MLS ALL-STAR
Luciano Acosta will captain the MLS team in the All-Star Game
Major League Soccer announced that the Cincinnati footballer will be the captain of the MLS team against Liga MX in the All-Star Game.
MLS is preparing for a special week in its calendar and this weekend the competition will host the last game day before the break that the league will take for the Leagues Cup and the All-Star Game on July 24th.
As for the game, team MLS will face a Liga MX All-Stars managed by André Jardine. As we count down to the huge event, Major League Soccer announced the captain who will lead the MLS side out of the tunnel in Columbus.
MLS All-Star squad:
Goalkeepers
Roman Bürki (St Louis City), Hugo Lloris (LAFC) and Maarten Paes (FC Dallas)
Defenders
Jordi Alba (Inter Miami), Rudy Camacho (Columbus Crew), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Aaron Herrera (DC United), Thiago Martins (NYCFC), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew), Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids).
Midfielders
Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami), Mathieu Choiniere (CF Montreal), Evander (Portland Timbers), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo), Robin Lod (Minnesota United), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC), Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy),
Forwards
Cristian 'Chicho' Arango (Real Salt Lake) (Out), Christian Benteke (DC United), Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC), Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Juan Camilo 'Cucho' Hernández (Columbus Crew), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami ) (Duda), Luis Suárez (Inter Miami), Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew).
Taking advantage of Lionel Messi’s absence due to his right ankle ligament injury, the league and the fans voted for Luciano Acosta to be the player in charge of wearing - for the second consecutive year - the captain’s armband in the All-Star Game. Once again the Cincinnati player will lead the challenge to guide MLS to victory against the Mexican representatives.
Another factor that also influenced the vote was the four-match suspension of Real Salt Lake forward Christian Arango, which left just Lucho Acosta and Juan Camilo ‘Cucho’ Hernández in the fight.
The captaincy is another step in the right direction for Acosta, who is also eyeing up the MLS MVP, an award that he has won in the past. With 11 goals and 17 assists, he is once again in the spotlight and fully deserving of wearing the captain’s armband in the All-Star Game.
The MLS All-Star Game itself rounds off the week, with MLS going up against the Liga MX All-Stars at 8:00 p.m. ET at Lower.com Field. Remember, you can watch a live stream of the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and the MLS All-Star game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV