern wasn't at its best, casual world football fans had to have their eyebrows raised with interest when it lost to the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday.

The MLS also played physically and challenged Bayern, something manager Pep Guardiola was miffed about at first. But based on his post-match comments, it may have sparked some necessary rivalry, as Guardiola hinted at avenging the loss, via The Guardian:

It doesn’t matter. It’s happened the way it is. We tried to play and we did. Congratulations to MLS for this victory. I hope they are going to invite us next year to try and make revenge and I hope to prepare a little bit better. Now, we will be sure [about] what was going on. We will prepare much better, that we will do it. I hope our invitation is coming.

Instead of seeing many of the best American players head overseas to play for more reputable leagues, more homeland stars will stick around to play in the MLS if the league keeps trending in its current direction.

However, this is still an issue, highlighted by Seattle Sounders prodigy DeAndre Yedlin being linked to the English Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur, per ESPN's Taylor Twellman:

Team USA's recent showing at the World Cup has created a lot of buzz around soccer too. According to the Washington Post's Seth Vertelney, a record 24.7 million TV viewers tuned in for the USA-Portugal match, but that was eclipsed when the final rolled around, when the showdown between Argentina and Germany totaled 26.5 million TV viewers.

Keeping the ball rolling, so to speak, after the raging viewership success that the World Cup was in the U.S. is vital to soccer's growth.

The combination of Donovan's instrumental involvement at a pivotal crossroads, improved performance against elite, international competition and greater interest amongst the American youth is bound to make the MLS far more relevant.

The All-Star Game can be used as a launching point for all three of those aforementioned factors to push the game into a new, positive direction.

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On Wednesday night, in front of a packed house in Portland, Oregon, and a television audience around the globe, Landon Donovan netted the game-winning goal to lead MLS All-Stars over one of his former clubs, Bayern Munich.

One day later, Donovan officially announced his retirement from professional soccer, effective at the end of this MLS season.

It's a heck of a way to go out.

Donovan officially announced his retirement on his Facebook page Thursday afternoon. In part:

After careful deliberation and after many conversations with those closest to me, I have decided that this will be my last season as a professional soccer player.

I don't write these words lightly and this day carries mixed emotions for me. I am sad to leave a profession that has brought me so much joy. ...

... I feel incredibly blessed and lucky to have played a role in the remarkable growth of MLS and US Soccer during my playing career. And while my career as a player will soon be over, rest assured I will stay connected on many levels to the beautiful game.

It's hard to put into words exactly what Donovan has meant to soccer in this country. He is without question the best American man ever to wear the red, white and blue on a soccer field, and his play for the U.S. national team helped usher in a new generation of talent that, ironically, made his inclusion in this year's World Cup unnecessary.

Still, even without the trip to Brazil, Donovan's legacy as a U.S. international is unparalleled. In 1999 he won the Golden Ball at the U-17 World Cup. Three years later he was named to the All World-Cup team in 2002, and eight years after that he scored one of the most memorable goals in United States soccer history, with a host of enormously impactful moments in between.

Donovan played in more than 150 games for the USMNT and has a record 57 goals in his insanely productive career. He holds the record for most assists for a U.S. player as well, also with 57, and has the most points—171 in total—of any American man in the team's history.

Let's not forget Donovan is the leading goalscorer in MLS history as well, with 138, breaking that record while his U.S. teammates were preparing to embark on their World Cup journey without him this summer.

Donovan is also second in league history in assists, with 124, 11 shy of breaking that record, just within reach with 15 more regular-season games to go for LA Galaxy.

Whether he breaks that record or not, there is little debate that Donovan is one of the best players—if not the absolute best—in MLS history.

And yet none of that even begins to tell the story of how important Donovan has been to American soccer over the last 15 years.

This is a really hard thing to do; to put a man's career into perspective when he has meant this much to more than just a team, or a league, but a sport's entire culture in this country.

It says something about the state of U.S. soccer that Donovan is widely regarded as the best player in our history yet was never looked at as a truly world-class player in his prime.

