1996 Major League Soccer season

Inaugural season of Major League Soccer

Football league season

1996 Major League Soccer season
Season	1996
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 played	160
Goals scored	539 (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 attendance	92,216 LA 2–2 TB (June 16, 1996)
Lowest attendance	6,013 COL 4–2 KC (August 7, 1996)
Total attendance	2,785,001
Average attendance	17,406
1997 →

D.C. United

MetroStars

Tampa Bay

Columbus

New England

Colorado

Dallas

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

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Locations of teams for the 1996 Major League Soccer season

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

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	Bob Houghton
Columbus Crew	Timo Liekoski	Doctor Khumalo	Snickers
D.C. United	Bruce Arena		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Dave Dir
Kansas City Wiz	Ron Newman		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Lothar Osiander		—
New England Revolution	Frank Stapleton		—
NY/NJ MetroStars	Eddie Firmani	Peter Vermes
San Jose Clash	Laurie Calloway	John Doyle	Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Thomas Rongen

Coaching changes

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

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team v t e	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 v t e	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 v t e	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	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
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

September 24, 1996

Game 1

NY/NJ MetroStars	2–2	D.C. United
de Ávila 38' Savarese 75'	Report	Díaz Arce 24' Moreno 56'
Penalties
de Ávila Donadoni Ramos Joseph Knowles Silvera Savarese Zaun Meola Johnson Vermes	6–5	Agoos Etcheverry Moreno Díaz Arce Sanneh Harkes Gori Williams Peay Pope Causey

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 14,416

Referee: Esse Baharmast

September 27, 1996

Game 2

D.C. United	1–0	NY/NJ MetroStars
Etcheverry 72'	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 21,442

Referee: Paul Tamberino

October 2, 1996

Game 3

D.C. United	2–1	NY/NJ MetroStars
Rammel 67' Díaz Arce 89' (pen.)	Report	de Ávila 86'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 20,423

Referee: Brian Hall

D.C. United wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

September 25, 1996

Game 1

Columbus Crew	0–2	Tampa Bay Mutiny
	Report	Lassiter 82', 87'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 20,807

Referee: Brian Hall

September 28, 1996

Game 2

Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	Columbus Crew
Lassiter 26'	Report	Paz 1' McBride 58'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 13,009

Referee: Rich Grady

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Tampa Bay Mutiny	4–1	Columbus Crew
Vásquez 3' Lassiter 41', 58' Pittman 55'	Report	McBride 35'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 6,871

Referee: Tim Weyland

Tampa Bay Mutiny wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Western Conference

September 26, 1996

Game 1

Kansas City Wiz	3–2	Dallas Burn
Johnston 16' McKeon 79' Preki 89'	Report	Elliott 21' Ashton 25'

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 4,466

Referee: Tim Weyland

September 29, 1996

Game 2

Dallas Burn	2–1	Kansas City Wiz
Kreis 5' Washington 32'	Report	Preki 30'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 10,125

Referee: Esse Baharmast

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Dallas Burn	2–2	Kansas City Wiz
Sánchez 27' Elliott 66'	Report	Chung 41' Takawira 62'
Penalties
Haynes Lozzano Sánchez Farrer Ashton	2–3	Johnston Preki Klopas Wright Takawira

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 9,802

Referee: Rich Grady

Kansas City Wiz wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

September 26, 1996

Game 1

San Jose Clash	1–0	Los Angeles Galaxy
Ianni 36'	Report

Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California

Attendance: 17,209

Referee: Kevin Stott

September 29, 1996

Game 2

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–0	San Jose Clash
Fraser 84' Hurtado 90'	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 27,833

Referee: Joshua Patlak

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–0	San Jose Clash
Hurtado 31' Cienfuegos 36' (pen.)	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 30,231

Referee: Esse Baharmast

Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

October 10, 1996

Game 1

D.C. United	4–1	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Díaz Arce 36', 58', 60' Rammel 54'	Report	Lassiter 42'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 23,566

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 12, 1996

Game 2

Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	D.C. United
Ralston 14'	Report	Williams 49' Díaz Arce 82'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 9,339

Referee: Rich Grady

D.C. United wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.

Western Conference

October 10, 1996

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–1	Kansas City Wiz
Armas 48' Vanney 57'	Report	Preki 52'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 25,212

Referee: Brian Hall

October 13, 1996

Game 2

Kansas City Wiz	1–1	Los Angeles Galaxy
Preki 69'	Report	Vanney 77'
Penalties
Chung Preki Wright Sorber	1–3	Noamouz Fraser Jones Cienfuegos Vanney

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 11,041

Referee: Zimmerman Boulos

Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.

MLS Cup

October 20, 1996

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–3 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United
Hurtado 5' Armas 56'	Report	Sanneh 72' Medved 81' Pope 94'

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 34,643

Referee: Esse Baharmast

Player statistics

Goals

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

Assists

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

Clean sheets

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

Awards

Individual awards

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

Best XI

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

Weekly awards

Player of the Week
Week	Player	Club
Week 1	Eric Wynalda	San Jose Clash
Week 2	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew
Week 3	Marcelo Balboa	Colorado Rapids
Week 4	Bo Oshoniyi	Columbus Crew
Week 5	Giovanni Savarese	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 6	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew
Week 7	Jorge Campos	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 8	Preki	Kansas City Wiz
Week 9	John Doyle	San Jose Clash
Week 10	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 11	Mark Dodd	Dallas Burn
Week 12	Mark Chung	Kansas City Wiz
Week 13	Tony Meola	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 14	Raúl Díaz Arce	D.C. United
Week 15	Paul Bravo	San Jose Clash
Week 16	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 17	Joe-Max Moore	New England Revolution
Week 18	Tony Meola	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 19	Adrián Paz	Columbus Crew
Week 20	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
Week 21	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew
Week 22	Brian Maisonneuve	Columbus Crew
Week 23	Frank Yallop	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 24	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew

Monthly awards

Player of the Month
Month	Player	Club
April	Mauricio Cienfuegos	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	Carlos Valderrama	Tampa Bay Mutiny
June	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy
July	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn
August	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
September	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew

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

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

External links

1996 MLS Regular Season stats Archived August 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
Soccer Hall of Fame

v t e Major League Soccer
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v t e 1996 MLS season by team
College Draft Supplemental Draft First match All-Star Game Playoffs MLS Cup Transfers
Eastern	Columbus Crew D.C. United New England Revolution New York/New Jersey MetroStars Tampa Bay Mutiny
Western	Colorado Rapids Dallas Burn Kansas City Wiz Los Angeles Galaxy San Jose Clash