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1996 Major League Soccer season
Season1996
MLS Cup D.C. United (1st title)
Supporters' Shield Tampa Bay Mutiny (1st shield)
1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup D.C. United
Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played160
Goals scored539 (3.37 per match)
Top goalscorer Roy Lassiter
(27 goals)
Longest winning run Los Angeles Galaxy
Games: 12
(04/13 – 06/30)
Longest losing run Columbus Crew
Games: 6
(05/15 – 06/22)
Highest attendance92,216
LA 2–2 TB
(June 16, 1996)
Lowest attendance6,013
COL 4–2 KC
(August 7, 1996)
Total attendance2,785,001
Average attendance17,406
1997

The 1996 Major League Soccer season was the inaugural season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 84th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 18th with a national first-division league.

Overview

Preparation for first season

Major League Soccer had originally intended to begin competitive action in 1995. Various difficulties forced the league to postpone its first season until 1996. In preparation for its first season, the league began signing what it called marquee players, [1] beginning with Tab Ramos on January 3, 1995. [2] Beginning in October 1995, the league apportioned the marquee players in the MLS Inaugural Allocations. [3] Each team received two national team and two foreign players in the allocation. [4] The league then invited about 250 players to a tryout the second week of January 1996 on the campus of UC Irvine. [5] On February 6 and 7, 1996, the league held its 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft in which the ten teams selected 160 players over sixteen rounds. The Columbus Crew selected Brian McBride with the first pick of the draft. On March 4, 1996, the league then held the 1996 MLS College Draft followed by the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft later that day. Despite the numerous drafts, the teams were not obligated to sign only players from the drafts. [6]

Preseason

The preseason began the first week of March. The teams reduced their rosters to twenty-two players by March 25 and had to make a final roster reduction to eighteen by April 15. [7] The teams had a $1,200,000 salary cap with no player allowed to receive more than $192,500. In order to promote American players, teams were limited to five foreigners on the roster. [8]

Season

Each of the 10 MLS teams played 32 games. A regulation win was worth three points, a shootout win one point, and zero points for a loss in any manner. Fear of alienating fans with tied games had led the league to adopting the shootout when games ended even. The league also adopted a countdown clock instead of running clock, unlike IFAB's standards. The league also divided the teams equally into two conferences – Eastern and Western.

The league began its first season on Saturday, April 6, 1996, when the San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United at Spartan Stadium. ESPN carried the game live which the Clash won on a goal by Eric Wynalda. That goal was selected as the Goal of the Year. The regular season ended on September 22. The playoffs began two days later.

Stadiums and locations

Team Stadium Capacity
Colorado Rapids Mile High Stadium 76,273
Columbus Crew Ohio Stadium 102,329
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
Dallas Burn Cotton Bowl 92,100
Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium 81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 92,542
New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 60,292
NY/NJ MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200
San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny Houlihan's Stadium 74,301

Personnel and sponsorships

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Colorado Rapids England Bob Houghton
Columbus Crew Finland Timo Liekoski South Africa Doctor Khumalo Snickers
D.C. United United States Bruce Arena MasterCard
Dallas Burn United States Dave Dir
Kansas City Wiz England Ron Newman
Los Angeles Galaxy Germany Lothar Osiander
New England Revolution Republic of Ireland Frank Stapleton
NY/NJ MetroStars Italy Eddie Firmani United States Peter Vermes
San Jose Clash England Laurie Calloway United States John Doyle Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny Netherlands Thomas Rongen

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment
NY/NJ MetroStars Italy Eddie Firmani Fired May 24, 1996 Portugal Carlos Queiroz May 30, 1996
Columbus Crew Finland Timo Liekoski Resigned August 2, 1996 United States Tom Fitzgerald August 2, 1996
Colorado Rapids England Bob Houghton Fired September 10, 1996 United States Roy Wegerle September 13, 1996

