MLS Cup
The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, used since 2008
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| Founded | 1996 |
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| Region | Major League Soccer (CONCACAF) |
| Current champions | Toronto FC (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | LA Galaxy (5 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | ESPN, Fox, UniMás, TSN, TVA Sports |
| Website | MLSSoccer.com |
 MLS Cup 2018 |
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The league hosted its inaugural championship, MLS Cup '96 on October 20, 1996. Today the MLS Cup is typically held in early December, featuring the winners of the Eastern Conference Championship and Western Conference Championship. LA Galaxy are the most successful team, winning a record fifth Cup in 2014.
During its history, the MLS Cup has been represented by three different trophies: the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy from 1996 through 1998, a redesigned Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy from 1999 through 2007, and the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy since 2008.[2]
Contents
History
D.C. United's Early Successes
The MLS Cup's roots trace back to the foundation of Major League Soccer, when the league decided to have a championship format similar to its contemporary North American sports leagues by having the season culminate in a postseason tournament to determine the league champion.For the first few MLS Cup finals, the championship was dominated by D.C. United, who appeared in the first four MLS Cup finals, winning three of them. The inaugural MLS Cup, MLS Cup '96 was the first MLS Cup championship match, featuring United and Los Angeles Galaxy. The inaugural match had the Galaxy take an early 1–0 lead, and double in early in the second half. However, their lead was relinquished towards the end of the match when Tony Sanneh pulled one back in the 72nd minute. Nine minutes later, Shawn Medved tied the match at two, resulting in overtime between the two sides. Four minutes into overtime, Eddie Pope gave United the golden goal victory.
In 1997, the second league cup final was contested at RFK Stadium, where United won back-to-back titles, a feat that would not be accomplished for another decade (when Houston Dynamo won the 2006 and 2007 finals). The game ended 2–1 in United's favor over Colorado Rapids, who would not win a championship until 2010. Jaime Moreno was declared Man of the Match for his goal in the 37th minute of play. This season was also the first time in league history any MLS team won the regular season (Supporters' Shield) and postseason title in the same season.
D.C. United's run ended the third year, when they made a third run to the MLS Cup finals, only to lose to the expansion-side Chicago Fire by 2-0. However the following year, United repeated their "double" of winning both the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup the same season. This time, it was a 2–0 win over the Galaxy in the 1999 MLS Cup final.
Rise of the California Clásico
For the first time since 1997, the 2000 MLS Cup final saw a new club reach the finals along with the Fire. This time the Kansas City Wizards won their first MLS Cup with a 1–0 victory over the Fire.
With the largest crowd in MLS Cup history at hand, the New England Revolution took on the Galaxy in the 2002 finals. For the match, over 61,000 fans were in attendance at Gillette Stadium to witness the final. In the second period of sudden-death overtime, the Galaxy nabbed their first MLS Cup title, and sparked the start of a string of MLS Cup losses for the Revolution.
The 2003 final saw the league leaders for that season go head-to-head. Two clubs that had MLS Cup experience, the Fire and Earthquakes, played for the final that year. The two clubs had successful regular season campaigns with the Fire winning their first ever Supporters' Shield, and the Earthquakes being the Western Conference regular season and post-season champions as well as having the second best overall regular season record. In a hotly contested match, the Earthquakes won with their second MLS Cup title with a 4–2 score making it the highest scoring MLS Cup final in league history (six goals).
After a four-year absence, United made their fifth trip to the MLS Cup final, playing against the Wizards for MLS Cup 2004. The match had four goals scored in the first 25 minutes, with United rallying for a 3–1 lead. Midway through the second half, United had relinquished a penalty kick. Josh Wolff scored for Kansas City, bringing the game within a goal. D.C. United was able to retain the lead, by winning their fourth MLS Cup title, by a score of 3–2.
