The fans have spoken.
Hometown heroes Bastian Schweinsteiger and Nemanja Nikolic will be hanging around Chicago for the 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, voted in to the 2017 MLS All-Star Fan XI, announced Friday by the league following a month-long online fan ballot. The match, against Spanish giants Real Madrid -- the reigning UEFA Champions League winner, will take place August 2 at Soldier Field (9 p.m. ET | FS1, UniMás; TSN, TVA Sports).
Last year's MLS Cup runner-up, Toronto FC (Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco) and 2017 expansion side Atlanta United (Miguel Almiron, Greg Garza) also placed two players on the Fan XI, which features three FIFA World Cup champions (Schweinsteiger, Orlando City SC midfielder Kaká, 2016 MLS MVP David Villa) and five US national team players in Bradley, Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard, as well as defenders Graham Zusi (SKC) and DaMarcus Beasley (HOU).
While 10 of the 11 players on the Fan XI are determined by fan voting online at MLSsoccer.com, the 11th player was determined through the EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. In a closely contested tournament, Giovinco, the 2015 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, took the top prize as fans scored more than 1.1 million goals for the Toronto FC star in EA SPORTS FIFA 17.
Matchday Starting XI
MLS All-Star head coach, Veljko Paunovic of the host Chicago Fire, will select the gameday roster (24 total) from the pool of eligible players determined by the media, along with the 2017 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target and MLS Commissioner Don Garber’s two selections.
2017 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target
POS |
Player (All-Star Appearances) |
Club |
|---|---|---|
GK |
<a href="/players/tim-howard">Tim Howard</a> (3) |
<span class="wide">Colorado Rapids</span><span class="narrow">COL</span> |
D |
<a href="/players/greg-garza">Greg Garza</a> (1) |
<span class="wide">Atlanta United</span><span class="narrow">ATL</span> |
D |
<a href="/players/graham-zusi">Graham Zusi</a> (5) |
<span class="wide">Sporting KC</span><span class="narrow">SKC</span> |
D |
<a href="/players/damarcus-beasley">DaMarcus Beasley</a> (5) |
<span class="wide">Houston Dynamo</span><span class="narrow">HOU</span> |
M |
<a href="/players/bastian-schweinsteiger">Bastian Schweinsteiger</a> (1) |
<span class="wide">Chicago Fire</span><span class="narrow">CHI</span> |
M |
<a href="/players/miguel-almiron">Miguel Almirón</a> (1) |
<span class="wide">Atlanta United</span><span class="narrow">ATL</span> |
M |
<a href="/players/kaka">Kaká</a> (3) |
<span class="wide">Orlando City SC</span><span class="narrow">ORL</span> |
M |
<a href="/players/michael-bradley">Michael Bradley</a> (3) |
<span class="wide">Toronto FC</span><span class="narrow">TOR</span> |
F |
<a href="/players/david-villa">David Villa</a> (3) |
<span class="wide">NYCFC</span><span class="narrow">NYC</span> |
F |
<a href="/players/nemanja-nikolic">Nemanja Nikolić</a> (1) |
<span class="wide">Chicago Fire</span><span class="narrow">CHI</span> |
F |
<a href="/players/sebastian-giovinco">Sebastian Giovinco</a> (3)<br><span style="font-size:0.80em;">EA SPORTS "More Than a Vote" Winner</span> |
<span class="wide">Toronto FC</span><span class="narrow">TOR</span> |
