New York City FC defeated Orlando City 5-3 over the weekend in a showdown that saw seven second-half goals.

The major storyline was the debut of 36-year-old Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who was warmly greeted by fans in Yankee Stadium when he took to the field as a substitute in the second half of the game.

Fans in the stands could be heard shouting "We want Pirlo!" before the former Juventus star and former World Cup champion joined his teammates on the field.

"I'm very happy about this debut, I'm very excited for this victory," Pirlo said after the match, speaking in Italian through a translator. "It was great because [the fans] wanted me to play. When I got on the pitch it was great to hear the great applause. It was every emotional and I really appreciated it."

New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis was quoted in Sports Illustrated talking about Pirlo: "Special, special player. A guy that sees passes that most of us just don't. "He made a big difference for us, and that's his first game after four days of training with the team. We hope for ever better going forward."

For the longest time, soccer was the most popular sport in the world but America, for the most part, showed no signs of paying too much attention. However, things have changed with a recent World Cup run by the men's national team and a World Cup championship victory by the women's national team earlier this month.

Now that Major League Soccer (MLS) is trying to catch a foothold in the United States' burgeoning soccer-viewing market, there has been a trend of aging foreign stars, most of them past their prime, signing lucrative million-dollar deals with MLS teams. It started with David Beckham signing to LA Galaxy in 2007, but Kaka going to Orlando City SC, Didier Drogba to Montreal Impact, and David Villa and Frank Lampard signing to New York City FC are some recent examples.

Whether MLS will catch on to become mainstream viewing in America remains to be seen, but one thing can be said for sure: there are many fans who are willing to, and enjoy, watching the domestic league matches.