Drogba, Ciman, Piatti Selected for 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game
July 17, 2016 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release
MONTREAL - Striker Didier Drogba, defender Laurent Ciman and midfielder Ignacio Piatti have all been selected by head coach Dominic Kinnear for the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, which was announced on Sunday. The event will pit the MLS All-Stars against Premier League club Arsenal on July 28 at 7:30pm EDT at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. (RDS, TSN, ESPN, UniMas & UDN). The Impact will be the most represented club in MLS with three players selected.
Earlier this week, Drogba and Ciman had been selected by the fans for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI.
Didier Drogba earns his first MLS All-Star nomination, having recorded five goals and five assists in 10 games and 760 minutes played, including eight starts, this season. He has twice been named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week.
In 2015, the Ivorian was a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year after concluding the season with 12 MLS goals: Drogba scored once in the MLS Cup Playoffs and tallied 11 goals, four game-winning goals and one assist in 11 regular season games, including nine starts, and 870 minutes played. He recorded a perfect hat trick in his first MLS start against Chicago and was chosen the MLS Player of the Month for both September and October.
Ciman earns his second MLS All-Star Game selection in as many MLS seasons. Besides starting 13 games this season for the Impact, he joined the Belgian National Team for Euro 2016, where he became the first MLS player to reach the quarterfinal round. He has been named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week three times this season.
MLS Defender of the Year, MLS Best XI selection and Impact Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, Ciman played the 2015 MLS All-Star Game, wearing the captain's armband for the second half against English club Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Nacho Piatti receives his first nomination as he currently leads Major League Soccer with three game-winning goals and sits in second with 11 goals. He has also recorded two multi-goal games and two penalty kick goals. He has been named six times to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week and has won the MLS Goal of the Week three times since the start of the season.
He was named the Impact Most Valuable Player in 2015 after playing a key role in the club's CONCACAF Champions League run, throughout the regular season and then also during the MLS Cup Playoffs, notching a total of 12 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau has also been selected by head coach Landon Donovan for the 2016 Chipotle Homegrown Game set for July 27 at 9pm EDT as part of the AT&T MLS All-Star festivities. The young stars will take on the Mexican U20 national team.
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