The Argentine amongst the stars for the second year running
MONTREAL – Midfielder Ignacio Piatti has been selected on Tuesday by head coach Veljko Paunovic for the 2017 MLS All-Star Game, presented by Target. The event will pit the MLS All-Stars against Real Madrid CF on August 2 at 9pm EDT at Soldier Field, in Chicago (TVA Sports, TSN, Fox Sports 1 & Univision).
Nacho Piatti receives his second consecutive All-Star nomination, after leading the Impact in the first half of the season with eight goals, as well as adding three assists in 13 starts and 1,156 minutes. He has also recorded two multi-goal games and scored two penalty kick goals. He has been named three times to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week and has been twice in nomination for the MLS Goal of the Week since the start of the campaign.
The Impact Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016 surpassed Marco Di Vaio earlier this season at the top of the Bleu-blanc-noir goal scoring chart in MLS history, with 38 goals in regular season play.
Winger Ballou Tabla has also been selected by head coach Brian McBride and assistant coach Mike Magee, two former MLS greats, for the 2017 Homegrown Game set for August 1 at 8pm EDT at Toyota Park, as part of the MLS All-Star festivities. The young stars will take on C.D. Guadalajara’s U20 team, current champions of the U20 Liga MX.
For more information on the 2017 MLS All-Star Game, visit www.MLSsoccer.com.
2017 MLS ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers: Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)
Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Greg Garza (Atlanta United), Hernán Grana (FC Dallas), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Johan Kappelhof (Chicago Fire), Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United), Jelle Van Damme (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Kaká (Orlando City SC), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Chicago Fire), Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Nemanja Nikolić (Chicago Fire), David Villa (New York City FC)
