Roger Espinoza and Kei Kamara named MLS All-Stars

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza and forward Kei Kamara were named 2012 MLS All-Stars on Wednesday. Major League Soccer announced the Inactive Roster ahead of tonight’s 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, live in the U.S. on ESPN2 and TeleFutura at 7:30pm CT at PPL Park.

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, defender Aurelien Collin and midfielder Graham Zusi were selected to the gameday roster and will represent Sporting Kansas City against European champions Chelsea FC in the annual event.

Sporting Kansas City’s five MLS All-Star selections are tied with San Jose for the most of any team this year and matches the most chosen in club history, along with the 1997 and 2000 seasons.

Espinoza and Kamara each receive the first MLS All-Star recognition of their careers, joining a list of 27 players to have been named an MLS All-Star in the team’s 17-year history.

Espinoza, 25, has started 18 games for Sporting Kansas City this season as an imposing two-way midfielder in Manager Peter Vermes’ 4-3-3 system. He has appeared in 110 games in four years of MLS play since being selected in the first round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft out of Ohio State and has recorded two goals and 11 assists.

Espinoza is currently at the London 2012 Olympic Games as one of three over-age players selected for the Honduras under-23 team that will begin play at 6am CT on Thursday against Morocco live on the NBC Sports Network.

Kamara, 27, leads Sporting Kansas City with seven goals this season and has added four assists in 20 appearances. Now in his seventh year in MLS since being selected in the first round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, the Sierra Leone international has 42 goals and 17 assists in MLS competition, including playoffs.

He leads all MLS players with 82 shots and 35 shots on goal in 2012, and is one of only four players to record seven or more goals in each of the last three MLS seasons. Kamara ranks eighth on Sporting KC’s all-time regular season goals scored chart with 27 and his 0.32 goals per game average is second-best only to Preki (0.33) in club history among players with 20 or more goals.

A minimum of 32 MLS All-Stars are named each year, per the collective bargaining agreement. Following the initial round of fan voting, as well as the head coach and commissioner’s picks, Major League Soccer player voting determined the remainder of the allotted All-Star selections announced on Wednesday.

2012 MLS All-Stars

Goalkeeper: Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA), Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Jon Busch (San Jose Earthquakes)

Defenders: Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Ramiro Corrales (San Jose Earthquakes), Jay DeMerit (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Heath Pearce (New York Red Bulls), Carlos Valdes (Philadelphia Union), Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)

Midfielders: Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake),  Dwayne De Rosario (D.C. United), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Michael Farfan (Philadelphia Union), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City), Marvin Chavez (San Jose Earthquakes)

Forwards: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Pontius  (D.C. United), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Kenny Cooper (New York Red Bulls), Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC), Kei Kamara (Sporting Kansas City), Fabian Espindola (Real Salt Lake)

Sporting KC All-Stars (1996-2012)