Who's good enough to be named to the MLS all-star team after playing in just 8 games?
Try Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman.
"Yeah, I was a bit surprised," Beckerman said after Wednesday's practice. "I thought I would have to get back for a couple games before but I guess it only took me eight games," he added with a smile.
Beckerman has a good reason to be surprised.
He hasn't played in a game in almost 2 months after injuring his ankle.
And while he expects to be back on the field in the next few weeks, that doesn't include the July 28th all-star game against Manchester United in Houston, Texas.
"I'm not going to [play]," Beckerman said. "I'm going to stay here and stay healthy for Real. Really it's a great experience to play against Manchester United but it means nothing and it does nothing for us here."
"You worry as a coach about an important player like that and the leader of your team coming back in off injury," head coach Jason Kreis said.
Injured or not, Kyle's proved to be one of the best midfielders in Major League Soccer and his team knows it.
"During those eight games he was an all-star in every of of them," midfielder Will Johnson added. "It's great to see some of our guys get recognition."
"Whenever he plays he recognizable," midfielder Andy Williams said. "A lot of our opponents don't like playing against him."
"We look at it as a little bit of an accomplishment, a feather in our cap like we're making some good decisions of our own" Kreis said. "Kyle puts the team first which is why he wears the armband every week."