His stints in the Bundesliga—with Bayer Leverkusen, then on a short loan with Bayern—were ill-fated, and while he was an important piece of multiple teams while on loan at Everton, he never had an impact on European football the way the best American player should.

In a way, for Donovan, that's almost a compliment.

He was unnecessarily loyal to MLS during his career. Two years ago when the writing was on the wall that his career was nearing its end—before the sabbatical last year that looked like the end of his time with both the U.S. national team and MLS—there was talk of Donovan going back to Everton again, to give it one more shot to really test his abilities against some of the best competition in the world.

Instead, Donovan stayed with the Galaxy and won another championship in America. That title may not have meant much around the world—a Europa League spot for an EPL club probably carries more international weight than MLS Cup in America—but it was important for Donovan's team, for his city and for American domestic soccer.

Our best player was playing at home.

Over the last few years, it's clear Donovan wasn't our best player anymore. First Clint Dempsey seemed to pass him in status among USMNT faithful. Recently it's been Michael Bradley who has held the mantle of America's best. Both of those players—along with a host of USMNT talent—are back in MLS.

A lot of that has to do with Donovan.

It goes beyond just the U.S. soccer players, too. It's hard to know if David Beckham would ever have landed in Los Angeles were it not for the cachet Donovan added to that club and the league at a time when most around the world did not have a very good opinion of MLS.

Beckham is credited (rightly so in my mind) with ushering a new culture in MLS, where coming to America is not a cause for derision around the world but celebration of a budding, strong league. But there may have been no Beckham without someone like Donovan.

Even when Beckham was the one grabbing all the front-page photo ops, it was Donovan—never one to hold his opinions to himself—who called out the global icon in defense of MLS. This, from July 2009 in The Guardian via Grant Wahl's book The Beckham Experiment:

Does the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah. If someone's paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you're suspended or not.

Show up and train hard. Show up and play hard. Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn't happened. And I don't think that's too much for us to expect. Especially when he's brought all this on us.

I can't even say he's a good teammate any more.

Later that year, the Galaxy made it to MLS Cup. Two years later (and the year after that), they won the title.

MLS as an organization has never been stronger than it is today. A lot of that is due to the commitment of players and ambassadors like Donovan who would routinely defend the league to anyone, including some of its own star players.

Besides, the guy just doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks of him and has never backed down from expressing his opinion, especially about his (and our) place in the game. Donovan has earned that right over the years, and he has earned the respect of every person who has ever laced up a pair of boots on American soil.

And with that, Donovan's legacy is secure, and his place in the annals of American soccer will never be forgotten. He, perhaps more than anyone in the league's history, truly helped legitimize both MLS and American soccer around the world. The league will keep growing, and talent from around the globe will continue to populate its ranks, thanks to players like Donovan.

In 15 years, will we still remember Donovan as the best American field player of all time? Will we think that in five years?

If U.S. soccer wants to grow, we better hope not, but in finding a new crop of talent, even more respect and appreciation will have to go to someone like Donovan.

How many kids now look at MLS as a viable path to the U.S. national team because of him? How many players in parks around the country have grown up hoping to be the next Landon Donovan? How many of them will end up being even better?

There's no stat sheet that can measure that impact. There's no amount of awards or trophies that can express how important he has been. It's a different world in American soccer after this. Thanks to Donovan, it's a better world too.

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The MLS All-Stars defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 on Wednesday night in Portland. Bradley Wright-Phillips and 14-time all-star Landon Donovan struck for the hosts, Robert Lewandowski registering a goal for Bayern.

It's the second win for the All-Stars in the last three meetings against an international club team, per the official website. Two years ago, the All-Stars beat Chelsea, who were the holders of the 2011-12 Champions League title at that time.

There were claims that the win was a significant one for MLS, but it wasn't. Half of the Chelsea starting X1 weren't regulars. The likes of Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, etc. took part, but they were also in preseason condition.

The same situation occurred with Bayern Munich. It is a great result to defeat one of the top clubs in the world, but it will be forgotten about very quickly, just like the Chelsea match. 

