Picking the Major League Soccer All-Star Team is far from an exact science. For me, it’s a bit of a balancing act. First off, it’s very much a exhibition game, so you need to have some players on the team you just want to simply see play. Since MLS is playing against a real team, though, you’d like for the game to be competitive, so you need to have a group of players that are reasonably complementary. Finally, all-star games need to have some element of reward for a season well played.
My MLS All-Star Ballot: Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan, Four FC Dallas Players Among Picks
Kevin Hartman, Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry headline my picks for the July 27 encounter with Manchester United.
My ballot, I think, reflects all three of those things. No player is on here simply for one reason, but I won’t pretend that all of them were here because they were simply the best players at their position. I actually think the starting lineup I constructed would at least stand a decent chance of scoring a few goals and keeping the match interesting. Feel free to share your own thoughts:
Here is my starting lineup (I went with a 3-4-3):
GK: Kevin Hartman - Not necessarily a great save percentage (68), but he has recovered from a slow start. He's also leading the league in shutouts with seven
DF: George John, Drew Moor and Alain Rochat - I'm a big fan of John's a feel like the FC Dallas defense deserves to be well represented. Moor has quietly been one of the more dependable defenders in the league. Rochat is more of a "want to watch this guy play" pick as I love his game, even if his numbers don't scream All-Star.
MF: Fabian Castillo, Brad Davis, Jack Jewsbury and Brek Shea - Is four FCD players too many? Probably, but I love this outside midfield tandem and pairing them with two great set-piece specialists like Brad Davis and Jack Jewsbury probably gives the MLS All-Stars the best chance to compete with the likes of Manchester United.
FW: Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry and Chris Wondolowski - For all the criticism he's received, Henry might just be the best pure score in MLS right now. Whenever healthy, he's proved very dangerous. Hooking him up with a hard worker like Wondolowski and a class player like Donovan gives this team a real chance to at least keep it respectable.
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