Major League Soccer

Surprise! Surprise! Real Salt Lake defeated the L.A. Galaxy to capture their very first MLS Cup title. Going into the playoffs, both Chicago and Houston looked strong and in a good position to challenge the defending champion Columbus Crew. But Real Salt Lake played better than they had all season and took home the trophy. Who will win in 2010? Now is the time to grab your pom-poms and cheer for your favorite team!

Major League Soccer is a top-level professional league. They have 15 teams at the moment, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada. Players come from several different countries. MLS is planning to add another new team in 2010 and two more teams in 2011.

The league was founded in 1993 as part of a bid for the United States to host the World Cup. Their first season was in 1996 with just ten clubs.

Similar to the Primera Division in la Liga Mexicana, the best eight teams of the regular season compete in post-season playoffs. The champion is awarded the MLS Cup.

Major League Soccer is divided into eastern and western conferences. Seasons run from late March to November. All the teams play thirty regular season games. Each team will play the other teams twice plus two extra matches.

MLS qualifies four teams for the CONCACAF Champions League. The current top teams include the 2008 champion Columbus Crew, Houston Dynamo, New York Red Bulls, and D.C. United. MLS also has four positions in
the SuperLiga, a competition organized with Mexico’s national football organization, the FMF. The best four MLS clubs from the previous season, except for those in the CONCACAF, can qualify for the SuperLiga.

The early years of the league were dominated by D.C. United. They won the Cup three of the first four seasons. The overall quality of the league was not good. The U.S. men’s national team, made up mostly of the better Major League Soccer players, was eliminated in the first round of the 1998 World Cup and finished in last place. In the 2002 World Cup, the United States made the quarterfinals. The popularity of American soccer began to rise.

The league changed a lot in the years leading up to the 2006 World Cup. After losing two of the original teams, MLS slowly expanded. Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA began play in 2005. Chivas USA was also the first team to be directly connected to a foreign club (Chivas of Guadalajara). In 2006 the San Jose Earthquakes moved to Texas and then became the Houston Dynamo. Toronto was added in 2007. An entirely new San Jose club was started in 2008. Seattle joined MLS for the 2009 season. They have had seventeen different clubs over the years, but only seven have won the MLS Cup.

Since 2007, the MLS has gone more international to raise the level of play. They signed stars like David Beckham, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and Juan Pablo Angel. Presently MLS plans expansion into Philadelphia in 2010, then Vancouver and Portland in 2011. Two more new teams will be added the following year but where has not been decided.

So who is your favorite team in Nuestro Futbol?

Do you think Houston or D.C. United can win the MLS Cup in 2009?