Toronto FC's Dwayne DeRosario celebrates scoring his side's goal against DC United during first half MLS action in Toronto on Aug. 15, 2009. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)Toronto FC captain Dwayne De Rosario was selected to the starting lineup for the 2010 MLS all-star game on Tuesday.
It will be the 32-year-old's fifth appearance on the teamsheet of the league's midseason showpiece.
"[Whenever I] get a nomination to the all-star team, I have to credit the guys around me," De Rosario told the team's website. "They're the ones that make me an all-star, we're all all-stars and I'm grateful to the fans, coaches, players and media that voted for me."
De Rosario sits atop the team's stats sheet with eight goals and three assists in 13 games. The Scarborough native is third on the league's scoring chart, two goals behind league leader Edson Buddle.
De Rosario has had a sparkling 10-year career in MLS, winning the MLS Cup four times, MLS Cup MVP twice, and MLS Goal of the Year twice. He has scored two game-winning goals in the all-star game. In 2006, De Rosario netted the only goal in a 1-0 win for the league's all-stars over Chelsea, and in 2008, he scored the all-stars' third goal in a 3-2 win against West Ham United at BMO Field in Toronto.
This season, the league's best take on Manchester United at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on July 28. The famous English soccer team will be in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on Friday to face Celtic FC.
De Rosario might see limited playing time because 24 hours before the all-star game, Toronto FC faces Honduran club C.D. Motagua in the first leg of the qualifying round of the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League. The first leg will be played at BMO Field.
Toronto FC qualified for the North American competition after winning its second-straight Nutrilite Canadian Championship. After winning the award for the competition's most valuable player in 2009, De Rosario was named MVP of the Canadian tournament again this season.
