Philadelphia Union goalie Andre Blake and rookie right back Keegan Rosenberry were named to the MLS All-Star team as part of the Fan XI on Saturday.
Blake, a first year starter and former number one overall draft pick, had a 1.44 goals against average prior to Saturday’s shutout win over DC United. He has produced a seemingly unending series of highlight reel saves to backstop a defense that often features two rookies and a second year starter.
Rosenberry has been far and away the best right back in MLS. Pairing strong 1v1 defending with exceptional passing and calmness on the ball, the Georgetown product has been the best rookie in MLS over the course of the season. Rosenberry is the first rookie to be named an All-Star since 2013.
This will the first multiple-Union All-Star game since 2012, when Carlos Valdes and Michael Farfan represented Philadelphia.
The MLS All-Star takes place at 7:30pm on Thursday, July 28 at San Jose’s Avaya Stadium.
The Generation Adidas scouts missed one. Better give Rosenberry a raise. He deserves one.
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If I remember anything of the GA rules from Mwanga, McInerney and Okugo, Blake will “graduate ” from that status after this year to the senior roster, barring disaster. Best give him a raise, too.
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Am I correct that the host park’s coach runs the team and picks the actual starting eleven?
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Hope our guys see the field against Arsenal.
According to mlssoccer.com, not only does Kinnear (the San Jose coach) get to pick the starting 11, he gets to pick 20 of the 22 players on the roster, with Garber getting to pick the other two. It then goes on to say, “While the players named to the Fan XI are not guaranteed a spot on the gameday roster, the outcome of fan voting is taken into consideration as the 22-man roster is decided.” So not only are they not guaranteed to play, they are not guaranteed to be on the roster.
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Personally, I’m hoping they don’t select Blake to play. Since he didn’t get a break for the Copa like the rest of the team, I don’t want to see him have to make an extra trip across the country.
Correct, they don’t HAVE to, but they will. It would set a pretty bad precedent if they started ignoring the fans. Plus, the fans actually did a good job this year from what I see. Maybe Drogba and Pirlo get the benefit of name recognition over other lesser known, more deserving players (Mauro Diaz comes to mind), but this is a money making exposure endeavor. Those are the guys that draw the fans.
I think the fan XI are included, no reason not to include them unless injuries or they just don’t want to participate. Then the other 11 picked by Garber and Kinnear. Since it’s an all star game with unlimited subs, everyone will see the field. I can’t wait to see em!
Barring an injury to a player, the fan XI should be the starting XI. Period. End of story. Let Kinnear pick the other 9 guys and Garber pick the last 2. Congrats to Andre and Keegan who have both played phonomenal this season. You deserve to be starting in the All Star Game and representing our team.