A Bit of History
The league was founded in 1996 with 10 teams. Piggybacking off the rise in prominence of soccer in the US after the 1994 USA World Cup, the league boasted fairly high attendance and some big name players.A few coming years brought lower attendances and lower financial success, ebbing and flowing with the success of the US National Team. It took a few tumultuous years until 2004 when the National Team had the surprise success of making it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup to re-solidify the MLS as a league.
It’s now 2011 and the league has 18 teams with 1 rumoured team in the works. Gradual economic success is coming to the league as it matures and things are looking up! Why don’t we meet the teams now?
Th
e TeamsThere are 16 existing MLS teams plus 2 new additions this year spreadthroughout the US and Canada. To make scheduling a bit easier, the teams are divided into the East and West conference. They are as follows (in alphabetical order, I don’t play favourites! Editor’s note: Come on the U!)
Eastern Conference
Chicag
o FireExpansion team from 1998, the Chicago Fire has 1 precious league title to their name. Defying most expectations, they stole the title in their first year in the MLS. Despite some competitive sparks (heh… spark, fire, get it?) like the signing of Chicago-native Brian McBride in 2008, the Fire has got 3 other championship appearances in their history.
Big moves are hoped for this year from the chi-town faithful, despite some big name departures (namely the USMNT hero Brian McBride and Designated Player Freddie Ljungberg). With new signings Diego Chavez and Nery Castillo, the fire are hoping to reignite the embers of their past success in 2011
Columbus CrewThe Crew is one of the old guard of the MLS. An inaugural team from 1996, it took 12 years for the crew to win their title despite minor domestic and international success in the U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League. Departure of MLS Best XI and MLS MVP striker Guillermo Barros Schelotto will put a big hurt on the Crew’s offensive output along with whole-sale changes in midfield and defense.
Columbus Crew stadium will have a lot of new faces in 2011, and are sure to surprise as head coach Robert Warzycha hopes to maintain the Crew’s reputation as an MLS heavyweight.
D.C. UnitedIf Columbus is a heavyweight of the old guard, D.C. United is the King. League leading 4 title holders United haven’t won since 2004 and have had a couple dismal years. Falling from grace is never easy, but the black and reds (as they are known for their uniforms) haven’t given up. The return of the All-American Charlie Davies hopes to raise the morale, and perhaps more importantly the goal scoring output of the D.C. outfit.
The residents of RFK Stadium will hope this year can begin a revitalization to past success under new head coach Ben Olsen. Sharing rivalries with some of the other east coast, tri-state teams New York, Philadelphia, and even the more remote New England Revolution, its never dull to watch a local derby when D.C. is involved.
Houston Dynamo2006 entrants to the MLS, the Houston Dynamo enjoyed immediate success in the league. Under the big guns of U.S. national forward Brian Ching, and MLS stalwart midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, the Dynamo ended the season not only with the impressive record of 11-8-13, but with an MLS cup. 2007 would bring another MLS cup to the wunderkinds in Houston.
Political and financial moves in 2008 resulted in the Dynamo being sold to a different owner group. Ching was still a major force with the Dynamo, but even he could only bring the Dynamo to a 2nd place league finish and a loss in the play-offs for the cup. Like D.C. United in the east, the Dynamo will hope to resurge as a power in the MLS after not qualifying for the play-offs in 2010.
New England RevolutionAnother one of the original 1996 teams, the New England Revolution have always been the poor-fortune team of the MLS. Boasting a league challenging 4 appearances in an MLS cup final, the Revs have never won a cup. History shows the New Englanders roster feature a number of US National players, but those days have passed and stars Shalrie Joseph and Sainey Nyassi will hope to change the fortunes of the Revs who will be desperate to grab hold of any play-off spot they can steal.
New York Red BullsThe New York Red Bulls follow the pedigree of local MLB team the Yankees for the somewhat derogatory reason of having a lot of money. They’ve used their money to buy a beautiful new stadium in Harrison, New Jersey and a few players you may have heard of. Recently departed Colombian star Juan-Pablo Angél‘s 13 goals led the big money Red Bulls to a 3rd place overall league finish along with the support of 2 international acquisitions Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, both from FC Barcelona in Spain.
Despite Angél’s departure, the Red Bulls will hope to rely a little more on Henry and youngsters like Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo this season as they venture to finally seize any silverware at all and to fill their stadium a bit more consistently in a big year for the New Yorkers.
Philadelphia Union
Struggling through a lackluster inaugural season last year, the Philadelphia Union will hope for some stability. At home in the shiny new PPL Park, the Union will enjoy a more regular schedule as well as a few new names on the roster.
Ex-FC Köln keeper Faryrd Móndragon and Colombian center back Carlos Valdés will hope to bring some brick and mortar to an otherwise-flimsy defense, while MLS legend forward Carlos Ruiz’s return to the league will hopefully add a few tallies to score-sheets. New faces will bolster the ranks of hidden gem Sébastian Le Toux and promising youngster Danny Mwanga as the Union look for an improvement over last year.
Struggling through a lackluster inaugural season last year, the Philadelphia Union will hope for some stability. At home in the shiny new PPL Park, the Union will enjoy a more regular schedule as well as a few new names on the roster.
Ex-FC Köln keeper Faryrd Móndragon and Colombian center back Carlos Valdés will hope to bring some brick and mortar to an otherwise-flimsy defense, while MLS legend forward Carlos Ruiz’s return to the league will hopefully add a few tallies to score-sheets. New faces will bolster the ranks of hidden gem Sébastian Le Toux and promising youngster Danny Mwanga as the Union look for an improvement over last year.
Sporting Kansas City (previously Kansas City Wizards)The new and improved Sporting Kansas City return in 2011 with a rather drastic face-lift with a complete rebranding. New shirts, a new name, and some new faces will bring some new energy to the inaugural Kansas natives.
American young gun Teal Bunbury will enjoy a partnership with Mexican national striker Omar Bravo to hopefully end a relative drought of goals form the 3rd from the bottom last year finish. Additionally, a new stadium, Sporting Park, will hope to give the new SKC a new home for their new identity in mid-June when it is planned to open.
Toronto FC
2007 saw the expansion of the MLS into Canada. The forgettable record of 6-17-7 was overshadowed by the large attendance and excitement of the new team’s fans. Despite the enthusiasm, TFC currently only has 14 members listed to their team. This, by no means is final, but still casts a pall on the Reds.
Hopes that Dwayne De Rosario can continue his hot streak of goals seem to be one of the brightest hopes TFC has got, unless they can impress with some signings before the season begins. 2011 could be a long year for the Canadians, particularly with the introduction of another Canadian team that looks menacing.
For the Western Conference teams and some more MLS familiarization, check back in a few days and most importantly: Enjoy the MLS!
~JM
2007 saw the expansion of the MLS into Canada. The forgettable record of 6-17-7 was overshadowed by the large attendance and excitement of the new team’s fans. Despite the enthusiasm, TFC currently only has 14 members listed to their team. This, by no means is final, but still casts a pall on the Reds.
Hopes that Dwayne De Rosario can continue his hot streak of goals seem to be one of the brightest hopes TFC has got, unless they can impress with some signings before the season begins. 2011 could be a long year for the Canadians, particularly with the introduction of another Canadian team that looks menacing.
For the Western Conference teams and some more MLS familiarization, check back in a few days and most importantly: Enjoy the MLS!
~JM
