There's a New England flavor to this year's MLS All-Star Game.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol returns for his second consecutive All-Star Game. Matt Reis, Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston comprise one-sixth of the active roster, while Michael Parkhurst would have been in Toronto had the U.S. Olympic team not requested his services for a trip to Beijing next month.
With all of these familiar faces around and with similar training sessions to the ones they see back in Foxborough, it's easy for these Revolution players to get settled in with a group of players assembled from around the league.
"It adds a bit of comfort to it," Ralston said. "We do the same drills. We have the same training sessions. You know what to expect."
It wouldn't have been wrong to expect the game to reward the league's top team at the All-Star break, but Joseph sees the Revolution-fueled squad as an indication that teams around the league appreciate what his team has constructed over the first half of the season.
"It feels good," Joseph said. "It shows that the team has been working hard to get into the position where guys can be here. We're doing the right things throughout the season."
Joseph, Parkhurst and Reis were selected to the league's First XI and Nicol later added Ralston as a replacement when the naming of the roster for the Olympics meant three players couldn't participate.
"It's an honor for the players and for the coaches," Reis said. "Our team's been statistically one of the best teams in the league for the last few years."
Those coaches have forged the consistency most other teams in the league seek. Reis said Nicol and assistants Paul Mariner and Gwynne Williams will have just as much fun trying to figure out which players should play where as the players will trying to combine with other talented players.
"He manages his second straight all-star game," Reis said. "It's the same thing for the coaches as it is for the players. You get to manage all of these great players. Tactically, you get to move all of the pieces of the puzzle around to put a good team on the field in a great atmosphere."
Mariner and Williams didn't get to attend the All-Star Game last season because of club commitments. Reis said it was important for them to get the chance to join Nicol this season.
"They're a good ingredient to our success too," Reis said.
But even with the Revolution contingent, others get left behind. Ralston said there were other contributors who merited consideration.
"There are 18 other guys who could be here as well," Ralston said. "They're missing out on the experience."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