Format changes
Until 2005, the MLS Cup championship games had been dominated by clubs that had either won or had come close to winning the Supporters Shield. In the 2005 MLS Cup championship, the match was won by the Los Angeles Galaxy, who won the league title by having a 9th-place overall record.[3] Consequently, the Wizards had a better record, but did not qualify for the playoffs because they finished 5th in the Eastern Conference, in spite of an 8th-place overall record.[3] The result prompted MLS to create new wild-cards that were used starting in 2006, where only a certain number of clubs per conference could qualify, and the next best overall teams regardless of conference would also qualify. That in itself prompted debates about the league switching to a single table and a balanced schedule. The single table has yet been instituted, but in 2010 the league instituted a balanced schedule.[4]Scudetto era
Second MLS Scudetto (2009–2012)
The MLS scudetto was originally a curved, triangular badge featuring a backdrop of the American flag behind a replica of the Alan I. Rothenberg MLS Cup trophy. First worn by Los Angeles Galaxy in 2006, following their 2005 MLS Cup title,[5] the Houston Dynamo wore the same triangular scudettos in 2007 and 2008 during their dual-cup run. It was redesigned after the 2008 season after the change to the MLS Cup trophy. It is now an oval-shaped black badge with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy in the middle. The MLS scudetto is worn by the winning team the season following the victory. It is only during the subsequent season (two years after winning the championship), that the team adds a star – a common soccer signifier of titles won – above the team logo. The team can display the star on other items beside their jersey in the year after winning the Cup, but only if the scudetto is not shown. The Columbus Crew was the first team to wear the redesigned scudetto. Real Salt Lake would wear the scudetto in 2010 after winning their first MLS cup in 2009. A year after the Colorado Rapids would also wear the scudetto after their cup run in 2010 for the 2011 season. Finally the Los Angeles Galaxy would wear the scudetto after winning the MLS Cup in 2011, ironically it would be the last team to wear the redesigned scudetto. After the 2012 season, MLS decided not to use the scudetto for upcoming season and instead the defending MLS Cup champions would have a gold star above one or more silver stars indication the team's MLS Cup wins, followed by an additional silver star added to the lined stars the following season. The Los Angeles Galaxy were the first to receive the gold star above the team's three silver stars for the 2013 season.
"Buffalo Bills" of MLS
While the Galaxy earned their second MLS Cup trophy and the Houston Dynamo earned consecutive cups, the New England Revolution went on a run of making three consecutive MLS Cup finals, losing all of them. Two of their three losses were in extra time, while the other was lost on penalty kicks. The infamy gave the club the title of being the Buffalo Bills (an NFL American football team) of MLS.[6] This was in reference to the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl games in the early 1990s, in which they lost in every single appearance. In the 2005 final, they lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy, a rematch of 2002, in the final. Held at Pizza Hut Park (now Toyota Stadium) in Frisco, Texas, the Galaxy defeated the Revolution by a score of 1–0 thanks to a 105th-minute overtime goal from Galaxy midfielder and Guatemalan international, Guillermo Ramírez. Ramírez's goal sealed the Galaxy's second MLS Cup title, and left the Revs searching once again.In 2006, the championship was once again played in Frisco at Pizza Hut Park. This time the Revolution took on the Houston Dynamo. Both were coming off a successful season, in which they fell short of winning the Supporters' Shield. A sellout crowd of 22,427 attended the match, which is to date the largest crowd in the stadium's history.[citation needed] Revolution forward Taylor Twellman scored an overtime goal in the 113th minute to give the Revolution the 1–0 lead. However, Dynamo captain and forward Brian Ching immediately tied the score following the Revolution's goal. The match went to penalties, in which the Dynamo won 4–3. This left the Revolution for a second-consecutive year searching for league glory. It was also the first time in league history that a club made the MLS Cup final and lost consecutively.[7]
In the 2007 final, the Revolution and Dynamo played each other once again for the 2007 cup. Played in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium, a crowd just shy of 40,000 witnessed the championship.[7] The announced crowd of 39,859 made it the largest MLS Cup crowd since 2002.[citation needed] The Revolution had a successful season, earning their first U.S. Open Cup title. The Revolution wanted their first ever MLS Cup crown, and wanted to win their first ever "Double" in club history. Houston, finishing just shy once again to D.C. United of winning the MLS Supporters' Shield were determined to finish their second season with some hardware, and to defend their MLS Cup title.[7] The match went in the Revolution's favor early on, as the Revolution's captain, Twellman, netted in the 20th minute to give New England a 1–0 lead. However, midway through the second half, the Dynamo retaliated. Dynamo striker Joseph Ngwenya leveled things at one apiece in the 61st minute, and MLS Cup Man of the Match, Dwayne De Rosario gave the Dynamo a 2–1 lead in the 74th.[7] The goal also proved to be the winning goal, as the Dynamo earned the first back-to-back MLS Cup titles since D.C. United in 1996 and 1997.[7]
Underdogs winning the cup
Held at Seattle's CenturyLink Field (then Qwest Field), Real Salt Lake defeated L.A. Galaxy in MLS Cup 2009 to win their first championship.