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 19 1 12 66 51 +15 58 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 D.C. United 32 15 1 16 62 56 +6 46
3 NY/NJ MetroStars 32 12 3 17 45 47 −2 39
4 Columbus Crew 32 11 4 17 59 60 −1 37
5 New England Revolution 32 9 6 17 43 56 −13 33
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 15 4 13 59 49 +10 49 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Dallas Burn 32 12 5 15 50 48 +2 41
3 Kansas City Wiz 32 12 5 15 61 63 −2 41
4 San Jose Clash 32 12 3 17 50 50 0 39
5 Colorado Rapids 32 9 2 21 44 59 −15 29
Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tampa Bay Mutiny (S) 32 19 1 12 66 51 +15 58
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 15 4 13 59 49 +10 49 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
3 D.C. United (C) 32 15 1 16 62 56 +6 46
4 Dallas Burn 32 12 5 15 50 48 +2 41
5 Kansas City Wiz 32 12 5 15 61 63 −2 41
6 NY/NJ MetroStars 32 12 3 17 45 47 −2 39
7 San Jose Clash 32 12 3 17 50 50 0 39
8 Columbus Crew 32 11 4 17 59 60 −1 37
9 New England Revolution 32 9 6 17 43 56 −13 33
10 Colorado Rapids 32 9 2 21 44 59 −15 29
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
             
E1 Tampa Bay Mutiny 2 1 4
E4 Columbus Crew 0 2 1
E1 Tampa Bay Mutiny 1 1 x
Eastern Conference
E2 D.C. United 4 2 x
E2 D.C. United 2 (5) 1 2
E3 NY/NJ MetroStars *(pen.) 2 (6)* 0 1
E2 D.C. United (aet) 3
W1 Los Angeles Galaxy 2
W1 Los Angeles Galaxy 0 2 2
W4 San Jose Clash 1 0 0
W1 Los Angeles Galaxy *(pen.) 2 1 (3)* x
Western Conference
W3 Kansas City Wiz 1 1 (1) x
W2 Dallas Burn 2 2 2 (2)
W3 Kansas City Wiz *(pen.) 3 1 2 (3)*
  • Best of Three series winners will advance.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
NY/NJ MetroStars2–2 D.C. United
Report
Penalties
6–5
Game 2
D.C. United1–0 NY/NJ MetroStars
Report
Attendance: 21,442
Game 3
D.C. United2–1 NY/NJ MetroStars
Report
Attendance: 20,423
Referee: Brian Hall
  • D.C. United wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Game 1
Columbus Crew0–2 Tampa Bay Mutiny
Report
Attendance: 20,807
Referee: Brian Hall
Game 2
Tampa Bay Mutiny1–2 Columbus Crew
Report
Attendance: 13,009
Referee: Rich Grady
Game 3
Tampa Bay Mutiny4–1 Columbus Crew
Report
Attendance: 6,871
Referee: Tim Weyland
  • Tampa Bay Mutiny wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Western Conference

Game 1
Kansas City Wiz3–2 Dallas Burn
Report
Game 2
Dallas Burn2–1 Kansas City Wiz
Report Preki 30'
Attendance: 10,125
  • Kansas City Wiz wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Game 1
San Jose Clash1–0 Los Angeles Galaxy
Report
Game 2
Los Angeles Galaxy2–0 San Jose Clash
Report
Attendance: 27,833
Referee: Joshua Patlak
Game 3
Los Angeles Galaxy2–0 San Jose Clash
Report
Attendance: 30,231
  • Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United4–1 Tampa Bay Mutiny
Report
Attendance: 23,566
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Tampa Bay Mutiny1–2 D.C. United
Report
Attendance: 9,339
Referee: Rich Grady
  • D.C. United wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy2–1 Kansas City Wiz
Report Preki 52'
Attendance: 25,212
Referee: Brian Hall
  • Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.

