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Commissioner selects Agudelo, Bravo for MLS All-Star Game

JuanAgudelo (ISIPhotos.com)

 

New York Red Bulls striker Juan Agudelo will make his first MLS All-Star Game appearance after being named to the All-Star Team as one of commissioner Don Garber's two selections.

Garber named Agudelo and Sporting Kansas City striker Omar Bravo as his two selections on Saturday.

New York Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe will name the full MLS All-Star Team on Monday at 2pm.

My thoughts on the selections? Agudelo is a top young player in MLS, an exciting prospect who New York fans will be excited to see (last year I wrote that Andy Najar should have been chosen so this pick is along those lines).

Omar Bravo's inclusion fills a niche in the Latin American market, and will give Latino media in the New York market another storyline to go along with the obvious one of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez" (which makes you wonder if Bravo would have been chosen if Rafa Marquez wasn't missing the All-Star Game).

Does either play belong on the All-Star team based on merit? Not really, but the All-Star Game is more sideshow than true reward for the league's best players, and the commissioner picks are generally players who wouldn't have otherwise made the team.

What do you think of these selections? Who were you hoping the Commissioner would pick?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Damn it!! I’m just afraid were going to destroy Agudelo like we did with Adu, he dint amaze anyone in the Gold Cup by any means and he’s still a sub in RBNY. I just don’t want to hurt the kids chances of growing as a player….Omar Bravo has a had a decent season thus far, I remember watching him play for Chivas, having 102 career goals is impressive but he had more liberties and less responsibilities than in KC.

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  2. I understand that Agudelo’s selection is a matter of hype and popularity rather than merit, so I won’t complain. However, it doesn’t make it any easier to care about the whole “all-star” boondoggle.

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  3. When everyone is constantly talking about how ‘underrated’ a player is, a certain point is reached when they are no longer underrated and are getting precisely as much recognition as they justly deserve. Having watched a good number of the Sounders games this season, I have noticed Alonso is fawned over on a regular basis, usually accompanied by the ‘underrated’ moniker. I love what he brings to the table, I just think he gets enough recognition to make the underrated label unnappropriate.

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  4. i understand the pick, but with backe as the coach i don’t foresee him giving his redbull players many minutes anyway.

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  5. Per the CBA, players do get a bit of financial reward for making the all-star team, right? Anyway, no sense in gnashing teeth over the commissioner’s or fan-selected picks since a raft of other player’s will be picked by Backe both to fill out the roster and to recognize the truly impactful players (like Alonso) that won’t be able to play in the game anyway. If after that, all-star caliber players are left off, then I’ll be upset.

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  6. Not a RB or Spork fan but understand both selections. I won’t complain.

    I do wish Alonso would have been selected, even if only in name since he couldn’t play anyway. Dude seriously flies under the radar. He never gets any accolades and is by far and away the best CDM in the MLS.

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  7. I’m a Red Bulls fan, and of course Agudelo doesn’t deserve to be on the team based on merit… but yeah, we all know why this selection was made. People will complain, but whatever, that’s just how it is.

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  8. “[T]he All-Star Game is more sideshow than true reward for the league’s best players, and the commissioner picks are generally players who wouldn’t have otherwise made the team.”–Ives

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