SEATTLE, WASH. – Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan has been named captain of the 2021 MLS All-Star team, following an online vote via Twitter. Roldan is one of a club-record six Sounders FC players selected to the 28-man roster of MLS All-Stars that face the Liga MX All-Stars on Wednesday, August 25 at Bank of California Stadium (6:00 p.m. PT / FS1, TUDN, TSN, TVA Sports).
From August 12 through August 17, fans used hashtags to pick between Roldan, LAFC forward Carlos Vela, LA Galaxy forward Javier Hernandez and Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman as captain. Roldan received the greatest volume of hashtag usage in that period (both original tweets and retweets counted toward a player's total).
It marks the first MLS All-Star appearance for Roldan, who has started all 15 of his MLS appearances this season, tallying two goals and two assists as Seattle sits in first place in the Western Conference. The University of Washington product also made five appearances with two assists for the U.S. Men’s National Team in its title-winning run at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
As part of next week’s festivities, Sounders FC forward Raúl RuidÃaz has been selected to compete in the 2021 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G, taking place on Tuesday, August 24 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles (6:00 p.m. PT/ FS1, TUDN, TSN, TVA Sports). Major League Soccer and Liga MX each selected eight players who will compete head-to-head in five events the night before the 2021 MLS All-Star Game.
After away wins in Portland and Dallas this week, Seattle concludes its three-game road swing in Columbus on Saturday, August 21 against the Crew. A rematch of the 2020 MLS Cup, the contest is being carried nationally on network FOX, and regionally via Sports Radio 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
