1996 Major League Soccer season

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, <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> beginning with Tab Ramos on January 3, 1995.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Beginning in October 1995, the league apportioned the marquee players in the MLS Inaugural Allocations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Each team received two national team and two foreign players in the allocation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The league then invited about 250 players to a tryout the second week of January 1996 on the campus of UC Irvine.<ref>Pro Soccer Combine Begins Today at UC Irvine</ref> 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.<ref>1996 draft - latimes.com </ref>

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.<ref>RAPIDS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stadiums and locations

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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	Template:Flagicon Roy Wegerle		Budweiser
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Tom Fitzgerald	Template:Flagicon Doctor Khumalo	Snickers
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Bruce Arena		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Dave Dir		AT&T
Kansas City Wiz	Template:Flagicon Ron Newman		AT&T
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Lothar Osiander		Budweiser
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Frank Stapleton		BIC
NY/NJ MetroStars	Template:Flagicon Carlos Queiroz	Template:Flagicon Peter Vermes	Fujifilm
San Jose Clash	Template:Flagicon Laurie Calloway	Template:Flagicon John Doyle	Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Template:Flagicon Thomas Rongen		Bandai

Coaching changes

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

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

• Best of Three series winners will advance.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

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

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

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Western Conference

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

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

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

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

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Western Conference

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

MLS Cup

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Player statistics

Goals

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

Hat-tricks

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Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Template:Flagicon Steve Rammel	D.C. United	Columbus Crew	5–2	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Giovanni Savarese	NY/NJ MetroStars	Colorado Rapids	3–0	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy	NY/NJ MetroStars	4–0	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	3–1	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Raúl Díaz Arce4	D.C. United	Dallas Burn	6–1	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy	Tampa Bay Mutiny	3–4	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Roy Lassiter	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Colorado Rapids	3–1	Template:Dts
Template:Flagicon Brian Maisonneuve	Columbus Crew	Kansas City Wiz	5–1	Template:Dts

Assists

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

Clean sheets

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

Awards

Individual awards

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

Best XI

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

Player of the Month

Month	Player	Club	Stats
April	Template:Flagicon Mauricio Cienfuegos	Los Angeles Galaxy	2G
May	Template:Flagicon Carlos Valderrama	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2G, 4A
June	Template:Flagicon Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy	7G, 1A
July	Template:Flagicon Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn	5G
August	Template:Flagicon Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United	1G, 8A
September	Template:Flagicon Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew	2GA

