2007 MLS All-Star Game
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| Event | MLS All-Stars | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 19 July 2007 | ||||||
| Venue | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Juan Pablo Ángel (New York Red Bulls) | ||||||
| Referee |
Baldomero Toledo David Bragg Jose Corro Michael Kennedy | ||||||
| Attendance | 18,661 | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy, 85 °F | ||||||
The 2007 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 12th consecutive Major League Soccer All-Star Game. The 2007 MLS All-Star Game took place on 19 July 2007 between the 2007 MLS All-Stars and Celtic.
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the new home stadium of the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City, CO, hosted the 2007 Sierra Mist All-Star Game.[1] This was the first time that Dick's Sporting Goods Park hosted the MLS All-Star game.
David Beckham made an appearance and participated in a special introduction to the fans on hand as well as in a halftime ESPN interview, and watched the game from the Commissioner's Box.
The MLS All-Stars defeated Celtic 2–0, giving them a perfect 4–0 record against international competition.
Background
Major League Soccer announced on Thursday, 25 January 2007 that Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the new home of the Colorado Rapids located just outside of downtown Denver, will host the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on 19 July, pitting Scottish club Celtic FC against the best from MLS. MLS announced the news during a press conference at The Pinnacle Club in the Grand Hyatt featuring MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis and Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush. “We are thrilled to welcome Celtic, one of the world’s most popular teams, for a quality match against the best of MLS at our newest soccer cathedral, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “We look forward to an exciting evening in this tremendous new soccer-specific venue.”
A week before the 2007 All-Star game the ColoradoRapids.com posted a news release on their website stating that less than 1,000 tickets remained for the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on 19 July at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Tickets for the All-Star Game went on sale to the public Saturday, 5 May 2007 at 10:00 am MT.
Celtic
Glasgow-based Celtic captured their 41st Scottish championship in April (2007), and featured such high-profile players as Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc, Scottish defenders Steven Pressley and Stephen McManus, Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen and Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Celtic has one of the most dedicated and widespread fan bases in all of club football, and were the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967. Celtic had a long and historic rivalry with fellow Glaswegian club Rangers, the two being known as the Old Firm.
2007 All-Star Game Rosters
Major League Soccer
Players in bold denotes First XI status.[2]
- Head Coach: Steve Nicol (New England Revolution)
~ – Players selected by coach
† – "Commissioner's Picks"[3]
Celtic FC
| Pos. | Player |
|---|---|
| GK |  Artur Boruc |
| D |  Lee Naylor |
| D |  Mark Wilson |
| D | Stephen McManus |
| D | John Kennedy |
| M | Scott Brown |
| M |  Massimo Donati |
| M |  Aiden McGeady |
| M |  Teddy Bjarnason |
| F |  Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink |
| F |  Scott McDonald |
All-Star Selections By Club
| Club | # Selections |
|---|---|
| New England Revolution | 5 |
| Houston Dynamo | 4 |
| Toronto FC | 4 |
| New York Red Bulls | 3 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 3 |
| Chivas USA | 2 |
| D.C. United | 2 |
| Real Salt Lake | 2 |
| Columbus Crew | 2 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 2 |
| FC Dallas | 1 |
| Colorado Rapids | 1 |
| Chicago Fire | 1 |
Kits
          MLS All-Stars
|
   Celtic
|
Trivia
- The 2007 MLS All-Star Game is the first MLS All-Star event hosted in Colorado.
- This was the fourth time that the league’s best players faced international competition in the Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game.
- Sierra Mist was the title sponsor of the MLS All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive year.
- Kyle Beckerman was selected as an All-Star before appearing for Real Salt Lake. During the first half of the 2007 season, he was traded from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for Mehdi Ballouchy.
- Shalrie Joseph was linked to a transfer to Celtic FC during the close of the 2006 MLS season, but MLS repeatedly turned down offers for Joseph.
- The game's two goals came from Juan Carlos Toja and Juan Pablo Ángel, two Colombians at their first ever MLS All-Star match.
- Ronald Waterreus previously played for Celtic's arch-rivals Rangers F.C.
- The 2 picks of Don Garber were Cobi Jones and Eddie Pope as they had announced their retirement at the beginning of the season.
Notes
- ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/rapids/ci_5079940
- ↑ Halpin, Jason (2007-07-05). "Hot strikers lead MLS All-Star First XI". Archived from the original on 2010-01-19.
- ↑ "Toronto FC's O'Brien earns all-star call". Globe and Mail. 2007-07-10.
External links
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