NEW YORK - Starting today, Major League Soccer fans can pick the 11 players they would like to see take on Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic FC in the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game. Official online balloting is now open, at the league's official website www.mlsnet.com, giving fans the chance to vote for the MLS All-Star First XI in this year's game.
The 12th annual MLS midsummer showcase will bring together the best MLS players for a marquee match-up on July 19, 2007, versus Scottish powerhouse and UEFA Champions League participants Celtic FC at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., the new home of the Colorado Rapids. The game will be nationally televised live on ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Fans can vote for the All-Star First XI online at www.mlsnet.com by selecting up to one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on Monday, June 25, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players and media each holding 25 percent of the vote to combine for the remaining 75 percent.
This year's All-Star team will take on Celtic FC, who have one of the most dedicated and widespread fan bases in sports and are a perennial power in Scotland. Celtic captured their second straight and 41st domestic championship this season. Last November, the club qualified for the knockout round of the UEFA Champions League. The club's distinctive green-and-white "Hoops" jersey and shamrock crest are recognized throughout the world. Celtic is among the best attended soccer clubs, averaging more than 57,000 fans per home match during the 2006-2007 season.
This year marks the fourth time that MLS All-Stars have taken on a high-profile international opponent in the midsummer MLS All-Star game. In 2003 the MLS All-Stars defeated Mexican club CD Guadalajara 3-1, and in 2005 they stormed English opponents Fulham 4-1. Last season the MLS All-Stars took on English powerhouse Chelsea FC and defeated the West London club 1-0 on a goal from Houston Dynamo's Dwayne De Rosario. The format of the Sierra Mist All-Star game makes it the most competitive all-star game in American professional sports.
The announcement schedule for the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Team is as follows. Dates are subject to change.
• June 25 - MLS All-Star Coach (coach of the team with the most points as of June 25) will be announced. The standard MLS tiebreakers will determine the coach if two or more teams are tied.
• July 5 - The All-Star First XI will be announced.
• July 10 - The MLS All-Star reserves will be announced. Five players will be selected as reserves by the head coach and the final two will be selected by MLS commissioner Don Garber.
