Pepsi 2008 MLS All-Star Game
EventMLS All-Stars
MLS All-Stars West Ham United
United States Canada England
3 2
DateJuly 24, 2008
VenueBMO Field, Toronto, Ontario
Man of the MatchCuauhtémoc Blanco (MLS All-Stars)
Attendance20,844
WeatherPartly cloudy, 22 °C (72 °F)
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The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced West Ham United of the English Premier League.[1] The game was played on July 24, 2008, with the MLS winning 3–2. New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol coached the All-Stars.[2] The motto for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game is "Major League Soccer Takes on the World." Chicago Fire's Cuauhtémoc Blanco was named MVP.[3]

Host venue

MLS Commissioner Don Garber awarded the 2008 All-Star Game to Toronto, Ontario in 2007 on the eve of the 2007 MLS All-Star Game. The game was played in the new soccer-specific stadium, BMO Field and was the first MLS All-Star Game held in Canada. BMO Field is home to the MLS' 13th franchise, Toronto FC.[4]

West Ham United

Main article: West Ham United F.C.

On April 4, 2008, the Major League Soccer website announced that Premier League club West Ham United would be the fifth international opponent for the marquee event. Founded in 1895, the east London club was originally called Thames Ironworks FC but switched to West Ham United five years later and has been playing at the Boleyn Ground since 1904. West Ham has forged a reputation of cultivating some of the England's top players, such as Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, and Joe Cole, giving rise to its frequent reference as The Academy of Football.[5]

MLS All-Stars

Voting

Major League Soccer released an official ballot to decide the players called to represent the league in the All-Star game. A four-tier voting system determined the First XI players selected for the game. The online fan balloting program comprised 25% of the total vote, with coaches and general managers (25%), players (25%), and media (25%) combining for the remaining 75% percent of the vote. The combined vote of the four groups determined the MLS First XI.[6]

2008 All-Star Game Squads

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer and Toronto FC, hosts of the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game, unveiled the MLS All-Star First XI in a press conference aired live exclusively on MLSnet.com from BMO Field on Thursday, July 10 at 11 am ET.[7] In addition to the First XI, Commissioner Don Garber picked two more players for the All-Star team, and coach Steve Nicol received five picks on July 15, 2008.[8]

After the U.S. U-23 Olympic Team roster was announced, three additional picks were awarded to Steve Nicol on Thursday, July 17 to replace Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan, and Robbie Rogers. The additions included 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Jonathan Bornstein, veteran Steve Ralston, and Colombian Juan Toja, who scored a goal in last year's All-Star Game.[9]

As of July 19, 2008. Players in bold denotes First XI status.[10] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Matt Reis
2 DF United States USA Frankie Hejduk
5 MF Argentina ARG Christian Gómez ~
7 MF United States USA Steve Ralston ~[9]
8 MF Colombia COL Juan Toja ~[9]
9 FW Colombia COL Juan Pablo Ángel ~
10 FW United States USA Landon Donovan
11 DF Canada CAN Jim Brennan ~
12 DF United States USA Jimmy Conrad
13 DF United States USA Jonathan Bornstein ~[9]
14 MF Canada CAN Dwayne De Rosario †
17 FW United States USA Edson Buddle †
18 GK Canada CAN Pat Onstad ~
21 MF Grenada GRN Shalrie Joseph
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF England ENG David Beckham
25 MF United States USA Pablo Mastroeni ~
33 FW United States USA Kenny Cooper
70 MF Mexico MEX Cuauhtémoc Blanco
71 FW Argentina ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto ♦
72 GK United States USA Jon Busch ♦
73 FW United States USA Brian Ching ♦
74 MF United States USA Maurice Edu ♦
75 FW Brazil BRA Luciano Emilio ♦
76 MF United States USA Sacha Kljestan ♦
77 DF United States USA Michael Parkhurst ♦
78 MF United States USA Robbie Rogers ♦
80 DF Costa Rica CRC Gonzalo Segares ♦
81 MF Mali MLI Bakary Soumare ♦

~ – Players selected by coach

† – "Commissioner's Picks"

♦ – Inactive

West Ham United

As of May 13, 2008.[11] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Robert Green
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill (captain)
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR George McCartney
4 DF Wales WAL Daniel Gabbidon
5 DF England ENG Anton Ferdinand
6 DF England ENG Matthew Upson
7 MF Sweden SWE Freddie Ljungberg
8 MF England ENG Scott Parker
9 FW England ENG Dean Ashton
10 FW Wales WAL Craig Bellamy
11 MF England ENG Matthew Etherington
12 FW England ENG Carlton Cole
14 DF Ghana GHA John Paintsil
16 MF England ENG Mark Noble
17 MF England ENG Hayden Mullins
18 DF United States USA Jonathan Spector
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF Wales WAL James Collins
20 MF France FRA Julien Faubert
21 GK England ENG Richard Wright
22 MF England ENG Tony Stokes
23 GK England ENG James Walker
25 FW England ENG Bobby Zamora
26 MF Scotland SCO Nigel Quashie
27 DF England ENG Calum Davenport
28 MF England ENG Kyel Reid
29 MF England ENG Lee Bowyer
30 DF England ENG James Tomkins
32 MF England ENG Kieron Dyer
34 MF Portugal POR Luís Boa Morte
35 DF Iceland ISL Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
39 MF Wales WAL Jack Collison
40 FW England ENG Freddie Sears

Match details

2008 MLS All-Star Game
MLS All-Stars United States Canada3–2England West Ham United
 Report
BMO Field, Toronto
Attendance: 20,844
Referee: Mauricio Navarro (Canada)
MLS All-Stars
West Ham United

Man of the Match:
Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco[3]

Assistant referees:
Canada Héctor Vergara
United States Greg Barkey
Fourth official:
United States Mark Geiger

Notes

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Morgan (March 13, 2008). "West Ham to face MLS all-stars". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  2. ^ "New England's Nicol to coach All Stars". Major League Soccer. June 28, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Blanco leads MLS past West Ham". mlsnet.com. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
  4. ^ "Toronto will host 2008 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game". Major League Soccer. July 18, 2007. Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  5. ^ "MLS All-Stars to face West Ham United". Major League Soccer. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  6. ^ "2008 MLSNET.COM All-Star Ballot". Major League Soccer. 2008. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  7. ^ "MLS All-Star First XI to be announced July 10". Major League Soccer. July 3, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  8. ^ "MLS Announces All-Star Roster". Major League Soccer. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c d "Three added to All-Star roster". Major League Soccer. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  10. ^ "MLS All-Star First XI announced". Major League Soccer. July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  11. ^ "West Ham United Player Profiles". WHUFC.com. 2008. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
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