-Mark Fuery Major League Soccer announced on Tuesday afternoon that the 2011 MLS All-Star Game will be played on July 27 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., home of the New York Red Bulls. This will be the first time the game will be held in the New York area since 1997, when the league used the old East vs. West format. Since 2005, the MLS has picked a team of All-Stars to face a renowned international club in an attempt to showcase the league’s talents to the world. Last season, the MLS stars lost to the Manchester United by a score of 5-2, making the United the first team to beat the MLS squad in regulation time. Last year’s game was played in Houston’s Reliant Stadium in front of a crowd of more than 70,000. This year the scene will be very different, as Red Bull Arena is a much smaller soccer-specific venue, with a capacity of only 25,000. Despite its small size, Red Bull Arena is considered one of the premier soccer venues in the United States. The opponent for the 2011 game will be announced at a later date.

The New England Revolution are very excited in light of their upcoming matches against a pair of international power houses between Portugal’s SL Benfica and Brazil’s Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. The games are scheduled for Wednesday, May 19th and Sunday, June 13th at Gillette Stadium. Benfica has racked up a total of 32 Portuguese championships since their inaugural season in 1904. They’ve also claimed victory in two UEFA European Cups. Cruzeiro ranks as one of Brazil’s most popular clubs. The 2008 and 2009 league champs have won 36 titles in their history. “Not only is Cruzeiro one of South America’s top teams, but there is a tremendous Brazilian population in the New England area that hails from the Minais Gerais region of the country, and also claims Cruzeiro as their club and follow them from afar,” said Revolution Vice President of Business Development Craig Tornberg. “We expect a tremendous atmosphere for this match, and look forward to welcoming Cruzeiro to New England.” 2010 Revolution tickets are now available!

The complete 2010 MLS regular season schedule was just released earlier this afternoon, featuring the New England Revolution and Los Angeles Galaxy opening against each other Saturday, March 27th in Carson, CA. New England will then travel to Washington to matchup with DC United before hosting Toronto FC April 10th at Gillette. No Major League Soccer contests will be held from June 11th-25th in light of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Later this summer the Revs are set to enter SuperLiga 2010, an annual event showcasing the best professional clubs from the U.S. and Mexico. Be sure to check back for New England Revolution tickets!

Since 1996 the New England Revolution have shared Gillette Stadium in Foxborough with the Patriots. They could be headed to the Boston area. Owner Robert Kraft has been researching the possibility of a 20,000-30,000 person venue in Somerville, possibly over one of the new Green Line transit hubs. The region’s large contingent of soccer fans from all over the world, and the success that MLS teams enjoy when they move into their own stadium are both major factors for relocating the team. The Revs and rival Chicago Fire arrived at a 0-0 tie last Thursday night in Foxborough. New England goalkeeper Matt Reis put up a shutout, but an anemic Revs offense (now minus Taylor Twellman indefinitely) failed to put up any points against Chicago. The series moves to Chicago for the deciding game of the series on Thursday night.

Thanks to MVP caliber play from Matt Reis and Shalrie Joseph, the New England Revolution have the top spot in the MLS with 33 points. Six points ahead of the Columbus Crew, the Revolution seem to be heading towards the playoffs again. Despite a goal from David Beckham, the Revs won their Fourth of July contest with the LA Galaxy on the strengh of two goals from Adam Christman, within 4 minutes of each other. “They were both off set pieces,” Cristman said. The first came off of a Sharlrie Joseph header that snuck past the goalkeeper.  The second came off of a misplay following a Revolution corner kick. Galaxy goalkeeper made the save, but Steve Ralston managed to serve it up to Cristman, putting the Revs up by 2. Beckham managed to get a goal on a deflection off of a NE defender, but that was all the offense the Galaxy would get. “In the second half, I thought we had our chances and didn’t capitalize on them. That’s what makes it hard – to have the opportunities and come away with a loss,” Beckham said in a postgame interview. “I think this is one of the hardest teams we’ve come across and it’s encouraging that we came back in the second half. So that’s something to build on.” With the loss, Beckham’s Galaxy are now tied for first in the Western Conference with 21 points.