Sign of summer #1: It’s June.
Sign of summer #2: On Wednesday, MLS All-Star Game fan voting opened, with 8 players from each club made available for selection.
Though the long-awaited match against Bayern Munich isn’t until August 6 (the latest All-Star Game ever), I thought that for this week’s column I would pick through some faces that we could see representing our league two months from now.
My eleven aren’t perfect. The eleven that fans vote for won’t be either. Not even Caleb Porter, coach of this year’s All-Stars, will be able to put out a perfect side. There is too much depth these days. Enough of a talent pool probably exists for a return to an East vs West All-Star Game format.
But that’s an argument for another time. So instead, here is who I am arguing for fans to vote for up until the polls close on July 11.
Goalkeeper:
Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake
I find it pretty ridiculous how every team’s starting goalkeeper was one of the eight players put on the All-Star Ballot. Take my native Canada for example. Toronto’s starting goalkeeper (Julio Cesar) may not be back after captaining Brazil at the World Cup. Vancouver’s goalkeeper (David Ousted) has been consistently bad and has a plethora of All-Star worthy players in front of him. Montreal’s goalkeeper (Troy Perkins) has been just as bad but has let his even worse teammates take the limelight.
But then there is Nick Rimando. One of the best goalkeepers MLS has ever had. He won’t play a minute in Brazil, but surely he will at least play the first 45 in Portland. Rimando has looked like a man on a mission this season as he looks to win his first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year Award. His usual competitors have all fallen flat on their faces. The guy who in my belief has one of the better chances at beating him in the vote isn’t on the ballot. Jeff Attinella, who before this weekend had been sensational, is Rimando’s backup.
To summarize, this vote could get lopsided quickly.
Defenders:
Bobby Boswell, D.C. United
Andrew Farrell, New England Revolution
Chad Marshall, Seattle Sounders
Sadly, I don’t expect any of these three to get in via fan voting. But if anyone deserves to disrupt the favoured trio of Omar Gonzalez, DeAndre Yedlin, and Matt Besler/Aurelien Collin, it is the double L’s.
While teammate Jose Goncalves tried holding out for more money, Andrew Farrell picked up where he left off in his rookie season. The Revolution defence made leaps and bounds in 2013 and only appears to be getting better as the 22-year-old Farrell gains more experience. As far as experience goes, few defenders in MLS have more than Boswell and Marshall. Between them, they have won three Defender of the Year Awards and have made over 500 league appearances. Having been usurped in recent years has not fazed them; both joined new clubs this offseason and re-established themselves as the best in the league. Their unmatched organizational skills will be relied on against a dangerous Bayern Munich attack.
Midfielders:
Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders
Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution
Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake
Pedro Morales, Vancouver Whitecaps
Now the fun really begins. The competition for a place in the All-Star is far greater than the fight on the backline.
One of the tricky elements of voting in this catergory is figuring out whether some of these guys really are midfielders (Dempsey, Fagundez). But I’m going with what the league says they are. And all I can say is that this foursome has a bit of everything.
Javier Morales continues to push aside Father Time and has become more important to Real Salt Lake than ever before. My broken record isn’t fixed yet; Pedro Morales still amazes me with his passing, vision, and ability to open up matches with a single touch. Dempsey is the big name (because you knew that at some point one of those would show up here) and has finally begun playing like one again. His April may have been the greatest month of any player in league history. And to round out the midfield four, I’m choosing Diego Fagundez. I’d be just as happy with Maurice Edu, Graham Zusi, or even teammate Lee Nguyen. But I’ll take my chances with the guy who just graduated high school.
The end result here? A midfield loaded with scorers in Diego and Deuce and setup men in the Morales’. Hopefully it will be a recipe for a quality counterattack which, as Real Madrid showed us, is Bayern’s worst nightmare.
Forwards:
Jermain Defoe, Toronto FC
Dom Dwyer, Sporting Kansas City
Robbie Keane, Los Angeles Galaxy
The intense competition continues.
During my first glance through the list of forwards up for selection, I counted ten that in my opinion would be worthy of selection. And that isn’t including Landon Donovan, who always finds himself on these things and will do so again this year through sympathy votes.
Last season, I considered Sporting KC like our version of FC Barcelona: a team that could pass really well but sometimes lacked the finishing touch. Dom Dwyer has proven me completely wrong this year. Currently second in the Golden Boot race, he continues to dominate like he did on loan in Orlando. Keane wins the job of playmaking forward over Obafemi Martins and Federico Higuain as he carries his side on his back. Defoe has lived up to his bloody big paycheque and along with Keane adds some star power up front.
That’s all for this week everyone. Disagree with my All-Star selections? Think we can beat Bayern Munich? Feel free to leave your comments. Catch you next Monday!
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