The2009 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 14th annualMLS All-Star Game. TheMLSAll-Stars facedEverton of thePremier League on July 29, 2009.^[1] The match ended in a 1–1 draw at full-time and went to an immediatepenalty shootout, which Everton won 4–3. Everton'sTim Howard—theUnited States first-choicegoalkeeper and a formerMetroStars player—was named MVP of the match, after making three saves during the shootout. This was the first win for an international club team in six tries against the MLS All-Stars.

2009 MLS All-Star Game

Event	Major League Soccer All-Star Game
MLS All-Stars Everton 1 1
Everton won 4–3 onpenalties
Date	July 29, 2009
Venue	Rio Tinto Stadium,Sandy, Utah
Man of the Match	Tim Howard (Everton)
Referee	Ricardo Salazar
Attendance	20,124
←2008 2010 →

Major League Soccer announced on July 9, 2008 thatAmerica First Field (then known as Rio Tinto Stadium), the League's newestsoccer-specific venue, would host the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in the summer of 2009. MLS President Mark Abbott joined Real Salt Lake Owner David W. Checketts,UtahGovernorJon M. Huntsman, Jr., and SandyMayor Tom Dolan at apress conference at the new Stadium to officially announce the event. This was the first MLS All-Star Game held in Utah.^[2]

Like the previous year, the MLS All-Star First XI was determined by an online fan voting system which accounted for 25% of the total vote, with players, coaches and general managers, and the media each holding 25% of the vote. The fan voting period opened May 13, 2009 and ended July 6, 2009.^[3] Two weeks into the fan voting period,Seattle Sounders FC players made up nine of the 11 top vote-getters, withKasey Keller as the overall leader in total votes.^[4]

After the end of the voting period,Freddie Ljungberg received the most fan votes. The fan's first XI included Kasey Keller(Seattle), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Wilman Conde (Chicago), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus), Stuart Holden (Houston), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle), Shalrie Joseph (New England), Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto), Conor Casey (Colorado), and Landon Donovan (Los Angeles).^[5] The additional seven players were chosen by head coachDominic Kinnear of Houston and the CommissionerDon Garber.

The 2009 MLS All-Star First XI was announced in a special episode ofMLSnet.com Extra Time, which aired 3 p.m. ET on Monday, July 13, 2009. On the following Monday, July 20, 2009, All-Star coachDominic Kinnear and his assistants chose five additional players, with MLS CommissionerDon Garber adding the two final players to the 18-man roster.^[6] The All-Stars are:

As of July 26, 2009. Players in bold denotes First XI status.^[7]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

† - De Rosario was not available for the 2009 MLS All-Star game due to aToronto FCCONCACAF Champions League game.

‡ - Blanco was chosen to take the place of De Rosario, being the next-highest vote getter in the midfield position.

♦ - "Commissioner's Picks", chosen by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.^[7]

♣ - Players selected by All-Star Coach Dominic Kinnear.^[8]

% - Johnson is an injury replacement for Joseph who suffered a bone bruise in his right knee.^[9]

& - Soumare was a replacement for Ching, who was rested after he competed in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup with the US national team.^[9]

^ - Zach Thornton replaced Pat Onstad due to injury.^[10]

The following players fell short of the MLS All-Star First XI in voting:^[6]

• Goalkeepers:
  • Pat Onstad - 2.09% Fan votes, 3.11% Player votes, 2.53% Media votes, 6.36% Coach/GM votes
• Defenders:
  • Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - 5.42% Fan votes, 2.87% Player votes, 5.70% Media votes, 4.55% Coach/GM votes
  • Jonathan Bornstein - 1.80% Fan votes, 3.71% Player votes, 5.70% Media votes, 7.27% Coach/GM votes
• Midfielders:
  • Cuauhtémoc Blanco - 3.93% Fan votes, 2.75% Player votes, 11.08% Media votes, 4.09% Coach/GM votes
  • Ricardo Clark - 2.03% Fan votes, 5.86% Player votes, 4.75% Media votes, 8.18% Coach/GM votes
  • Osvaldo Alonso - 5.34% Fan votes, 2.39% Player votes, 7.28% Media votes, 3.18% Coach/GM votes
  • Paulo Nagamura - 1.02% Fan votes, 4.67% Player votes, 2.85% Media votes, 9.55% Coach/GM votes
• Forwards:
  • Fredy Montero - 6.39% Fan votes, 6.22% Player votes, 12.98% Media votes, 5.46% Coach/GM votes
  • Brian McBride - 3.40% Fan votes, 8.49% Player votes, 3.48% Media votes, 6.82% Coach/GM votes

As of July 12, 2009.^[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• The 2009Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the first to be played in the state ofUtah.
• For the first time,AT&T was the official sponsor of the All-Star Game.
• This was the sixth time that the league's best players faced international competition in the MLS All-Star Game.
• The game was broadcast in the US onESPN2 inEnglish andTeleFutura inSpanish.^[3]
• This was the first All-Star match to be decided via penalty kicks.^[13]
• This was the first time the MLS All-Stars were defeated by an international opponent^[13]
• Early the next year, Landon Donovan would join Everton on a loan deal, and then again in early 2012.