Philadelphia Union today announced that 2020 MLS Goalkeeper of the year, Andre Blake, has been named to the gameday roster for the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. Blake will join his teammate, defender Kai Wagner, for the All-Star game. This is the third time in club history the Union has had two players named to the same All-Star team. For the first time ever, the MLS All-Stars will face rival league LIGA MX All-Stars in an unprecedented match up to take place at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. (9 p.m. ET, FS1 / Univision / TSN / TVA Sports).
Blake was named to the All-Star roster in 2016 and 2019, becoming the first two-time All-Star in Union history and will now extend the record to three. Blake, 30, signed with the Union in 2014 when he was selected by Philadelphia first overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, the first goalkeeper ever to be taken first overall in the history of the event. In 2020, with Blake leading from the back, the Union made history as they became the only team in MLS history to win every home match in a single season (9-0-0). They also ended the season with the fewest goals allowed in MLS, as well the fewest goals allowed in a single season in Union history, that culminated in the club’s first Supporters’ Shield victory.
Blake holds the Union all-time records in games played, games started, minutes played, saves and clean sheets, as well as setting the single-season saves record (118 saves, 2018) and single-season wins (14 wins, 2018). He has twice been named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year (2016, 2020) and was named a finalist in 2017, and has been twice nominated for an ESPY award for best Major League Soccer player (2017, 2021).
Internationally, Blake, who regularly features as Jamaica’s number one goalkeeper and captain, has earned 48 caps for the Reggae Boyz. In 2017, he captained his team to the Gold Cup final where he kept three clean sheets and only allowed four goals in six games, earning him the Golden Gloves award and a best XI nomination.
This is the first time the rival leagues will match up as the MLS All-Stars take on the top-tier Mexican league All-Stars from Liga MX. MLS All-Stars were voted in by the following: 12 players determined by a combined vote of fan, media, and players; 12 players selected by All-Star Head Coach Bob Bradley; 2 players selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Liga MX All-Stars were selected by the following: The first 14 selections were winners and nominees for the Balon de Oro awards in the categories of best goalkeeper, fullback, defender, defensive midfielder, attacking midfield, rookie and forward; 11 players were selected by Cruz Azul Head Coach Juan Reynoso; and one player was decided by Executive President Mikel Arriola.
The complete list of all-time Union All-Stars is as follows:
2010: Sebastien Le Toux
2011: Faryd Mondragon
2012: Michael Farfan, Carlos Valdes
2013: Jack McInerney
2014: Maurice Edu
2016: Andre Blake, Keegan Rosenberry
2019: Andre Blake
2020: *No All-Star Game Held
2021: Kai Wagner, Andre Blake
