MLS All-Star 2008

2008 Pepsi Major League Soccer All-Star Game
Event MLS All-Stars
MLS All-Stars West Ham United
3 2
Date July 24, 2008
Venue BMO Field
Toronto, Ontario
Man of the Match Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire)
Attendance 20,844
Weather Partly cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
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The 2008 Pepsi Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th consecutive MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced West Ham United of the English Premier League.[1] The game was played on July 24, 2008, with the MLS winning 3–2. New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol coached the All-Stars.[2] The motto for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game is "Major League Soccer Takes on the World." Chicago Fire's Cuauhtémoc Blanco was named MVP.[3]

Contents

Toronto FC named host

MLS Commissioner Don Garber awarded the 2008 All-Star Game to Toronto, Ontario in 2007 on the eve of MLS All-Star 2007. The game was played in the new soccer-specific stadium, BMO Field and was the first MLS All-Star Game held in Canada. BMO Field is home to the MLS' 13th franchise, Toronto FC.[4]

“ Toronto's response to the arrival of MLS has been nothing short of extraordinary and that is a credit to the excellent leadership of MLSE. Clearly, BMO Field will provide a vibrant and enthusiastic setting for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game. We are excited to partner with MLSE and the passionate soccer fans in Toronto to hosting this memorable display of the world's game. ”

—Don Garber, [5]

West Ham United

Main article: West Ham United F.C.

On April 4, 2008, the Major League Soccer website announced that Premier League club West Ham United would be the fifth international opponent for the marquee event. Founded in 1895, the east London club was originally called Thames Ironworks FC but switched to West Ham United five years later and has been playing at the Boleyn Ground since 1904. West Ham has forged a reputation of cultivating some of the world's top players, such as Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, and Joe Cole, giving rise to its frequent reference as The Academy of Football.[6]

MLS All-Stars

Voting

Major League Soccer released an official ballot to decide the players called to represent the league in the All-Star game. A four-tier voting system determined the First XI players selected for the game. The online fan balloting program comprised 25% of the total vote, with coaches and general managers (25%), players (25%), and media (25%) combining for the remaining 75% percent of the vote. The combined vote of the four groups determined the MLS First XI.[7]

2008 All-Star Game Squads

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer and Toronto FC, hosts of the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game, unveiled the MLS All-Star First XI in a press conference aired live exclusively on MLSnet.com from BMO Field on Thursday, July 10 at 11 am ET.[8] In addition to the First XI, Commissioner Don Garber picked two more players for the All-Star team, and coach Steve Nicol received five picks on July 15, 2008.[9]

After the U.S. U-23 Olympic Team roster was announced, three additional picks were awarded to Steve Nicol on Thursday, July 17 to replace Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan, and Robbie Rogers. The additions included 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Jonathan Bornstein, veteran Steve Ralston, and Colombian Juan Toja, who scored a goal in last year's All-Star Game.[10]

As of July 19, 2008. Players in bold denotes First XI status.[11] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Matt Reis
2 DF Frankie Hejduk
5 MF Christian Gómez ~
7 MF Steve Ralston ~[10]
8 MF Juan Toja ~[10]
9 FW Juan Pablo Ángel ~
10 FW Landon Donovan
11 DF Jim Brennan ~
12 DF Jimmy Conrad
13 DF Jonathan Bornstein ~[10]
14 MF Dwayne De Rosario †
17 FW Edson Buddle †
18 GK Pat Onstad ~
21 MF Shalrie Joseph
No. Position Player
23 MF David Beckham
25 MF Pablo Mastroeni ~
33 FW Kenny Cooper
70 MF Cuauhtémoc Blanco
-- FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto ♦
-- GK Jon Busch ♦
-- FW Brian Ching ♦
-- MF Maurice Edu ♦
-- FW Luciano Emilio ♦
-- MF Sacha Kljestan ♦
-- DF Michael Parkhurst ♦
-- MF Robbie Rogers ♦
-- DF Gonzalo Segares ♦
-- MF Bakary Soumare ♦

~ – Players selected by coach

† – "Commissioner's Picks"

