Bruce Arena, The Internet Respond to Carles Gil's All-Star Snub
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Bruce Arena, The Internet Respond to Carles Gil's All-Star Snub
Bruce Arena: “It doesn’t make any sense; you shouldn’t be calling it an All-Star game if Carles isn’t in the lineup."
On Tuesday, Major League Soccer named a 26-man All-Star roster that will face Arsenal on July 19 at D.C. United’s Audi Field.
One major omission was New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil.
Gil is currently tied for the most assists in the league (9) and is second in key passes (46). He also has seven goals, which puts him even with Bobby Wood for the team’s Golden Boot Award.
These numbers weren’t enough to earn Gil a spot in the summertime showcase. It’s something that Revs head coach Bruce Arena doesn’t understand.
“It doesn’t make any sense; you shouldn’t be calling it an All-Star game if Carles isn’t in the lineup,” Arena said.
All-Star selections come in three ways: 12 players are chosen by a combined vote of fans, media, and players, another 12 players are picked by MLS All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney, and the final two are selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
“It’s hard in the league with 29 teams,” Arena noted. “I don’t know anyone playing in the west for the most part, but I think it’s tough. Carles is one of the top five players in the league, leave it at that.”
Arena isn’t the only one surprised by Gil’s snub. In fact, many people took to Twitter to express their confusion. Andrew Wiebe said he sides with Arena, Dan Roche questioned why Gil doesn’t get the respect he deserves, and Taylor Twellman provided some stats.
The Revs do have one player that will participate in the All-Star Game as Djordje Petrovic was selected by Rooney. This means that Petrovic could stand opposite former Revs goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Below is the full 2023 MLS All-Star roster by position and selection mechanism:
GOALKEEPERS: Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC / Voted In), Tyler Miller (D.C. United / Coach’s Selection), Djordje Petrović (New England Revolution / Coach’s Selection)
DEFENDERS (7): Álvaro Barreal (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Jon Gallagher (Austin FC / Voted In), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC / Coach’s Selection), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Tim Parker (St. Louis CITY SC / Coach’s Selection), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls / Coach’s Selection), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC / Voted In)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United / Voted In), Mathieu Choinière (CF Montréal / Commissioner’s Selection), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / Coach’s Selection), José Martínez (Philadelphia Union / Coach’s Selection), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew / Voted In), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / Voted In), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / Coach’s Selection), Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection)
FORWARDS / WINGERS (7): Christian Benteke (D.C. United / Coach’s Selection), Dénis Bouanga (LAFC / Voted In), Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes / Coach’s Selection), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas / Voted In), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United / Coach’s Selection), Kei Kamara (Chicago Fire FC / Commissioner’s Selection), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC / Voted In)
Bruce Arena, The Internet Respond to Carles Gil's All-Star Snub
I don't really understand the need for an all star game at all. It adds one more fixture to a congested list for your 'top' players. There is always a quota situation and bias in fan and coaches votes and some inevitably get left off. This year it is on apple TV which means casual fan or just sport fan browsing won't see it. Therefore, the argument it helps expand the fan base is trash. So what's the real appeal? I guess there is money to be had for the league but it is waste of time in my opinion. BTW I feel the same for hockey basketball baseball football
Myself don't like All Star games. You are putting the best players out there with the chance of getting an injury. It isn't worth it. Many will disagree but it's just my opinion.