With less than two weeks remaining in the online fan balloting for the 2006 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game, a number of the league's top performers find themselves well behind in the voting, including leading goal-scorer Ante Razov of Chivas USA.
The MLS All-Star starting lineup will consist of one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. The online fan balloting program will comprise 25 percent of the total vote, with coaches and general managers (25 percent), players (25 percent), and media (25 percent) combining for the remaining 75 percent of the vote. A maximum of 10 ballots may be submitted per person per day. Online voting ends July 7.
The game, which will take place Aug. 5 at Toyota Park, the Chicago Fire's new stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., will pit the MLS All-Stars against the two-time defending English Premier League champions Chelsea FC at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Razov has 10 goals on the season and is on pace to be the first player to score more than 20 goals since 2002. He is also tied for the league lead in assists with six, yet his name appears on only 6 percent of all fan ballots. D.C. United's Jaime Moreno, in second place in the scoring race with nine goals, is faring better with 12 percent of the vote, but he's still only in fifth place. Real Salt Lake's Jeff Cunningham, who has seven goals, appears on just four percent of the ballots.
Leading the forwards in All-Star fan voting is FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz with 19 percent of the voting. Houston Dynamo striker Brian Ching (16 percent) and New England Revolution frontrunner Taylor Twellman (15 percent) are his closest challengers, and United's Alecko Eskandarian (13 percent) is in the hunt, as well.
In the midfield, Terry Cooke of the Colorado Rapids is tied with Razov for the league's assist lead, but only 1 percent of fan ballots cast so far include his name and only eight players league-wide have received fewer votes. Dynamo's Brad Davis and Chivas USA's Francisco Mendoza (3 percent each), both of whom have five assists on the year, find themselves in a similar situation.
The top midfielders in the fan voting are all household names. The Los Angeles Galaxy's Landon Donovan (32 percent) maintains his lead in the overall voting, and the Revolution's Clint Dempsey (27 percent) and Dynamo's Dwayne De Rosario (21 percent) aren't far behind. United's Freddy Adu (21 percent) and Ben Olsen (15 percent) round out the top five in the midfield.
The goalkeeper position is another slot where the league's best could use a boost in the balloting. The league's leader in goals against average, United's Troy Perkins, has gotten 12 percent of the vote, but still trails goalkeeping leader Dario Sala of FC Dallas by 15 percent. The Revolution's Matt Reis (10 percent) is also in need of a lift.
At the back, RSL's Eddie Pope still leads with 21 percent of the vote and the Galaxy's Chris Albright is still in second place with 17 percent. The real battle there has been for third place, where Jimmy Conrad of the Kansas City Wizards (11 percent) and United teammates Bobby Boswell (11 percent) and Facundo Erpen (10 percent) are in a virtual dead heat.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