MLS Cup

Los Angeles Galaxy2–3 ( a.e.t.) D.C. United
Report

Player statistics

Goals

Rank Player Club Goals
1 United States Roy Lassiter Tampa Bay Mutiny 27
2 El Salvador Raúl Díaz Arce D.C. United 23
3 Ecuador Eduardo Hurtado Los Angeles Galaxy 21
4 United States Preki Kansas City Wiz 18
5 United States Brian McBride Columbus Crew 17
6 United States Steve Rammel D.C. United 14
7 United States Paul Bravo San Jose Clash 13
United States Jason Kreis Dallas Burn
Venezuela Giovanni Savarese NY/NJ MetroStars
Zimbabwe Vitalis Takawira Kansas City Wiz

Assists

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Bolivia Marco Etcheverry D.C. United 16
2 United States Eric Wynalda San Jose Clash 11
Colombia Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny
4 El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy 10
5 United States Preki Kansas City Wiz 9
United States Mark Chung Kansas City Wiz
United States Tab Ramos NY/NJ Metrostars
8 Uruguay Adrián Paz Columbus Crew 8
Italy Roberto Donadoni NY/NJ MetroStars
United States John Harkes D.C. United

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 United States Tony Meola NY/NJ Metrostars 9
2 United States Mark Dodd Dallas Burn 6
3 Mexico Jorge Campos Los Angeles Galaxy 4
United States Brad Friedel Columbus Crew
England Aidan Heaney New England Revolution
United States Tom Liner San Jose Clash
United States Dave Salzwedel San Jose Clash
8 United States Mark Dougherty Tampa Bay Mutiny 3
United States Garth Lagerway Kansas City Wiz
United States Mark Simpson D.C. United

Awards

Individual awards

Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player Colombia Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny
Defender of the Year United States John Doyle San Jose Clash
Goalkeeper of the Year United States Mark Dodd Dallas Burn
Coach of the Year Netherlands Thomas Rongen Tampa Bay Mutiny
Rookie of the Year United States Steve Ralston Tampa Bay Mutiny
Scoring Champion United States Roy Lassiter Tampa Bay Mutiny
Goal of the Year United States Eric Wynalda San Jose Clash

Best XI

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Mark Dodd, Dallas Colombia Leonel Álvarez, Dallas
United States John Doyle, San Jose
United States Robin Fraser, LA Galaxy
El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos, LA Galaxy
Italy Roberto Donadoni, MetroStars
Bolivia Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
United States Preki, Kansas City
Colombia Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay
Ecuador Eduardo Hurtado, LA Galaxy
United States Roy Lassiter, Tampa Bay

Weekly awards

Monthly awards

Attendance

Rank Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1 Los Angeles Galaxy 16 462,650 92,216 8,561 28,916
2 NY/NJ Metrostars 16 382,360 53,250 14,007 23,898
3 New England Revolution 16 304,392 38,633 11,009 19,025
4 Columbus Crew 16 303,202 31,550 12,832 18,950
5 San Jose Clash 16 275,712 31,728 10,894 17,232
6 Dallas Burn 16 256,173 35,250 7,338 16,011
7 D.C. United 16 244,199 35,032 7,360 15,262
8 Kansas City Wiz 16 206,044 21,141 8,062 12,878
9 Tampa Bay Mutiny 16 186,856 26,473 6,281 11,679
10 Colorado Rapids 16 163,413 21,711 6,013 10,213
Total 160 2,785,001 92,216 6,013 17,406

References

  1. ^ 1996 marquee players - 90soccer.com- Ken Salmon
  2. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: SOCCER; Ramos Signs With Major League Soccer (Published 1995)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "SOCCER; Major League Soccer Gets Set for Unveilings (Published 1995)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "SOCCER;Giants Stadium Will Go Natural Again (Published 1995)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Pro Soccer Combine Begins Today at UC Irvine
  6. ^ 1996 draft - latimes.com
  7. ^ RAPIDS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS
  8. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1995". Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

External links