ROSTERS REVEALED FOR
RSL/ZIONS BANK LIGAS ALL-STAR GAME, PRESENTED BY EL OBSERVADOR DE UTAH
Pair of 18-man Rosters Featuring Best from Four Area
Ligas to Square off at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 18 Following
RSL-Chicago Fire Match
SANDY, Utah (Friday, August 27, 2010) – Real Salt Lake and corporate partners Zions Bank and El Observador de Utah today announced the 36 players and four coaches that will comprise the rosters competing in the upcoming Real Salt Lake/Zions Bank Ligas All-Star Game, presented by El Observador de Utah. The first edition of the RSL/Zions Bank Ligas All-Star Game will take place at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 18, following Real Salt Lake’s MLS regular season contest against the Chicago Fire, which is slated for a 2:00 p.m. MT kickoff.
“With the two All-Star Teams now
assembled, we look forward to welcoming the local ligas' best talents to Rio
Tinto Stadium,” said Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning. “With the first edition of this great community event
joining what should be an important match for Real Salt Lake against Chicago,
we’re looking forward to what will be a special day of soccer here in Sandy.”
Players and coaches from four of the area’s
most prominent adult leagues – Liga
Premier de Ogden, Liga Mexico-Utah,
Liga OCD, and Liga Latinoamericana – were eligible for selection for this year’s
inaugural contest. After the Presidents of the four ligas submitted their lists
of eligible candidates in the spring, hundreds of ballots were turned in after
fan voting stared in mid-June to determine the players and coaches that will
earn the honor of representing their ligas at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“Zions Bank would like to congratulate all
the players and coaches selected to participate in what we hope will be the
first of many Ligas All-Star Games at Rio Tinto Stadium,” said Rob Brough, Zions Bank Executive Vice
President of Marketing and Communications. “Zions Bank has been honored to
partner with so many in the local Hispanic community to launch this grass-roots
initiative, and we look forward to seeing these top players get the chance to
display their talents at a world-class venue.”
The 36 players and four coaches representing
the ligas will be split into two squads for the Sept. 18 showdown, with Liga Latinoamericana
and Liga Premier de Ogden combining to form the North squad and Liga Mexico-Utah and Liga OCD joining to comprise
the West team. In addition, a fifth
youth liga, Victor’s Tires Kids,
will participate in a halftime mini-game and provide children for the pre-game
“Dream Team” and ball kids for the match.
“El Observador is thrilled to sponsor this
exciting tournament. Since our launch seven months ago we, and our readers,
have been following the local soccer leagues up close. It will be incredible to
see the star players of those leagues compete on the Rio Tinto pitch,” said El
Observador de Utah Editor Patricia
Quijano Dark. “Our local leagues are built on the universal language of
soccer. Their strength comes from the knowledge that they are helping to
eliminate cultural barriers and increase awareness and tolerance for others.”
Following are the North and West squad
rosters for the 2010 RSL/Zions Bank Ligas All-Star Game, presented by El
Observador de Utah, along with photo galleries for the participating players and coaches:
North
Ligas All-Stars
Coaches:Ernesto Hernandez (Premier Ogden), Rufino Posadas
(Latinoamericana)
Goalkeepers: Ricardo Nolasco (Premier de Ogden), Christian Sanchez (Latinoamericana)
Defenders: Jose Bautista (Latinoamericana), Socrates Estrada (Latinoamericana), Luis Garcia (Latinoamericana), Alberto Morales (Premier de Ogden), Gustavo Ortega (Premier de Ogden), Erick Saavedra (Premier de Ogden)
Midfielders: Jorge Estrada (Latinoamericana), Junior Garcia (Premier de Ogden), Juan Carlos Lopez (Latinoamericana), Ricardo Lopez (Latinoamericana), Eduardo Rivera (Premier de Ogden), Jose Rodriguez (Premier de Ogden)
Forwards:Marcos Estrada (Latinoamericana), Allan Garcia (Premier de Ogden), Alfonso Perea (Premier de Ogden), Francisco Rodriguez (Latinoamericana)
Premier de Ogden Photo Gallery
Latinoamericana Photo Gallery
West Ligas All-Stars
Coaches: Javier Aguilar (Mexico-Utah), Roberto Aguilar (OCD)
Goalkeepers: Arturo
Ledezma (Mexico-Utah), Luis Morales (OCD)
Defenders:Gerardo Guerrero (OCD), Fabian Hernandez (Mexico-Utah), Ulices Larumbe (Mexico-Utah), Mike Maldonado (Mexico-Utah), Hugo Palafox (OCD), Lemuel Reyes (OCD)
Midfielders:Antonio Aburto (Mexico-Utah), Juan Carlos Chamale (OCD), Antonio Guillen (Mexico-Utah), Rene Hernandez (OCD), Daaren Tapia (OCD), Alejandro Zavala (Mexico-Utah)
Forwards:Efren Aguilar (Mexico-Utah), Israel Hernandez (OCD), Gerardo Montes (OCD), Luis Orozco (Mexico-Utah)
OCD Photo Gallery
Mexico-Utah Photo Gallery
For more information on the inaugural Real
Salt Lake/Zions Bank Ligas All-Star Game, presented by El Observador de Utah,
please contact Salvador Perez in the
Real Salt Lake Ticketing Department at 801-727-2861
or sperez@RealSaltLake.com.
www.RealSaltLake.com / www.RioTintoStadium.com
www.RSLtotheCore.com
/ www.ESPN700Sports.com