World Football Challenge - Chelsea v Milan

In the 71st minutes, Ronaldinho picked up the ball and walked to take his corner kick. Spontaneously, the red-and-black clad fans stood in ovation to their new hero. This wasn’t Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. It was M&T Stadium, an American football stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. It was the World Football Challenge (WFC).

This was the fourth match of the WFC round-robin, which included A.C. Milan, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Club America meeting in matches in six different U.S. cities from coast-to-coast.

While the WFC has its detractors (and watching the lack of intensity and halfhearted form, they may have a point), the 71,203 didn’t seem to care. While behaving a little bit too much like Americans watching soccer rather than football fans, they seemed in awe of the moment, with the bulbs popping from kick off until the final whistle, watching the global stars show off their skills on a U.S. pitch.

While there was a smattering of local MLS kits in the crowd, this was a stadium filled with thousands of Rossoneri kits. But the red-and-black was dwarfed by The Blues supporters, who had plenty to cheer about at the 7th minute when Didier Drogba drove a left-to-right bender from 35 feet out and into the upper left corner.

Milan vs Chelsea, World Football Challenge Baltimore, view from the upper deck

It continued throughout the match as the Americans delighted in the skill of their international heroes. The Rossoneri supporters exploded – and promptly traded taunts with The Blues fans – when the veteran Clarence Seedorf launched a shot off of the diving Peter Cech’s finger and into the net at the 38th minute. The entire stadium stood on its feet during a frantic stretch of three consecutive shots at the 68th minute.  The final shot was off the foot of the man of match, Yuri Zhirkov, who slid by the ball by Zeljko Kalac. And it seemed like everyone in the stadium – perhaps in the entire state of Maryland – moaned when hometown hero and new Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu watched his header slip just wide right and essentially seal the win for Chelsea, 2-1. The real story was the capacity crowd in the aptly nicknamed Charm City.

“It is very exciting … More supporters for Chelsea, but that’s OK,” new Rossoneri manager Leonardo cracked. “The people here know their soccer and they want their soccer. They know all about us.”

And the supporters knew them everywhere they went.  The six matches averaged 68,687, including drawing 57,229 in the new mega-stadium in Dallas, TX only hours after the Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico.

Not surprisingly, this led to the usual declaration that football had finally arrived in the States. Ranging from claims that America would replace Asia as the hot new market to cries that the U.S. should host the 2018 World Cup to the standard newspaper article (this time from the New York Times) asking “Are Americans Becoming Soccer Fans?”

You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t join the chorus of the cliché. However, it can safely be said that for one night in Baltimore, premier international football looked like it belonged here.

Look for the second of Scott T. Shepherd's articles on the World Football Challenge in Baltimore next week on Albion Road.