Minnesota United All-Star Emanuel Reynoso finds 'nice things will come'

They don't do this All-Star Game thing where Minnesota United star Emanuel Reynoso comes from.

"In Argentina, this isn't really done," he said.

Yet his inclusion in MLS' 28-man team that plays Mexico's Liga MX All Stars later this month in Los Angeles speaks a universal language found in the fine details of his contract.

"Yes," Reynoso said, laughing, "there is a bonus."

MLS All-Star and Los Angeles FC coach Bob Bradley coach chose Reynoso as one of his 13 coach's picks after fans, players and media voted for the team's first 13 players. Commissioner Don Garber had two more picks of his own selections after that.

Reynoso's next chance to show why is Saturday's game against Houston at Allianz Field.

"I'm very grateful for my teammates, for everyone who works here at the club who do everything possible for us," Reynoso said in Spanish through an interpreter. "It makes me very happy to be among the 28 best players in MLS."

The next chance for the Loons to showcase Reynoso comes Saturday against Houston at Allianz Field.

Coach Adrian Heath has said all season that his playmaking midfielder is a deserving All-Star. Heath isn't basing it on what he says, but what his coaching peers say.

"I only have to speak to the coaches we play against consistently after every game, who try and stop Rey," Heath said. "They've tried a few strong-arm tactics over time. It's more difficult than it seems. He has had that type of stuff since he was a kid. He has always been extremely talented."

Heath mentions his All-Star in the same breath with a history of MLS greats such as Alejandro Pozuelo, Sebastian Giovinco, Robbie Keane and Diego Valeri — all of whom delivered the kind of final ball that so many others cannot.

In last Saturday's 2-2 draw with Vancouver, Reynoso delivered a one-touch pass with his dominant left foot through a tangle of opponents ahead to Ethan Finlay for a goal that tied the score 1-1 just before halftime.

"You have to be ready for those passes because sometimes you don't think he sees you and he does," Finlay said.

Heath called that pass that found Finlay free "sublime."

"People think giving that final pass is easy," Heath said. "But just half a yard wrong side or if the velocity is just off and you don't get that opportunity. It's gone. I played with lots of players who know the pass, but never had the technique and skill to make it. That's the difference between those top players.

"This guy is in that bracket, so I can't pay him more accolades than that. We're talking probably one of the best three, four players in this league."

Still, Heath wants more.

Namely, more goal scoring from a player so intent and content with creating for teammates. He scored his second goal this season on a sliding, left-footed shot in a 2-2 draw at LAFC last week.

"He's as good as anybody I've seen with the final pass," Heath said. "But now we've got to keep on him about goals because that will take him from being a 5-10 million pound player to a 20-million pound player. The hardest thing in football is scoring and making goals. That's why they go for the most money.

"The great incentive playing with Rey is if you put the run on, he will find you. Invariably, he will find you."

Reynoso calls Heath's cajoling "a lot of grief" that's all for the good.

"He wanted me to improve, wants me to score more and be more available in the [field's] final third," Reynoso said. "Coach is always trying to get me to play forward more and I try to do what he asks of me."

So far, that kind of cooperation has earned Reynoso a spot among 28 MLS stars while playing for a Loons team that is 6-1-5 in its past 12 games after an 0-4 season start.

"Nice things will come," Reynoso said. "You keep working and I continue to be grateful to my teammates and my coach, who gives me so much confidence. They give you the confidence to have fun on the pitch and do it with sacrifice and humility."