Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids head coach, has made his selections for the 2015 MLS All-Star Game to finalize the team that will face Tottenham Hotspur on July 29.
The initial eleven man roster was selected by MLS fans through vote. Ten of the initial eleven will make the trip to Commerce City, Colorado. Obafemi Martins of Seattle has been left off the final roster due to an injury. Eight of the ten players selected by the fans are USMNT participants and six are currently on Jurgen Klinsmann’s CONCACAF Gold Cup Roster. David Villa and Ricardo Kaka are the only non-Americans to make it by fan vote and the only two MLS debutants selected.
The MLS Commissioner, Don Garber, gets to pick two players to add to the roster each year. This year’s selections have led to quite the controversy. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were selected by Garber without having played a single minute of MLS action. The two high profile former English Premier League players are sure to bring excitement and draw a crowd, but some feel the All-Star Game should be reserved for the best players in the current MLS season, not the highest profile names in the league.
After the initial thirteen players are selected, the coach for the game gets to finalize the roster with players that he feels deserve to be there and will help the team. Pablo Mastroeni appears to know the league well and has called up a deserving supporting cast for this year’s fixture. David Ousted is having a fantastic season with the Vancouver Whitecaps and is deserving of the inclusion. Kei Kamara, Sebastian Giovinco, and Robbie Keane have been tearing up defenses, Keane when healthy, and should provide a potent punch on the offensive end. Kamara is the currently leading goal scorer in 2015 and his exclusion during the fan vote had many scratching their heads. Even more surprising than Kamara’s absence was Giovinco’s. The MLS newcomer has been nothing but class this season and currently leads all players for overall fantasy score.
For the 2015 rendition of the MLS All-Star Game, the roster seems appropriate. The only seemingly obvious snub would be Ethan Finlay of Columbus Crew SC. He leads all players in assists and has been a big reason that Kamara is the current leading scorer in the league.
There is only one thing left to be determined for the 2015 All-Star Game: who will be captain? This year MLS has decided to let the fans pick the captain from a set of three players selected by Pablo Mastroeni. Follow MLS on SnapChat for more details.
2015 MLS All-Star Game Gameday Roster
Fan XI
Nick Rimando – Goalkeeper: Real Salt Lake
DaMarcus Beasley – Defender: Houston Dynamo
Matt Besler – Defender: Sporting Kansas City
Omar Gonzalez – Defender: Los Angeles Galaxy
Michael Bradley – Midfielder: Toronto FC
Benny Feilhaber – Midfielder: Sporting Kansas City
Ricardo Kaka – Midfielder: Orlando City SC
Graham Zusi – Midfielder: Sporting Kansas City
Clint Dempsey – Forward: Seattle Sounders
David Villa – Forward: New York City FC
Commissioner’s Picks
Steven Gerrard – Midfielder: Los Angeles Galaxy
Frank Lampard – Midfielder: New York City FC
Coach’s Picks
David Ousted – Goalkeeper: Vancouver Whitecaps
Tony Beltran – Defender: Real Salt Lake
Laurent Ciman – Defender: Montreal Imapct
Chad Marshall – Defender: Seattle Sounders
Drew Moor – Defender: Colorado Rapids
Chris Tierney – Defender: New England Revolution
Fabian Castillo – Midfielder: FC Dallas
Sebastian Giovinco – Forward: Toronto FC
Kei Kamara – Forward: Columbus Crew SC
Robbie Keane – Forward: Los Angeles Galaxy