Bayern started backup goalkeeper Tom Starke, with a back three of Javi Martinez, David Alaba and Rafinha. The latter two were regular starters in the 2013-14 season for Bayern, while Martinez was rotated. 

However, manager Pep Guardiola hasn't used the three-man defense until recently. Youngsters such as Pierre Hojbjerg, Sebastian Rode and Gianluca Gaudino were also on the pitch. The German World Cup stars such as Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller didn't come on until the second half.

Fitness, tactics and assessing personnel are the three major components of preseason. The All-Stars were the fitter side, which is a big advantage. Tactically and personnel wise, most of the squad doesn't play with the same team, so it's difficult to get the chemistry, although the same can be said for Bayern.

Keep in mind many of the Bayern starters don't get regular minutes in competitive matches, and it takes a few games for players to get "in sync" with each other. Therefore, both sides were equal on a preseason basis.

Once the full-time whistle blew, Bayern players such as Muller and Neuer walked around the pitch smiling and applauding the supporters. They enjoyed the event itself and losing the game in no way dampened their enthusiasm for the match. For the Germans, it was a night of celebration.

The 2-1 win for MLS is a nice confidence booster, and there are some very talented players in the league. However, defeating 11 players mainly composed of reserves doesn't mean that the New York Red Bulls or Los Angeles Galaxy can compete in the Bundesliga.

It shows that the league is improving, but no one can get carried away with a friendly result. When the Galaxy were crushed 7-0 by Manchester United on July 24, it was an embarrassment.

However, LA bounced back within a few days and have won their last two games against the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers following that loss.

The MLS All-Stars narrowly beating an elite European club's second-string side in a friendly isn't going to improve the level of league performance. It will, however, help to introduce the league to a wider audience.

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Now that the MLS All-Star match is over, in which Major League Soccer’s all-stars defeated Pep Guardiola’s German champions Bayern Munich 2-1, attention in the league will go back to its regular-season matchups and the emerging battles for playoff positions in both the Eastern and Western conferences.

Here are six key battles for this upcoming weekend in MLS.

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Landon Donovan may have been left out of Jurgen Klinsmann's World Cup squad, but he still had time to score against Manuel Neuer this summer.

The LA Galaxy man represented the MLS All-Stars in a showpiece friendly against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon, and his 70th-minute strike, muscled in against his former club, handed the All-Stars a 2-1 win.

Plenty of credit should go to the cross from Diego Valeri, which was pinpoint.

After the match, Bayern Munich head man Pep Guardiola refused to shake hands with Portland Timbers and MLS All-Stars head coach Caleb Porter for what Guardiola believed was overly physical play in the midfield.

[MLS, YouTube]

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Bradley Wright-Phillips struck a brilliant goal to get the MLS All-Stars back on level terms with Bayern Munich in the second half of Wednesday's showcase.

The striker, who left English football for the MLS in 2013, has been in great form for the New York Red Bulls—he leads MLS in goals—and showed it again with a fabulous hit from long range.

After taking a moment to control the shot, he then hit a crisp drive from well outside the box, beating goalkeeper Tom Starke. 

With Landon Donovan scoring later, the MLS went on to wrap up the victory.

[MLS, YouTube]

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Julian Green may have been wearing a Bayern Munich jersey Wednesday night, but it was clear that he was one of the fan favorites in Portland, Oregon, during the Major League Soccer All-Star game.

Green played for the United States during the recent 2014 World Cup and was greeted with boisterous USA chants from the onlookers at Providence Park when he entered the game in the 36th minute. He was the first Bayern substitute to come off the bench, much to the delight of the packed house.

Green didn’t score the goal he was looking for, but he did have one shot on target. It wasn’t the major breaking-out party some hoped to see, but Green still left his mark.

It was no secret why the crowd was behind him from the moment he stepped on the pitch. At 19 years old, Green became the youngest American to score a goal at the World Cup with his dramatic extra-time shot against Belgium. Yes, the United States went on to lose that game, but Green’s raw talent, speed and athleticism had fans excited about the future.

