It?s difficult to take too many exceptions with the 20-man, game day squad Major League Soccer has named for July 31?s All-Star Game. Across all sports and all formats for these kind of exhibitions, we?re used to the type of glaring mistakes that are often the product of these exhibitions. Whether it be baseball?s bloated rosters, basketball?s former positional constraints, or football?s pure ?who cares? attitude toward their event, the teams that are selected often reflect the weird context that surrounds their games.
The team Peter Vermes helped select is relatively free of those types of obvious errors, which is not to say there aren?t places we can nit pick. Here?s the full game day squad, with Vermes? seven picks in bold, Don Garber?s two commissioner?s picks in italics:
Goalkeeper: Ra?l Fern?ndez (FC Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Aur?lien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Some of Vermes picks address positional concerns. Others are no brainers. Ashe and Beltran were picked because the roster needed fullbacks, and while they may not be your personal favorites at the positions, it?s difficult to make a rock solid case against either veteran. In midfield, Vermes added the season?s two best holders to a holder-less roster, while it?s unclear anybody had better cases for the rest of the spots then Keane and Sanvezzo. Overall, Vermes is close to beyond reproach.
Garber?s picks are a bit weird, though. Yedlin?(pictured) is a great prospect, but it?s hard justify this selection. Is the buzz around him really enough to justify giving the 20-year-old a spot in Kansas City? You could make the case he?s the third-best starting right back in Cascadia. Although it?s at a different position, Jack McInerney would have been a better choice if you?re looking for a young buzz-generator, and if you want the huge Seattle market behind the game, overlook Osvaldo Alonso?s recent absence and pick only to the league?s best players.
Cahill?s case is a bit stronger, but he still has not had an All-Star caliber season (or, season-plus, since joining Major League Soccer). While the former Everton star is a renown player, he?s not the type of star that?s going to add any glamour to the event. Somebody like Federico Higua?n may have been a better choice, if you?re looking to add an extra storyline to the game. With the Columbus star also unlikely to significantly move the needle, it might have been best to honor a veteran or go with the best player available.
Again, these are relative concerns. As far as All-Star rosters go, this one?s reasonably solid. Go through the league?s squads, and it?s difficult to find somebody whose claim for Kansas City is so compelling that their play should overwhelm the myriad other factors that go into picking this roster.
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