- Oct 25, 2006
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- 124
Major League Soccer has finally settled on an opponent for its all-star game in Toronto this summer, and the Star has learned it will be English Premier League's West Ham United.
The game, which marks the second time in three years the MLS all-stars will face an English team, takes place July 24.
MLS first drifted away from the traditional intra-league all-star game format in 2001, when its all-stars played the U.S. national team. Since then, all but one all-star game has featured a team of MLS standouts against a team from overseas.
Last summer, the MLS all-stars defeated Celtic in Denver, and in 2006 Scarborough's Dwayne De Rosario scored the only goal in the MLS all-stars' 1-0 win over Chelsea.
The league announced last year that Toronto would host the 2008 all-star game, and the deal with West Ham, currently in 10th place in the 20-team Premier League, ends rumours linking teams like Liverpool and Newcastle.
The game, which marks the second time in three years the MLS all-stars will face an English team, takes place July 24.
MLS first drifted away from the traditional intra-league all-star game format in 2001, when its all-stars played the U.S. national team. Since then, all but one all-star game has featured a team of MLS standouts against a team from overseas.
Last summer, the MLS all-stars defeated Celtic in Denver, and in 2006 Scarborough's Dwayne De Rosario scored the only goal in the MLS all-stars' 1-0 win over Chelsea.
The league announced last year that Toronto would host the 2008 all-star game, and the deal with West Ham, currently in 10th place in the 20-team Premier League, ends rumours linking teams like Liverpool and Newcastle.