Bayern Munich vs. MLS All Star Game Match: Pep Guardiola Refuses to Shake Hands After Bayern Munich’s Loss
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola snubbed the traditional handshake after his club absorbed a 2-1 loss during the Major League Soccer All-Star Game on Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon.
Guardiola refused to shake MLS coach Caleb Porter's hand after the match as reports indicated that the Bayern Munich boss was upset with a series of dangerous tackles in the second half of the match.
MLS All-Stars Will Johnson and Osvaldo Alonso were both booked for their poor tackles in the second half. The Bayern Munich coaching staff reportedly believed that such challenges were unnecessary for an All-Star Game.
During the post-game press conference, Guardiola tried to play down the incident, saying that he was not upset with the opposing team's coaching staff.
"I'm not talking here about my colleagues," Guardiola said via Sports Illustrated. "We came here to respect football for the fans, respect our opponents. We came here with seven players [who] traveled 12 hours just to play 15 minutes -- to respect this game, respect Portland, respect MLS. We did it."
When asked why he did not accept the handshake Porter offered after the match, Guardiola pointed out that he did not see his counterpart despite replays showing that he was looking at Porter after the final whistle sounded.
"I didn't see him," said Guardiola, whose coaching staff also refused to shake Porter's hand. "We tried to respect the rules of the game. I appreciate the effort of my players."
Porter also dismissed the incident, refusing to give a deeper meaning to Guardiola's action.
"That's such a small part of tonight," Porter said of the incident. "Coaches get heated. Certainly, you guys have seen me in games. There was so much good to talk about tonight during the game that for me, there's no reason to make that a story."
MLS star Landon Donovan expressed disappointment with the way things turned out after the match, but the veteran forward insisted that the incident is not enough to overshadow their impressive win against the reigning German Bundesliga champions.
Robert Lewandowski put Bayern Munich ahead in the eighth minute of the match, but Bradley Wright-Phillips and Donovan scored one goal apiece in the second half to help the MLS All-Stars score a come-from-behind win.
"Some of the stuff at the end is unfortunate it gets blown out of proportion like that," Donovan said via ESPN FC. "But the guys are playing hard and they are proud of this league and they want to win the game."
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