♦ – Inactive

West Ham United

As of May 13, 2008.[12] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Robert Green
2 DF Lucas Neill (captain)
3 DF George McCartney
4 DF Daniel Gabbidon
5 DF Anton Ferdinand
6 DF Matthew Upson
7 MF Fredrik Ljungberg
8 MF Scott Parker
9 FW Dean Ashton
10 FW Craig Bellamy
11 MF Matthew Etherington
12 FW Carlton Cole
14 DF John Paintsil
16 MF Mark Noble
17 MF Hayden Mullins
18 DF Jonathan Spector
No. Position Player
19 DF James Collins
20 MF Julien Faubert
21 GK Richard Wright
22 MF Tony Stokes
23 GK James Walker
25 FW Bobby Zamora
26 MF Nigel Quashie
27 DF Calum Davenport
28 MF Kyel Reid
29 MF Lee Bowyer
30 DF James Tomkins
32 MF Kieron Dyer
34 MF Luís Boa Morte
35 DF Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
39 MF Jack Collison
40 FW Freddie Sears

Match details

July 24, 2008
19:25 EDT
 MLS All-Stars / 3–2 West Ham United BMO Field, Toronto
Attendance: 20,844
Referee: Mauricio Navarro (Canada)
Gómez  27'
Blanco  45'
De Rosario  70' (pen.)		 (Recap) Ashton  26',  67'
MLS
All-Stars
West Ham
United
MLS ALL-STARS:
GK 1 Matt Reis 70'
DF 2 Frankie Hejduk 56' 88'
DF 12 Jimmy Conrad (c) 82'
DF 13 Jonathan Bornstein 52' 88'
MF 5 Christian Gómez 59'
MF 8 Juan Toja 59'
MF 21 Shalrie Joseph
MF 23 David Beckham
MF 25 Pablo Mastroeni
FW 33 Kenny Cooper 46'
FW 70 Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Substitutes:
GK 18 Pat Onstad 70'
DF 11 Jim Brennan 59'
MF 7 Steve Ralston 88'
MF 14 Dwayne De Rosario 59'
FW 9 Juan Pablo Ángel 46'
FW 10 Landon Donovan 46'
FW 17 Edson Buddle 88'
Manager:
Steve Nicol
WEST HAM UNITED:
GK 1 Robert Green
DF 2 Lucas Neill (c)
DF 5 Anton Ferdinand
DF 27 Calum Davenport
DF 40 Joe Widdowson
MF 8 Scott Parker 45+1'
MF 11 Matthew Etherington 46'
MF 17 Hayden Mullins 65'
MF 20 Julien Faubert 75'
FW 9 Dean Ashton 80'
FW 12 Carlton Cole 90+1'
Substitutes:
GK 23 James Walker
DF 45 Jordan Spence
MF 13 Luís Boa Morte 46'
MF 22 Tony Stokes 90+1'
MF 28 Kyel Reid 80'
MF 31 Jack Collison 92'
MF 46 Junior Stanislas 75'
Manager:
Alan Curbishley

Man of the Match:
Cuauhtémoc Blanco[3]

Assistant referees:
Héctor Vergara
Greg Barkey
Fourth official:
Mark Geiger

Notes

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Morgan (March 13, 2008). "West Ham to face MLS all-stars". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/345212. Retrieved March 13, 2008. 
  2. ^ "New England's Nicol to coach All Stars". Major League Soccer. June 28, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080804040820/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080628&content_id=168985&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved June 29, 2008. 
  3. ^ a b "Blanco leads MLS past West Ham". mlsnet.com. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080725225506/http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/all_star/2008/article.jsp?ymd=20080724&content_id=175476&vkey=allstar2008&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 26, 2008. 
  4. ^ BMO Field
  5. ^ "Toronto will host 2008 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game". Major League Soccer. July 18, 2007. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070718&content_id=106335&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. 
  6. ^ "MLS All-Stars to face West Ham United". Major League Soccer. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080710064620/http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/all_star/2008/article.jsp?ymd=20080403&content_id=147419&vkey=allstar2008&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 3, 2008. 
  7. ^ "2008 MLSNET.COM All-Star Ballot". Major League Soccer. 2008. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080517102157/http://www.mlsnet.com/mls/events/all_star/2008/ballot/register.jsp. Retrieved May 27, 2008. 
  8. ^ "MLS All-Star First XI to be announced July 10". Major League Soccer. July 3, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080804044048/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080703&content_id=170118&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 3, 2008. 
  9. ^ "MLS Announces All-Star Roster". Major League Soccer. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080718060131/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080715&content_id=172831&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
  10. ^ a b c d "Three added to All-Star roster". Major League Soccer. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080722023014/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080717&content_id=173407&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 19, 2008. 
  11. ^ "MLS All-Star First XI announced". Major League Soccer. July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080713014358/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080710&content_id=171689&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved July 10, 2008. 
  12. ^ "West Ham United Player Profiles". WHUFC.com. 2008. http://www.whufc.com/page/FirstTeamProfiles/0,,12562,00.html. Retrieved January 12, 2008. 
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