Steve Nash’s annual “Showdown in Chinatown” is becoming a perennial summer tradition in New York City, as the charity soccer match featuring NBA and international soccer stars drew quite a crowd on a beautiful evening in Lower Manhattan. Although notable alumni such as Salmon Kalou and Thierry Henry have (or at least might have) taken to the international stage in South Africa, a few old hands joined Nash. Claudia Reyna and Tony Parker as were included among Nash’s regular-season teammates Raja Bell and Jared Dudley, not to mention rising Italian-American star Giuseppe Rossi. However, it was the infamous Nate Robinson, a last-minute addition to the roster who stole the show, playing to the crowd and celebrating a few goals with his over-the-top brand of showmanship. Of course, Nate’s enthusiasm was in keeping with the spirit of the friendly match: certainly not World Cup caliber play by any means, but definitely reflective of soccer’s growing popularity in the national consciousness.

In fact, this year’s Showdown occurred on the same day as a major victory by the U.S. National Team, though Wednesday’ epic stoppage-time victory over Algeria was arguably more signifcant than Donovan & co.’s incredible upset over Spain, the same day of last year’s Showdown last summer. Coincidence? Only time will tell.

Photography: Stephen Wordie

Following the U.S. victory over Spain yesterday afternoon, Steve Nash’s 2nd Annual Showdown in Chinatown went down in New York’s Lower East Side last night. The free charity soccer match, featuring NBA stars and international soccer greats, created quite a buzz last year and was further publicized by a viral video this year. Despite the intermittent downpour, a very respectable crowd turned up to see the likes of Nash, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Grant Hill, Thierry Henry, Claudio Reyna, Adrian Mutu, Javier Zanetti, Salomon Kalou, Edgar Davids, and several other soccer stars in what promised to be an entertaining matchup between the eight-man sides (Nash and Hill on one team, Parker and Bosh on the other; soccer stars split as well).

Thankfully, the weather remained clear for the duration of the match and the intimate yet accessible outdoor venue ensured that everyone had a good time. The seasoned footballers played to the crowd, showboating in the spirit of streetball, while the NBA stars got a healthy share of touches as well. Nash and Parker certainly held their own, but it was Bosh who turned out to be the fan favorite, if only because he seemed completely out of his element– spectators catcalled as he faced off with Hill and invited him to join the Knicks for the coming NBA season.

NYPost.com posted their video coverage on Youtube, including a handful of Bosh highlights. Expect more footage to go online shortly, as well as a special on Fox Soccer Channel.

Nash is also bringing his A-game to the inaugural Showdown in Vancouver on September 19th. For a flashback to last year’s inaugural event, check out the video done by 13THWITNESS here.

Words/Photography: Raymond Hu