BRIDGEVIEW, ILL - Major League Soccer announced today that Chicago's Cuauhtémoc Blanco has been chosen to the league's All-Star First XI that will take on English Premier League club West Ham United on July 24 at BMO Field in Toronto (6 p.m. CT, ESPN, Telefutura and CBC Sports).
The First XI received the most votes at their respective positions from 4 groups - fans, players, media and coaches/general managers. Blanco received the 3rd-highest total votes behind only a pair of Los Angeles Galaxy players - Landon Donovan and David Beckham.
Besides these 3 players, the remainder of the All-Star First XI is as follows Matt Reis (New England), Shalrie Joseph (New England), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Michael Parkhurst (New England) and Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas).
Chicago's Jon Busch finished 2nd among the goalkeepers while Bakary Soumare and Gonzalo Segares finished 4th and 5th in voting for defenders.
The First XI is reflective of Major League Soccer's diverse player pool. Ranging in age from 21 (Robbie Rogers) to 35 (Cuauhtémoc Blanco), this group brings an array of experience both domestically and abroad. Three players born outside of the United States and Canada are among the 11, each having captained their respective country's national team - Beckham (102 caps with England), Blanco (97 caps with Mexico), and Joseph (Grenada).
Online fan balloting comprising 25 percent of the combined First XI vote, with MLS coaches and GMs (25 percent), media (25 percent), and players (25 percent) accounting for the remainder. Players and coaches/general managers could not register votes for players on their own teams. A chart below shows 20 of the top vote-getters, with the percentage of ballots within each voting group for each player.
On July 15, New England head coach Steve Nicol, who is the All-Star head coach, and his staff will select 5 additional All-Stars, who will join 2 Commissioner selections to complete 18-man game-day MLS roster. Nicol earned the honor of coaching the MLS side by leading his team to the highest points per game average in the League through games on June 29.
The First XI is not necessarily the starting lineup. Nicol will select the starters based on player availability and tactical considerations. If First XI selections are unavailable due to injury, international duty or other commitments, Nicol will select alternates for the game day roster, but all First XI players are All-Stars. The First XI selections are below:
Blanco and the Fire return to MLS action Saturday, July 12, at TOYOTA PARK where the Fire will face Toronto FC (7:30 p.m. CT, FSC/FSE). Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, at the TOYOTA PARK Box Office, www.chicago-fire.com or by calling 888.MLS-FIRE.
