New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston had a couple of days off in his schedule next week.
The MLS All-Star Game is in Toronto on Thursday night and the Revolution coaching staff heads up there on Tuesday. That means a light couple of days for the busy Revolution players, who remain active in SuperLiga, the U.S. Open Cup and MLS play and will soon add the CONCACAF Champions League to an ever-growing list of competitions requiring their attention.
The hectic schedule meant Ralston, unlike some other players around the league, didn't make vacation plans for next week.
"With our schedule, you never know what's going on," Ralston said.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol decided Ralston didn't need that break, selecting him to his seventh All-Star Game as a replacement player for one of the three Olympians (Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers) who won't be able to play at BMO Field because of international duty.
"I was excited," Ralston said. "It helps that my club coach is the coach of the All-Star team, I suppose. To be selected is an honor."
Ralston said he talked with Nicol earlier in the week and the Revs coach noted that it was a possibility the Revs' captain would join Shalrie Joseph and Matt Reis in Toronto.
"He was thinking of me and he talked to the Commissioner," Ralston said. "There were different things going on, and I don't know all the details. He mentioned to me that it was a possibility about a week or so ago."
This isn't the type of all-star game Ralston remembers from his days in Tampa. With an international audience awaiting and one of England's storied clubs on the other side of the field, the game won't likely yield a 8-6 score line like yesteryear.
"The games are different now," Ralston said. "I haven't been selected for a while. I was selected last year but I didn't go. The last all-star games I played in were run and gun. These are more serious games now."
The seriousness brings a shift in demeanor. Nicol chose his team to give him the best squad and the best opportunity to defeat West Ham.
That means bringing in Ralston, who can play multiple positions and deserves the nod for his six goals and four assists in leading the Revs this season, and selecting other talented players who might be less deserving on the stat sheet than the ones left at home on the inactive roster or snubbed altogether.
Ralston said there is always controversy involved with the selection process, but he thinks the players Nicol selected will represent the league well.
"There are some guys with maybe some better stats, but the guys that Steve chose are good players," Ralston said. "I'm sure there were a few guys that were left off that will obviously be in that second part [of the all-star team, the inactive roster]. They still deserved to be considered an all-star."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
