Major League Soccer has kicked off its 25th anniversary season with renewed championship hopes and two new teams coming into the league in the form of Nashville SC and Inter Miami. MLS has turned into one of the top soccer leagues in the Americas, hosting teams from two countries and challenging those from their Southern neighbor Mexico.
Things weren’t always like that however, it used to be a league of weirdos that tried to do soccer their way. In the spirit of celebrating their silver anniversary, we will remember those days.
Remembering The Originals
The league was born in 1995, a year after hosting the World Cup that saw Brazil take home the hardware after beating Italy from the penalty spot. With the new “Division I” League came 10 teams. Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, Tampa Bay Mutiny, Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wizards, L.A Galaxy alongside Jorge Campos and, last but not least, the San Jose Clash.
Most of them stayed as the true originals of MLS. Kansas rebranded to Sporting KC in 2011. So did the MetroStars in 2006 after being acquired by Red Bull. They took the name of their owner and decided to solely represent New York City. The last team to rebrand was Dallas as they changed their name to Dallas F.C. in 2005.
The Curious Case Of The Earthquakes
Following the history of San Jose is a bit trickier. 1999 saw them change their name to Earthquakes. They took the 2001 MLS Cup from their rivals L.A Galaxy. They lifted the trophy again two years later winning over Chicago Fire. San Jose was put on hiatus and moved to Houston after failing to secure a soccer-specific stadium in California. Thus, giving birth to Houston Dynamo and putting SJs history on hold. They came back to the league in 2008 in their current iteration.
Remembering The Shootouts
Yes, the MLS had to do it their way. They ripped off a page out of hockey and put it into the pitch. Its format was odd but simple, players used to dribble the ball from the outside of the box before trying to beat the goalkeeper for a goal. This certainly confused more than a few European soccer fans and made for some wacky but spectacular plays.
These “Breakaway Style” penalties were dropped in 1998 in favor of the more traditional shootout from the spot inside the box. They’re long gone and, will probably never make a comeback nonetheless, they were quite a sight back in the day.
This was America’s first try at men’s soccer. It showed in their penalty kicks.
Remembering Chivas USA
Of course, we had to go back and remember the days of Chivas USA. After all, this serves as a reminder of what the MLS is not anymore, and it is certainly a chapter they don’t want to revisit. Owned by their sister club Chivas de Guadalajara, the northern goats debuted in 2005. A year before their big brothers won it all down in Mexico. One wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking they’d do well. Goodness gracious we were fools.
They made the playoffs on just four occasions and went trough 12 head coaches in a decade. They ceased operations in 2014 after being bought by the league. Their collection of fired coaches includes Bobo Bradley, Preki and El Chelis. Their turbulent ride through American soccer can be summed to perfection looking at their all-time goal scorer Ante Razov. He led the defunct club with just 30 goals over three seasons.
Nowadays, Los Angeles has found a better team to rival Galaxy in the shape LAFC with Carlos Vela. Currently coached by Bradley himself.
Here’s To Another 25 Years
This league has turned old and it has aged very well. Gone are the days of the weird penalty shootouts. So are the days of the weird farm clubs with copy-paste identities. A few differences remain compared to the rest of the soccer world, the schedule is still off by global standards and the league is still split into conferences. All of this can be easily forgiven as their evolution overshadows their inconveniences.
Their silver anniversary sees two new clubs and the arrival of Galaxy’s new captain Javier Hernandez. More importantly, it has closed the gap with Mexico’s Liga MX as it is closer than it has ever been. A good season could help them overtake the Mexican competition.
New teams, new players, new anthems (Composed by none other than Hans Zimmer) and a new season. Here’s to the next 25 years of MLS.
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