Frankie Hejduk brings a lot to the MLS All-Stars -- his experience and his tremendous work ethic up and down the right flank in particular.
But the U.S. international defender also brings something unique to his teammates: first-hand knowledge of Thursday night's opponent, which he shared before Wednesday's training session at BMO Field.
While he didn't play in Sunday's friendly at Crew Stadium, Hejduk did take note of a few things from West Ham United's 3-1 victory against Columbus.
"I told the guys today that they came to play," Hejduk said. "I thought in Columbus it was very hot and I thought they'd get tired after 20 minutes, but they battled and fought the entire 90 minutes. Even though it was hot, I didn't notice any of them getting tired and none of them were out there to fool around. They were all out there battling and fighting and trying to win the game. That's how it's going to be tomorrow also."
And the same can be said for the MLS All-Stars, according to Hejduk.
"We all take this game serious," he said. "We're not just out there for a jog about. We're out to win the game. As a professional you want to compete against the highest level as much as you can. With the pool of players we have out there tomorrow, there's a lot of talent there and all of us want to do well."
Hejduk, who will turn 34 on Aug. 5, is playing in his sixth MLS All-Star Game and third where the best of MLS takes on a team from abroad.
"You kind of take them for granted a bit when you're younger, but now as you get older you don't know when it's going to be your last one," Hejduk said. "You want to do as well as you can in every one of these and take them as serious as possible. With the talent out there this year, it's getting better and better every year. It's an honor playing with these guys."
That sentiment was shared by many of the MLS All-Stars, including New England Revolution defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph.
"It gets better every year," said Joseph, who was an All-Star selection for the fifth time. "You never know how many times you're going to be here so you just have to enjoy it. The attitude is relaxed and guys want to have fun. It's an all-star game, but at the end of the day we definitely want to win."
And even though Joseph has been there and done that when it comes to the MLS All-Star Game, he still gets excited when he get to train with the best players in the league.
"You play against them week in and week out and you finally get an opportunity to play alongside Blanco, Beckham and even Landon Donovan, the best players in the league," Joseph said. "It's an opportunity for me to just hang out with these guys and enjoy the atmosphere."
Like Hejduk and Joseph, Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel joined the MLS All-Stars for the first time on the field Wednesday.
"Playing alongside the players you play against week in and week out and playing against a top European side is great, probably without the pressure of the demands (of a league game) because this is still a friendly game," Angel said. "But I don't think there is such a thing as a friendly game anymore. You want to win. This is what we want to do. We're all professionals and we want to perform well, too."
MLS All-Stars and New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol was offering no clues as to the team he will name to face West Ham United, but clearly was enjoying the idea of putting the pieces together that will provide his team the best chance at victory.
"Our focus is to do well," he said. "I've told the players already and I'll try to get everyone on the field and in an ideal world, we'd be comfortable and we can just get people on. I guess I'll just have to work it out at the time and see how the game goes. I'm certainly not going to say I'm going to do this and do that and then depending on how the game is going change my mind. I don't want to do that to the players."
Almost all the MLS All-Stars were on the field Wednesday morning, including Colorado Rapids teammates Christian Gomez and Pablo Mastroeni, Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein and Los Angeles Galaxy forward Edson Buddle, who was delayed at New York's LaGuardia Airport Tuesday because of thunderstorms.
The only players missing Wednesday were Houston Dynamo teammates Pat Onstad and Dwayne De Rosario, who were scheduled to face D.C. United Wednesday night at RFK Stadium after Tuesday's match was postponed because of a power outage in the D.C. area.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
