In the United States we have Major League Soccer's best - taking on the mighty some-such from west-ish London-like.
Funny how Major League Soccer clubs like to pump their teams full of discounted Central and South American players yet invite a club from across the Atlantic to come over for the marquee exhibition of the summer.
There is a metaphor in here somewhere that involves the wealthy, visiting friends, their homes and the people that landscape their yards... but I digress and will go with the fact that it reminds me of why I know the proper way to place and use utensils; "In case the Queen visits," I was told.
Taking that unwritten metaphor and proper use of utensils into account, the 2012 MLS All-Star game format could be seen as all mixed up in a strange way... and maybe it should. After all, this is the melting pot of the world (to be said whimsically while imagining the Statue of Liberty). Also the home of Hollywood (to be said in a Samuel L. Jackson kinda way).
With that.
Let's break down MLS Allstar contenders by YTD form and by US born.
HELLTOWN BEER ALL USA ALL STAR TEAM
(Home State, Team)
GK: Ryan Meara (NY, NYRB)
D: Chance Myers (CA, KC)
D: Stevan Beitashour (CA, SJ)
D: Justin Morrow (OH, SJ)
D: Tony Bletran (CA, RSL)
MF: Graham Zusi (FL, KC)
MF: Kyle Beckerman (MD, RSL)
MF: Dax McCarty (FL, NYRB)
MF: Eddie Gaven (NJ, CREW)
F: Chris Wondolowski (CA, SJ)
F: Kenny Cooper (MD, NYRB)
Subs: Brandon McDonald (D, Arizona, DC), Daniel Woolard (D, Texas, DC), Will Bruin (F, Missouri, HOU), C.J. Sapong (F, Virginia, SKC), Matt Besler (D, Kansas, SKC), Nick Rimando (GK, California, RSL)
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Do I think the HELLTOWN BEER ALL STAR TEAM could take the (mostly playing internationally) USMNT players to the limit? Yes, but it is beside the point because it would be much more interesting to see US born MLS players take on foreign born league players in a summer allstar like exhibition. Who would that be? And... how great would that be?
GK: Jimmy Nielsen (Denmark, KC)
D: Aurelien Collin (France, KC)
D: Markus Holgersson (Sweden, NY)
D: Young-Pyo Lee (S. Korea, VAN)
D: Jamison Olave (Colombia, RSL)
MF: Dwayne De Rosario (Canada, DC)
MF: Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone, KC)
MF: Roger Espinoza (Honduras, KC)
MF: Dane Richards (Jamaica, NY)
F: Fredy Montero (Colombia, SEA)
F: Sebastien Le Toux (France, VAN)
Fire up that FIFA 12, it's going to be a battle!
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I'm not big on the idea of an All-Star game in soccer but the excitement generated by the voting makes it an undeniable event for the league. Part of me thinks it's very American to want an All-Star game. We want to see the best, playing the best.
However, the other - more American - side of the country would probably be outraged if they realized that inviting a Premier League over to play a ham-fisted collection of above average soccer players is the same thing we see in other "Developing Soccer Nations".
Here is the recap to Chelsea's tune up match against the Thailand All Stars last summer, Americans. LINK
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These lists are put together using my own MLS player rating system. As the year progresses, I cumulatively and frequently rate every player who has seen minutes in the league. My player ratings are always and all ways available (along with player stats) on the top right hand column of this page. None of my formulas on how the players got that score are in that sheet, mind you. If you have questions about my rating system you can email me at ljbaby654(at)gmail.com
