Inaugural season of Major League Soccer
Football league season
1996 Major League Soccer seasonSeason | 1996 |
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MLS Cup | D.C. United (1st title) |
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Supporters' Shield | Tampa Bay Mutiny (1st shield) |
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CONCACAF Champions' Cup | D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy |
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Matches played | 160 |
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Goals scored | 539 (3.37 per match) |
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Top goalscorer | Roy Lassiter (27 goals) |
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Longest winning run | Los Angeles Galaxy Games: 12 (04/13 – 06/30) |
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Longest losing run | Columbus Crew Games: 6 (05/15 – 06/22) |
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Highest attendance | 92,216 LA 2–2 TB (June 16, 1996) |
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Lowest attendance | 6,013 COL 4–2 KC (August 7, 1996) |
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Total attendance | 2,785,001 |
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Average attendance | 17,406 |
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Locations of teams for the 1996 Major League Soccer season
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/ButtonRed.svg/8px-ButtonRed.svg.png)
Western Conference
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/ButtonBlue.svg/8px-ButtonBlue.svg.png)
Eastern Conference
The 1996 Major League Soccer season was the inaugural season of Major League Soccer. It was 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
Coaching changes
Standings
Eastern Conference
Source: MLS
Western Conference
Source: MLS
Overall standings
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
- Best of Three series winners will advance.
Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference
Attendance: 20,423
Referee: Brian Hall
- D.C. United wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.
Attendance: 20,807
Referee: Brian Hall
Attendance: 13,009
Referee: Rich Grady
Attendance: 6,871
Referee: Tim Weyland
- Tampa Bay Mutiny wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.
Western Conference
Attendance: 4,466
Referee: Tim Weyland
Attendance: 9,802
Referee: Rich Grady
- Kansas City Wiz wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.
Attendance: 27,833
Referee: Joshua Patlak
- Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
Attendance: 9,339
Referee: Rich Grady
- D.C. United wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.
Western Conference
Attendance: 25,212
Referee: Brian Hall
Attendance: 11,041
Referee: Zimmerman Boulos
- Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup.
MLS Cup
Player statistics
Goals
Hat-tricks
Assists
Clean sheets
Awards
Individual awards
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 |
Player of the Month
Weekly 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
- ^ 1996 marquee players - 90soccer.com- Ken Salmon
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: SOCCER; Ramos Signs With Major League Soccer (Published 1995)". The New York Times. January 5, 1995. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (October 17, 1995). "SOCCER; Major League Soccer Gets Set for Unveilings (Published 1995)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (October 18, 1995). "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
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Eastern Conference | |
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Western Conference | |
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Future teams | |
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Former teams | |
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Personnel | |
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Competition | |
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Associated competitions | |
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Other | |
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Category Portal Multimedia |
1996 MLS season by team |
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Eastern | |
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Western | |
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