2008 MLS All-Star Game

2008 MLS All-Star Game

Event	MLS All-Stars
MLS All-Stars West Ham United 3 2
Date	July 24, 2008
Venue	BMO Field Toronto, Ontario
Man of the Match	Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire)
Attendance	20,844
Weather	Partly cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)

The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th consecutive 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]

Toronto FC named host

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]

“	Toronto's response to the arrival of MLS has been nothing short of extraordinary and that is a credit to the excellent leadership of MLSE. Clearly, BMO Field will provide a vibrant and enthusiastic setting for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game. We are excited to partner with MLSE and the passionate soccer fans in Toronto to hosting this memorable display of the world's game.	”
	— Don Garber, [5]

West Ham United

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

As of July 19, 2008. Players in bold denotes First XI status.^[11] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Matt Reis 2 DF Frankie Hejduk 5 MF Christian Gómez ~ 7 MF Steve Ralston ~[10] 8 MF Juan Toja ~[10] 9 FW Juan Pablo Ángel ~ 10 FW Landon Donovan 11 DF Jim Brennan ~ 12 DF Jimmy Conrad 13 DF Jonathan Bornstein ~[10] 14 MF Dwayne De Rosario † 17 FW Edson Buddle † 18 GK Pat Onstad ~ 21 MF Shalrie Joseph

No. Position Player 23 MF David Beckham 25 MF Pablo Mastroeni ~ 33 FW Kenny Cooper 70 MF Cuauhtémoc Blanco 71 FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto ♦ 72 GK Jon Busch ♦ 73 FW Brian Ching ♦ 74 MF Maurice Edu ♦ 75 FW Luciano Emilio ♦ 76 MF Sacha Kljestan ♦ 77 DF Michael Parkhurst ♦ 78 MF Robbie Rogers ♦ 80 DF Gonzalo Segares ♦ 81 MF Bakary Soumare ♦

~ – Players selected by coach

† – "Commissioner's Picks"

♦ – Inactive

• MLS All-Star Head Coach – Steve Nicol

West Ham United

As of May 13, 2008.^[12] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Robert Green 2 DF Lucas Neill (captain) 3 DF George McCartney 4 DF Daniel Gabbidon 5 DF Anton Ferdinand 6 DF Matthew Upson 7 MF Fredrik Ljungberg 8 MF Scott Parker 9 FW Dean Ashton 10 FW Craig Bellamy 11 MF Matthew Etherington 12 FW Carlton Cole 14 DF John Paintsil 16 MF Mark Noble 17 MF Hayden Mullins 18 DF Jonathan Spector

No. Position Player 19 DF James Collins 20 MF Julien Faubert 21 GK Richard Wright 22 MF Tony Stokes 23 GK James Walker 25 FW Bobby Zamora 26 MF Nigel Quashie 27 DF Calum Davenport 28 MF Kyel Reid 29 MF Lee Bowyer 30 DF James Tomkins 32 MF Kieron Dyer 34 MF Luís Boa Morte 35 DF Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson 39 MF Jack Collison 40 FW Freddie Sears

Match details

MLS All-Stars v West Ham United

July 24, 2008 19:25 EDT

MLS All-Stars	3–2	West Ham United
Gómez  27' Blanco  45' De Rosario  70' (pen.)	Report	Ashton  26',  67'

BMO Field, Toronto Attendance: 20,844 Referee: Mauricio Navarro (Canada)

MLS All-Stars

West Ham United

MLS ALL-STARS: GK 1 Matt Reis  70' DF 2 Frankie Hejduk  56'  88' DF 12 Jimmy Conrad (c)  82' DF 13 Jonathan Bornstein  52'  88' MF 5 Christian Gómez  59' MF 8 Juan Toja  59' MF 21 Shalrie Joseph MF 23 David Beckham MF 25 Pablo Mastroeni FW 33 Kenny Cooper  46' FW 70 Cuauhtémoc Blanco Substitutes: GK 18 Pat Onstad  70' DF 11 Jim Brennan  59' MF 7 Steve Ralston  88' MF 14 Dwayne De Rosario  59' FW 9 Juan Pablo Ángel  46' FW 10 Landon Donovan  46' FW 17 Edson Buddle  88' Manager: Steve Nicol

WEST HAM UNITED: GK 1 Robert Green DF 2 Lucas Neill (c) DF 5 Anton Ferdinand DF 27 Calum Davenport DF 40 Joe Widdowson MF 8 Scott Parker  45+1' MF 11 Matthew Etherington  46' MF 17 Hayden Mullins  65' MF 20 Julien Faubert  75' FW 9 Dean Ashton  80' FW 12 Carlton Cole  90+1' Substitutes: GK 23 James Walker DF 45 Jordan Spence MF 13 Luís Boa Morte  46' MF 22 Tony Stokes  90+1' MF 28 Kyel Reid  80' MF 31 Jack Collison  92' MF 46 Junior Stanislas  75' Manager: Alan Curbishley

Man of the Match: Cuauhtémoc Blanco[3] Assistant referees: Héctor Vergara Greg Barkey Fourth official: Mark Geiger

Notes

• The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the first to be played in Canada.
• For the first time Pepsi was the official sponsor of the All-Star Game. Previously, Sierra Mist, a Pepsi brand, was the advertised sponsor.
• This was the fifth time that the league's best players faced international competition in the MLS All-Star Game.
• For the second consecutive year New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol was the head coach for the MLS side.
• Former CBC affiliate, then E! and now CityTV affiliate CHAT-TV in Medicine Hat, Alberta did not air the game, because of Calgary CBC station CBRT-TV, as well as online through live streaming on the CBC sports website.

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. "Blanco leads MLS past West Ham". mlsnet.com. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
4. BMO Field
5. "Toronto will host 2008 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game". Major League Soccer. July 18, 2007.
6. "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.
7. "2008 MLSNET.COM All-Star Ballot". Major League Soccer. 2008. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
8. "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.
9. "MLS Announces All-Star Roster". Major League Soccer. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
10. "Three added to All-Star roster". Major League Soccer. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
11. "MLS All-Star First XI announced". Major League Soccer. July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
12. "West Ham United Player Profiles". WHUFC.com. 2008. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2008.