Mexico's Chivas to face MLS all-stars Aug. 2

CARSON, Calif. (AP) Mexican power Chivas de Guadalajara will face the best of Major League Soccer in the league's All-Star game Aug. 2, at the new Home Depot Center.

Chivas is the first foreign team to play in the MLS All-Star game.

Putting Chivas in the game is a continuation of the league's desire to face the best of the rest of the world, deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said Monday.

That plan began last season when the All-Star game matched the U.S. national team, minus its European-based players, against an MLS All-Star team.

The All-Stars won 3-2 at Washington, D.C., where a lightning storm caused a nearly one-hour delay and commissioner Don Garber decided to eliminate the final 15 minutes of the first half to allow a televised halftime concert by pop singer Paulina Rubio.

``Over the years, MLS has tinkered with its all-star format,'' Gazidis said in a conference call. ``It's been our objective to move over time to a more significant and competitive all-star format.''

The game was played in an East-West format from 1996-97 and 1999-2001. MLS all-stars from the United States faced their counterparts from the rest of the world in 1998.

``Adding this element of competition, together with the rivalry that exists between the United States and Mexico will provide a great, festive atmosphere at The Home Depot Center,'' Gazidis said.

Chivas, a 10-time champion of Mexico's First Division, has a devoted following on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and never has had a non-Mexican player on its roster.

The game will be a chance to avenge the Mexican national team's recent losses to the United States, Chivas owner Jorge Vergara said.

``I'm sure we're going to beat them,'' he said. ``It's a great opportunity for Chivas to show what it has.''

The MLS All-Star team is ``not going to embarrass itself on field,'' Gazidis said. ``We think we will win.''

MLS All-Star games have been played under liberalized substitution rules, which Gazidis said he expected to be tightened this year, but did not give specifics.

Fan voting for the MLS team will continue though July 7 on the league's Web site, www.MLSnet.com. Balloting among the league's coaches, general managers, players and media will also help determine the team.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)