San Jose's Yallop To Lead All-Stars
Published on July 11, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release
NEW YORK (Thursday, July 11, 2002) - Major League Soccer announced today that San Jose Earthquakes Head Coach Frank Yallop will guide the MLS All-Stars against the U.S. Men's National Team during the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game on August 3 at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. (3:30 p.m. ET - ABC).
Yallop was selected to coach the team after directing his club to a League-leading 26 points (8-4-2 record) through the midway point of the League's seventh season. The former D.C. United and Tampa Bay Mutiny assistant coach narrowly edged the Dallas Burn's Mike Jeffries, who led his upstart Texas team to a 6-3-5 mark (23 points) through 14 games. Named MLS Coach of the Year in 2001, Yallop will make his first MLS All-Star appearance after masterminding San Jose's worst-to-first turnaround last season.
"It is a wonderful honor to be named the All-Star coach," said Yallop. "All the credit has to go to our players. They have worked hard all year to get us into a good position in the League. It should be a great event."
As part of his duties, Yallop and Earthquakes assistant Dominic Kinnear will be charged with selecting the reserves for his team following the announcement of both the U.S. roster and the MLS All-Star Starting Lineup next week. Starters for the MLS Team are being determined through online fan balloting (at www.MLSnet.com
Since guiding the Earthquakes to an MLS Cup Championship in his first season as a head coach in 2001, Yallop has established his club has one of the League's most consistent sides. The defending champions have looked the part in 2002, owning at least a share of first place following the results from 14 of the club's 17 matches thus far. For most of the season, San Jose has been alone atop the League and Western Conference standings, despite the absence of U.S. National Team stars Landon Donovan and Jeff Agoos during World Cup preparation and competition. Entering this weekend's play, Yallop's club also leads MLS in wins (10), points (32), goals scored (27 - tied with New England) and fewest goals allowed (16). The success of the 2002 Earthquakes and Yallop's keen understanding of team chemistry can be traced to the preseason, when the 36-year old former Canadian National Team standout orchestrated a bold blockbuster trade in February. The deal sent long-time San Jose scoring ace Ronald Cerritos to Dallas in exchange for Ariel Graziani, a volatile but talented striker. Currently the League's fourth-leading scorer, Graziani helped the club post a 4-1-0 record in June, earning Player of the Month honors in the process.
While combining an entertaining style of attacking soccer and determined defending, the Earthquakes have dominated MLS opposition on their home field at Spartan Stadium in 2002, establishing a League-record 10-game home winning streak, which includes a perfect 8-0-0 mark at home this season.
The 2002 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game offers four levels of ticket pricing, ranging from $27 to $55 for individuals, and $22 to $45 for groups of 20 or more. For Group Sales call D.C. United at (703) 478-6600; or go online at www.dcunited.com . For individual tickets call TicketMaster - (202) 432 - SEAT (metro D.C.); (410) 481 - SEAT (Baltimore & MD); (703) 573 - SEAT (Virginia); or go online at www.ticketmaster.com and at all TicketMaster outlets including HECHT's, Tower Records and at RFK Stadium.
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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