The following championship saw two intra-conference clubs meet in the final for the second consecutive year, this time in Seattle's Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field). The Western Conference regular season and postseason champions, Los Angeles Galaxy took on Real Salt Lake, who finished fifth in the West. Although the Sounders FC management had originally planned on capping the seats available in Qwest Field to 35,700, surging demand led to the release of an additional 10,000 seats, expanding the total capacity to roughly 45,700. The announced crowd was 46,011. The crowd size was the first championship crowd since 2002 to draw over 45,000 spectators. Televised on ESPN, it was the first time that the MLS championship match was televised on the cable network; the first thirteen were carried on ABC. In the 41st minute, Galaxy striker Mike Magee scored, only for Salt Lake's Robbie Findley to make the tying goal in the 61st. The stalemate was not broken in regulation nor overtime, requiring penalty kicks to decide the match. Thanks to a strike from Salt Lake's Robbie Russell, Salt Lake won their first major trophy. By winning the championship, they gained entry into the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League. There, they made it to the final, only to lose to Monterrey of Mexico.
At the 2010 season's end, six teams from the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs, whereas only two clubs from the East qualified, making it the largest disparity between the two conferences in league history. The league's seeding at the time awarded conference winners earned the top seeds, the two weakest Western Conference teams, San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids were seeded against the Eastern Conference champion, New York Red Bulls and runner-up Columbus Crew, respectively. Some cited this as an unfair advantage for the Rapids and Earthquakes, as both teams made the semi-finals. In the end, the Rapids played FC Dallas for MLS Cup 2010, winning 2–1 in overtime.
Galaxy dynasty
Some claim that the Galaxy's dynasty began in 2009, when they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005, and marched to the finals, only to lose on penalties to Real Salt Lake. In 2010, and again, in 2011, the Galaxy won consecutive Supporters' Shield, and completed the league double winning both the Shield and MLS Cup in 2011. This was the first time this had been accomplished since the Columbus Crew achieved it in 2008. In the 2011 MLS Cup final, the Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo, 1–0 off a 72nd minute Donovan goal. The goal was scored off a Galaxy counter where Beckham fed a through ball to Donovan who slotted it past Hall. The 2012 final featured both the Galaxy and Dynamo again, making it the first since 2007 that an MLS Cup final was a rematch of the previous final. Again, the Galaxy won the final, this time coming from behind to defeat the Dynamo by a 3–1 scoreline. The match was Beckham's final MLS match.
During the 2013 season, the Galaxy's chance to three-peat was thwarted by Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake defeated the Galaxy, 2–1 on aggregate, to advance to the MLS Cup final, where they eventually lost to Sporting Kansas City.
The following season, the Galaxy reached the MLS Cup final again, playing the New England Revolution, making it a rematch of MLS Cup 2002 and MLS Cup 2005. In extra-time a Robbie Keane goal propelled the Galaxy to their fifth MLS match, a victory in the 2014 MLS Cup.
Cascadia wins and first Canadian victory
Osvaldo Alonso of Seattle Sounders FC lifting the MLS Cup trophy in December 2016
The Seattle Sounders FC faced Toronto FC in the 2016 MLS Cup, which was played at BMO Field in Toronto on the evening of December 10, 2016. The temperature at the start of the match was 21 °F (−6 °C) (10 °F (−12 °C), when adjusted for wind chill), with strong winds coming off Lake Ontario. The field was watered shortly before the match, and resultant field was described as icy by players. The Seattle Sounders FC defeated Toronto FC 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless match of 90 minutes regular time and 30 minutes overtime. The Sounders did not register a single shot on goal, becoming the first MLS club to do so in a match, regular season or otherwise. The Sounders, despite a very poor start and mid-season managerial change, became the second team from the Pacific Northwest to win the cup, after Portland in 2015.
In the 2017 MLS Cup, Toronto FC and Seattle faced off in a rematch of the previous edition, also at BMO Field. Toronto FC won the match 2–0, and became the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup, and the first MLS team to complete a domestic treble, after winning the Canadian Championship and Supporters' Shield earlier in the year.[9]
Broadcasting
The first 13 Cup finals were aired on ABC. ESPN was awarded the rights in 2008. All MLS Cup playoff games are televised on ESPN, Fox Sports, or Univisión networks. UniMás will air two exclusive playoff matches, while ESPN and its affiliated networks will split the rest of the contests – including MLS Cup – with Fox Sports. Univision also airs the MLS Cup in Spanish.[10]The 2016 edition of the final was the first to be aired by Fox.[11]
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