Major League Soccer's
first all-star game was played at
Giants Stadium in the summer of 1996. The game, using an East–West format with players handpicked by the coaching staffs to emulate other American leagues, was the first game of a doubleheader with the
Brazil national team defeating a team of FIFA World All-Stars. The matchup between divisions would only be used for six seasons as MLS tried experimenting with different formats. The
1998 All-Star Game placed a team of American MLS players against MLS players from abroad. The
2002 game, the first to use a league-wide all-star team, was the only game to feature a national team opponent. Since then (except in 2004), every opponent has been a foreign club invited by the league. The MLS All-Stars won their first six games before falling to
Everton in penalties in
2009. All games from
2005 to
2019 have been against teams from Europe, the majority of which have been from England's
Premier League. The European league schedule runs from fall to spring, allowing for a fixture against the MLS All-Stars during the preseasons of teams. The
2020 All-Star Game was to be the first to feature the all-star team from another league,
Liga MX; however, that game was cancelled. In August 2005, an 18-player all-star team squad named the "MLS Select Team" competed in the
Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu, a friendly hosted by
Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The All-Star team, coached by
Steve Nicol, lost 5–0 after being given only two days to prepare between normal league matches. The roster is chosen using a mix of fan votes, nominations from the coach, and commissioner's pick. Some players, including English midfielders
Steven Gerrard and
Frank Lampard in 2015, have been picked to participate in the All-Star Game despite not playing in club matches. Players who are picked to play in the All-Star Game but refuse to join the team are suspended from one league match. ==Roster==