For his part, Green was certainly appreciative of the fan support Wednesday, even if he didn’t find the back of the net:

As for the actual game itself, veteran Landon Donovan—who was controversially left off the U.S. World Cup squad—ironically scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the MLS stars. However, Bayern Munich left a number of critical German World Cup contributors on the bench until the final 10 minutes.

Whether Green saw the field or not Wednesday was of particular interest heading into the match because he did not play against Chivas Guadalajara in Bayern Munich’s first game in the United States in a decade. The team won 1-0 in New Jersey, but Green missed the action thanks to an injury he suffered in practice.

Green was put under the spotlight in Bayern Munich’s trip stateside even though he doesn’t play heavy minutes for the club. However, the 19-year-old didn’t seem fazed in his comments when asked if the attention was too much, via Simon Borg of MLSsoccer.com: “It’s OK. Of course I like it.”

With veteran-like poise and clearly distinguishable raw talent, it is easy to label Green the future of U.S. soccer, even on a night that fans watched the past and present in Donovan and Clint Dempsey on the field.

As mentioned, Green already turned heads against Belgium in the World Cup when his goal almost lifted the Americans to an improbable comeback from the jaws of defeat.

If and when he is granted more opportunities over the course of the next four years to play against the best the world has to offer, Green will only improve by 2018. By then, he will be hitting his prime and likely ready to lead a young Red, White and Blue roster in Russia. 

American fans can hardly wait.

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This year's version of the MLS All-Star Game offered some great sport on the field, but it will be overshadowed by Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola's snub of a post-game handshake from Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter.

Guardiola's anger centers around a reckless challenge from Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso on Bayern's Xherdan Shaqiri. Indeed, the tackle came in with a lot of pace from behind and was extreme for a preseason match.

Alonso was given a yellow card for the offense.

When Porter offered his hand to congratulate his opponent, Guardiola and his staff refused to engage the Portland manager.

Guardiola repeatedly refused to discuss why he wouldn't shake Porter's hand before eventually saying that he "didn't see him", as reported by Goal.com.

Guardiola did mention that he wanted to come back and play the MLS All-Stars again next year in a "revenge" game, to which Porter responded that he was glad that he wouldn't coach the team next season.

#MLSAllStar: Caleb Porter's comment on Guardiola wanting a rematch: "Good! I won't be the coach next year!" @MLS http://t.co/SRsf9tE1e6

— Soccerly (@soccerly) August 7, 2014

ESPN's Alexi Lalas made a fantastic point at the conclusion of the match, that if you're going to get mad about rough play, then don't take the money to show up for a preseason match, something he states in the video provided.

To get mad at Porter was a display to everyone watching that he was displeased.

For those crying foul with regard to sportsmanship, I would actually be sincerely offended if Guardiola was mad that he didn't win, but that's not why he's mad.

Finally, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati took to Twitter and put a happy ending to this story.

All good with Pep Guardiola and Caleb Porter. With them for nice handshake outside the locker room after the game. #MLSAllStar

That's good, especially for Porter who looked up to Guardiola as a huge inspiration.

So in the end, the whole thing functioned as a great storyline element for next year's game, as well as words that may transpire between Porter and Guardiola or the American and German press in general.

There's only one thing that's certain tonight: The MLS won the All-Star Game, beating European giants Bayern Munich.

Follow Dan Irwin on Twitter @irwinsports or on Facebook.

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The MLS has shown immense growth as a league over the last several years, and a 2-1 victory for their All-Stars over powerhouse Bayern Munich will only help that progression. 

Prior to the match, Portland Timbers and MLS All-Star head coach Caleb Porter discussed the importance of the contest, via Fox Sports' Kyle McCarthy:

It’s a showcase for the league. Hopefully, we can make it a competitive game and try to make it exciting. We have a lot of very good attacking and defensive players, but it wouldn’t do these players justice to sit back all game. We’re going to attack and make it an exciting game.

