No NYCFC players selected for MLS All-Star team

The MLS All-Star roster was announced earlier today, and no players from New York City FC made the cut. It’s the first time in club history that not a single NYCFC player was named to the squad.

While the snub shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody following NYCFC this year – this team is coming up short on individual brilliance, to put it mildly – it stings a little that a club that lifted the MLS Cup in 2021 can’t field a single player on the 26-man roster. In fact, there was a time that MLS would write new rules to get an NYCFC player on the squad. In 2015, MLS commission Don Garber named Frank Lampard to the All-Star team even though he hadn’t played a single minute in MLS and had yet to join NYCFC. Lampard made his debut for New York City the following month. Good times.

Last year, goalkeeper Sean Johnson was on the squad that defeated the Liga MX All-Stars. The former NYCFC captain came on in the 61st minute of the 2-1 win. In 2021, James Sands started on the bench and was subbed on in a 1-1 draw with the Liga MX All-Stars that went to penalties. MLS also won that game. Over the past nine seasons, a total of 11 NYCFC players have been named to the team.

While the MLS All-Star game never really grabbed the attention of most fans, it was taken for granted that NYCFC could produce at least one All-Star every year — or three, in 2016, when David Villa, Andrea Pirlo, and the unforgettable Josh Saunders made the roster.

In 2015, NYCFC striker David Villa provided a highlight-reel goal by way of a Kaka assist to help MLS beat Tottenham Hotspurs 2-1:

That streak ends this year. On the one hand, it’s not exactly tragic that none of your best players are required to travel for an exhibition game that does nothing to help the club. On the other hand, sometimes it’s nice to feel wanted, even if it is a burden.

NYCFC All-Stars