FIFA Updates

Did the correct players make in onto the roster for the 2010 MLS All-Star team?

Kyle McCarthy: So what do you think of the A-S team?

Zac Lee Rigg: I think most of the complaints are silly. Bruce Arena is going to pick the guys who balance out the squad, so you have workers like Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein even though fans don’t like them. And Don Garber will go with the emotional choices. Nitpick Joel Lindpere, Alvaro Saborio, and Andy Najar if you like, I don’t have any big problem with the team.

McCarthy: I think Garber booted it on Moreno, unless Moreno’s retiring at the end of the year.

Rigg: I assumed he was, based on that pick. But I’m good at being wrong.

McCarthy: Aside from that, I have no real complaints.

Rigg: I think fans are more angry that the current selection process doesn’t always mean the players in best form make it onto the team, which is a different issue.

McCarthy: Yeah, the game’s a bit broken. It should be on a weekend. Call it a select team, not an All-Star team.

Rigg: I prefer to call it, “OMG we get to see Berbatov do his sexy thang wooo”

McCarthy: Hahah. Yeah.

Rigg: Who do you think most deserved a place and didn’t get one?

McCarthy: I think there are a couple of players who can feel aggrieved about not receiving the call. Eddie Gaven, at least for me, has been Columbus’ most consistent player this season, while the aforementioned Lindpere has run the midfield for New York. Nat Borchers never seems to get his due for Real Salt Lake, while Bobby Convey has done enough to warrant recognition for San Jose.

With all of that said, there are reasons why certain players fit better than others considering the type of roster Arena needs to construct. It’s not an All-Star team as much as it is a MLS XI and there were particular holes to fill – fullback, for instance – in order to field a solid unit.

Rigg: Yeah, fantasy lineups don’t particularly apply in this case; someone’s going to have to mark Berbatov.

You have no love for Najar in your list of snubs?

McCarthy: Well, he’s a different case. As well as he’s played this year, it’s hard to say he deserves a spot based on merit over some of the other players mentioned. But if you combine his early success with what he represents to the league as a player coming directly out of a club’s youth system, he makes considerable sense as a Commissioner’s Pick. Then again, it’s tough to quibble with Moreno if it is indeed his last season, even though he likely can’t contribute for more than 20 minutes.

Rigg: I think what gives Najar his pulling power is that he’s been in good form the past few matches so he’s fresh in the memory. It also helps that every player around him is abject, so he stands out more.

Getting back to Borchers, do you think Jamison Olave’s size means Borchers lives in the shadows a bit too much? Olave’s still a touch inconsistent for me.

McCarthy: Olave commands attention with his physical gifts. He looks like an impressive player and he often is. Borchers doesn’t possess Olave’s natural abilities, but he plugs the holes when Olave decides to jump in rashly or pinch when he shouldn’t pinch. It isn’t a matter of saying Olave isn’t deserving – he’s definitely in the top handful of defenders in a league that doesn’t have very many good ones right now – but more of a note to say that at least some of Olave’s success can be attributed to Borchers’ solid work beside him.

While we’re talking about defenders, there was some chatter out of Denver – of all places – about one of the best defensive units in the league earning no representatives. I think Jeff Larentowicz – long overdue for an All-Star nod, by the way – counts, but what are your thoughts on the claims of guys like Drew Moor and Marvell Wynne?

Rigg: With defenses, selecting standouts is more difficult. Clean sheets tend to be a product of cohesion and teamwork rather than individual brilliance. That’s why defenders don’t win very many awards. If Arena could call up the Rapids defensive solidity, he might, but taking one guy out of that tends to undermine the whole thing a bit.

I think we’ve both been very vocal about our concerns with Marvell Wynne. I am not a fan. That said, he’s had an alright year at centerback.

McCarthy: The concerns with Moor (speed) and Wynne (footballing nous/tactical acumen) probably made the decision easier for Arena. While both players are having good seasons, they probably aren’t the right fit to feature in this game ahead of the players that were selected.

Rigg: Do you think if a different coach were in charge of the game, as in one that didn’t have to think about the LA Galaxy’s well-being, that Todd Dunivant gets the nod?

McCarthy: Ha. Dunivant is probably worthy of consideration – he’s been one of the best fullbacks in the league this year. From Arena’s perspective as ASG coach, he needs players that can log some minutes. Given the Galaxy’s CCL duties, there wasn’t much point to bring Dunivant with Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce available to fill in at left back. The flexibility offered by Bornstein and Pearce also counts for something. With all of that said, I can’t imagine Arena looked at his roster and thought, “well, I need another Galaxy player on it.”

Rigg: If I were Arena I’d prefer a team without any Galaxy players. Since he’s got a few there anyways, how much time will he give them? I assume he has to play Donovan and Buddle in some capacity, even if off the bench, but a game the day before and an international flight the day of? Surely none of them start.

McCarthy: It’s tough to tell when Donovan’s involved because it’s about more than just soccer with him. He shouldn’t have started against Seattle, but he did. There are television considerations in play, so I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see him play 45 minutes at the start before coming off at halftime. From a practical standpoint, I’d suspect he’d have to come off the bench for no more than a brief cameo. It’ll certainly be a talking point.

Rigg: Just really quickly as we wrap this up: how many goals will the All-Star team win by?

McCarthy: It’ll be close. The days of blowout All-Star games are long gone.

Rigg: Kyle McCarthy – buzzkill. You should put that on your business cards.

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WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci, along with 2010 WPS All-Star Game coaches Albertin Montoya (FC Gold Pride) and Paul Riley (Philadelphia Independence) selected the final 14 players to participate in this year’s WPS All-Star Game presented by U.S. Coast Guard Reserve on June 30 at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga.

This year’s WPS All-Star Game has a unique format in which the two captains—Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) and Marta (FC Gold Pride)—will select their starting XI from the 22 all stars voted on by players, coaches, media and fans to form Abby XI vs. Marta XI.

Selecting the final 14 players to participate in the All-Star Game was no different. Antonucci, Montoya and Riley selected the 14 players not just by performance, but by a number of criteria, including positional needs, players who just returned from injury that have had lack of in-game play, as well as individual accolades and attributes.

Wambach and Marta will select the starting XI squads in a pick-em event on Monday, June 28, with the reserves being placed on the two rosters to round out the clubs. Wambach XI will be the home club, with Riley as the coach; Marta XI will be the road club, coached by Montoya.

Joining the 22 starters are the following 14 players:

Goalkeepers
Jillian Loyden, Chicago Red Stars
Erin McLeod, Washington Freedom

Defenders
Alex Scott, Boston Breakers
Kate Markgraf, Chicago Red Stars
Christie Rampone, Sky Blue FC
Becky Sauerbrunn, Washington Freedom

Midfielders
Angie Kerr, Atlanta Beat
Karen Carney, Chicago Red Stars
Caroline Seger, Philadelphia Independence
Laura Kalmari, Sky Blue FC

Forwards
Cristiane, Chicago Red Stars
Kelley O’Hara, FC Gold Pride
Amy Rodriguez, Philadelphia Independence
Tasha Kai, Sky Blue FC

All the all-star festivities begin on Wednesday, June 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET with pre-game coverage nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and regionally on select Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet affiliates, leading to the 8 p.m. ET kickoff at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga.

For more on Women’s Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com’s WPS page and join Goal.com USA’s Facebook fan page