All-Star Soccer?

It's an American concept, no doubt. The National Football League, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball (and others) all have All-Star games in their calendar; a celebration of the best in the game and a commemoration of its history.

While it is true that the various All-Star events are undeniably commercial and are not always competitive in the truest sense of professional sports, there are many reasons why these games are a loved staple of American sporting culture.

Firstly, the players enjoy them; in some cases it ties in with a mid-season break, in others it is a post-season festivity but whenever the game occurs, it gives the players a chance to mingle with their peers, to talk to them, to learn from them. Players bring their wives and children, meet with ex-teammates and woo potential free agents. Many also get autographs from their own heroes - past and present. Professional sports are so often labeled, and sometimes rightly so, as callous, distant and played by mercenaries but the nature of All-Star affairs relaxes the players, not just on the field but also in their interaction with fans and the media.

They enjoy playing, we enjoy watching. The fans gain a brief insight into potential matchups that may never see otherwise. In Baseball you might get to see Mariano Rivera pitch to Albert Pujols. In Basketball you can watch LeBron and Kobe hook it up. In the NFL Probowl you can see....well, not much as it's usually pretty dull (although the NFL are trying to tweak it to add an edge to it). Moreover, the fans can see what these guys would be like playing together; What if Randy Moss and Terrel Owens lined up across from each other? Who would whinge more about the lack of balls thrown their way? I wan't to know!

And it's not just the game itself; the shindig often combines various skills competitions that are at least mildly entertaining to sport-starved fans as well as the chance to hear from players, managers and owners that wouldn't talk openly during the season. All-Star events can create their own legacy; Josh Hamilton and Dwight Howard have both enhanced their stature hugely with their performances in the Home Run Derby and Slam Dunk Competition respectively.

Furthermore, an invitation to the show in itself is a great marker as to the ability, consistency and longevity of an athlete's career. Being voted into the game by your peers and fans may be somewhat of a popularity contest but, with the amount of media available even to the casual viewer, people are more knowledgeable than ever about sportsmen's performances. Nobody needs to know that Derek Jeter has 10 All-Star appearances to know that he's a potential MLB Hall of Famer or that Rod Woodson went to 11 Pro-Bowls as proof that he was one of the best defensive backs of all time and a deserving soon-to-be-inductee into the NFL Hall of Fame. But, what about in 30 years time? What if you never saw these guys play? Their number of appearances is a hint to their talent and performance.

So why is this concept so alien to English sports? Europe has some precedent; Greek football has a version, as does the European Basketball League. In England, there are regular exhibition games; pre-season friendlies, testimonials, the league cup....wait, scratch that last one. So how about an All-Star game in English football?

This biggest problem is logistical. When on earth in the crowded footballing calendar would such a game be feasible? The best players already have limited free time in the summer and the domestic game is littered with fixtures that restricts performance over the season. A winter break? well, yeah, that's the idea - it's no coincidence that most other major European leagues have them - but chances are that the Premier League members will not vote for two of their number to be resigned to the Championship or the FA to resign the League Cup to history to create the space in the fixture list.

But what if it replaced a game already out there, like the Charity Shield? The game means nothing other than to cut the ribbon on the oncoming season. How about a Domestic v Foreigners match with 22-man squads - as voted for by fans, journalists and players from the previous season - and limitless substitutions. Don't know about you but I'd quite fancy seeing Terry, Gerrard and Rooney versus Torres, Essien and Vidic.

The European Super Cup is similarly unimportant. The idea might work better on the international level; the European Champions could face a team made up of the best in Europe from the past season. Throw in a hardest shot, penalties and one on one competition with some wembley doubles and you've got a weekend in Monaco that people would actually care about and want to watch. Just an idea. Could be fun.