They were more than competitive. The MLS erased an early wonder goal from Robert Lewandowski with second-half goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Landon Donovan, earning the win in front of a raucous crowd at Providence Park in Portland. 

Donovan was awarded the MVP after his game-winner. 

Afterward, emotions ran high. Bayern manager Pep Guardiola refused to shake Porter's hand, presumably as a result of a handful of yellow cards from the MLS side:

Much like Roma during last year's MLS All-Star Game, it didn't take Bayern Munich long to find the back of the net. 

In the eighth minute, Lewandowski received a pass, took a sublime first touch to free himself for a split second at the top of the box and fired in a heat-seeking missile over Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando. Opta Sports' Ben Jata provided a look at the cracker of a goal:

It's safe to say Guardiola is going to enjoy his new toy, who led the Bundesliga in goals with Borussia Dortmund last season and looks to be in fine form already. 

Of course, as the always hilarious Men in Blazers joked, the MLS is going to remember this one:

The rest of the first half was wide open.

Bayern had a number of great chances, but Rimando did his best impression of Tim Howard vs. Belgium, making a slew of terrific saves to keep his side close. The All-Stars were plenty effective moving forward themselves, as Thierry Henry pulled all the strings in the middle and World Cup star DeAndre Yedlin made something positive happen every time he touched the ball on the right sideline. 

Dan Dickinson of Gothamist.com summarized the first half for the All-Stars: 

To start the second half, Porter replaced every member of the starting XI except for Henry, who was pulled in the 48th minute in order to receive the standing ovation he deserved. He was replaced, appropriately, by another legend: Landon Donovan. 

Jata provided a look at the moment:

It's tough to top that kind of moment, but Wright-Phillips did his best just minutes later. The Red Bulls star, who leads the MLS by far with 18 goals, continued his red-hot play with a laser into the top corner of the goal. 

Here's a look, courtesy of Jata:

After a bit of a stagnant period, it was none other than Donovan to put the MLS side in front in the 70th minute. The former Bayern Munich loanee wrangled a beautiful ball over the top from hometown midfielder Diego Valeri and squeezed one past Manuel Neuer, who had just entered. 

ESPN Stats & Info noted the historical significance of the go-ahead goal:

With 10 minutes left, Guardiola turned to his bench, bringing in four players who would be insulted by the term "super sub": World Cup champions Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze. Moments later, Netherlands speedster Arjen Robben trotted on. 

The unbelievable reinforcements, who have probably rightfully done more partying than practicing since Brazil, weren't enough to earn Bayern the equalizer. 

Say what you want about friendlies and all-star games or the strength of the German squad, but this is an impressive victory from the MLS stars, who didn't back down to one of the most dominant clubs in Europe. 

And it's yet another positive sign for the direction of the improving North American league. 

Top Grades

Thierry Henry, MLS: A

Everyone already knew it, but Henry provided yet another reminder that even at 36, he can still play a little bit. 

The legendary Frenchman seemed to be playing in second gear, but he still did pretty much whatever he wanted in the center of the pitch. He linked up well with Clint Dempsey, delivered multiple pinpoint passes into the danger area and nearly scored on a crafty volley from outside the box. 

This picture probably sums up his performance:

Even in an All-Star Game when he's on the back end of his marvelous career, Henry is an absolute joy to watch. 

Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: A-

The goal was pure beauty, and for the rest of the first half, he continued to make plays in the attacking half. 

Grantland's Spike Friedman explained what his performance could signal for Bayern moving forward:

As if Guardiola's squad needs any more weapons.  

Nick Rimando, MLS: A-

Players like Wright-Phillips, Donovan and Valeri deserve credit for putting the MLS in front in the second half, but they wouldn't have been close enough to do that if not for Rimando in the first half. 

After allowing the early goal, he settled in and withstood a Bayern onslaught. He made a couple point-blank saves and kept the scoreline close when it easily could have turned into a blowout. 

The MLS Twitter feed provided a visual look at his wonderful performance:

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