Attendance

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Rank	Team	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	16	{{#expr: (+18,347 +14,179 +8,561 +19,279 +13,073 +10,251 +15,089 +17,137 +62,703 +21,280 +92,216 +15,231 +25,231 +20,471 +40,347 +69,255)}}	92,216	8,561	{{#expr: (+18,347 +14,179 +8,561 +19,279 +13,073 +10,251 +15,089 +17,137 +62,703 +21,280 +92,216 +15,231 +25,231 +20,471 +40,347 +69,255)/16 round 0}}
2	NY/NJ Metrostars	16	{{#expr: (+14,007 +19,111 +16,102 +20,416 +20,711 +21,212 +17,416 +16,103 +14,322 +18,404 +53,250 +25,322 +14,121 +38,621 +26,416 +46,826)}}	53,250	14,007	{{#expr: (+14,007 +19,111 +16,102 +20,416 +20,711 +21,212 +17,416 +16,103 +14,322 +18,404 +53,250 +25,322 +14,121 +38,621 +26,416 +46,826)/16 round 0}}
3	New England Revolution	16	{{#expr: (+38,633 +11,009 +12,933 +18,764 +14,103 +20,162 +12,871 +18,347 +15,209 +17,066 +21,407 +20,236 +14,323 +20,131 +16,334 +32,864)}}	38,633	11,009	{{#expr: (+38,633 +11,009 +12,933 +18,764 +14,103 +20,162 +12,871 +18,347 +15,209 +17,066 +21,407 +20,236 +14,323 +20,131 +16,334 +32,864)/16 round 0}}
4	Columbus Crew	16	{{#expr: (+31,550 +16,747 +20,246 +16,629 +18,587 +13,190 +12,832 +18,156 +13,751 +17,261 +13,093 +16,526 +20,184 +24,750 +24,434 +25,266)}}	31,550	12,832	{{#expr: (+31,550 +16,747 +20,246 +16,629 +18,587 +13,190 +12,832 +18,156 +13,751 +17,261 +13,093 +16,526 +20,184 +24,750 +24,434 +25,266)/16 round 0}}
5	San Jose Clash	16	{{#expr: (+13,091 +10,894 + 26,184 +12,369 +13,359 +12,099 +15,096 +18,813 +19,380 +14,088 +16,077 +10,299 +31,728 +12,972 +17,580 +31,683)}}	31,728	10,894	{{#expr: (+13,091 +10,894 + 26,184 +12,369 +13,359 +12,099 +15,096 +18,813 +19,380 +14,088 +16,077 +10,299 +31,728 +12,972 +17,580 +31,683)/16 round 0}}
6	Dallas Burn	16	{{#expr: (+12,569 +18,582 +7,338 +12,503 +9,081 +17,665 +16,177 +9,615 +9,704 +25,187 +10,610 +11,457 +23,251 +35,250 +9,405 +27,779)}}	35,250	7,338	{{#expr: (+12,569 +18,582 +7,338 +12,503 +9,081 +17,665 +16,177 +9,615 +9,704 +25,187 +10,610 +11,457 +23,251 +35,250 +9,405 +27,779)/16 round 0}}
7	D.C. United	16	{{#expr: (+20,573 +7,360 +8,053 +15,804 +24,536 +12,356 +9,457 +11,173 +20,014 +11,244 +19,355 +15,845 +7,422 +14,722 +11,253 +35,032)}}	35,032	7,360	{{#expr: (+20,573 +7,360 +8,053 +15,804 +24,536 +12,356 +9,457 +11,173 +20,014 +11,244 +19,355 +15,845 +7,422 +14,722 +11,253 +35,032)/16 round 0}}
8	Kansas City Wiz	16	{{#expr: (+18,594 +12,141 +11,139 +8,250 +13,362 +11,555 +11,592 +8,062 +17,921 +9,458 +9,551 +17,808 +8,916 +17,706 +8,848 +21,141)}}	21,141	8,062	{{#expr: (+18,594 +12,141 +11,139 +8,250 +13,362 +11,555 +11,592 +8,062 +17,921 +9,458 +9,551 +17,808 +8,916 +17,706 +8,848 +21,141)/16 round 0}}
9	Tampa Bay Mutiny	16	{{#expr: (+11,145 +8,135 +8,128 +11,778 +6,476 +6,281 +13,131 +7,520 +18,761 +8,767 +7,388 +19,717 +12,047 +7,025 +14,084 +26,473)}}	26,473	6,281	{{#expr: (+11,145 +8,135 +8,128 +11,778 +6,476 +6,281 +13,131 +7,520 +18,761 +8,767 +7,388 +19,717 +12,047 +7,025 +14,084 +26,473)/16 round 0}}
10	Colorado Rapids	16	{{#expr: (+8,990 +6,368 +8,880 +6,013 +9,310 +6,236 +6,320 +6,117 +7,911 +20,117 +15,711 +8,517 +10,971 +9,171 +11,070 +21,711)}}	21,711	6,013	{{#expr: (+8,990 +6,368 +8,880 +6,013 +9,310 +6,236 +6,320 +6,117 +7,911 +20,117 +15,711 +8,517 +10,971 +9,171 +11,070 +21,711)/16 round 0}}
Total		160	2,785,001	92,216	6,013	{{#expr: (+2,785,001)/160 round 0}}

External links

• 1996 MLS Regular Season stats Template:Webarchive
• Soccer Hall of Fame

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