All-Star Game Voting Begins; My Choices

Fan voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star First XI is now underway. Click HERE for the official ballot. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on July 6, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote. The All-Star Team will, of course, take on English Premier League club Everton on Wednesday, July 29th, at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

If I had to pick a First XI today, these would be my choices.

GK: Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
D: Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle Sounders FC)
D: Gonzalo Segares (Chicago Fire)
D: Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy)
M: Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC)
M: Jesse Marsch (Chivas USA)
M: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)
M: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards)
M: Paulo Nagamura (Chivas USA)
F: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
F: Brian McBride (Chicago Fire)

Honorable mentions:
GK: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)
D: Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA)
D: Bobby Boswell (Houston Dynamo)
D: Adrian Serioux (Toronto FC)
M: Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire)
M: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
M: Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC)
M: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)
M: Chris Pontius (D.C. United)
F: Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
F: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)

Obviously a lot can, and will, change between now and when voting concludes in the first week of July. Around that time, I'll post my final selections for the All-Star First XI and compare them with today's. In preemptive defense of selecting Paulo Nagamura and Jesse Marsch, the reason I chose both of them as starters has to do with the fact that they are far-and-away the best team in MLS right now, and I couldn't come up with a Chivas USA defender who has been all that extraordinary, despite the team having allowed the fewest goals in the league. In my estimation, that is because Nagamura and Marsch are doing such a great job controlling the flow of the game.

Also, I gave the edge in net to Thornton over Keller because Seattle's defense is far superior to that of Chivas, in my opinion. The two keepers are tied for 1st in save percentage (87.5%), but Thornton has faced nearly twice as many shots on goal and leads the league in clean sheets and wins.

Any other disagreements or obvious oversights on my part?