MLS: 5 teams we wish had won MLS Cup.

By Kristan Heneage & Zack Goldman

1996 LA Galaxy

The inaugural MLS Cup, contested atop the sodden sod of old Foxboro Stadium, saw the LA Galaxy squander a late two-goal lead against D.C. United, before Eddie Pope’s thunderous extra-time header found netting and brought the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy to its first home, the nation’s capital.

It was a cruel ending for the Galaxy, who dramatically capitulated in front of over 34,000 ponchoed soccer fans and set a tone for the MLS Cup heartbreak that would follow the club until they seized their first crown in 2002, at the fourth time of asking.

MLS Cup ’96 is a strange one to look back on—an energetic, muscular, sloppy free-for-all in howling wind and furious rain—between two sides with legends of American soccer’s past, present, and future at different stages of their careers.

For D.C. United, future national team manager Bruce Arena would establish a dynasty there, around a core of Pope, Jeff Agoos, Marco Etcheverry, John Harkes, Raúl Diaz Arce, and Jaime Moreno. While they would go on to become the dominant MLS team of the ’90s, the Galaxy’s constellation of unique talents are mostly lost to time—which is a shame because their roster is unquestionably the most fun one ever assembled in league history.

From the tricky footwork of Cobi Jones, to the high-flying thrills of Jorge Campos, whose electrifying play at both goalkeeper and striker matched his famous fluourescent tops, LA had an expressive, eccentric flair that often made matches look like pickup games, which in many ways typified the league’s early days. This team was, more than anything, a fascinating plurality of personalities and backgrounds, a group that represented the diversity of LA so well with prominent players from Mexico, El Salvador, Armenia, and Iran—nations from which four of the city’s largest immigrant communities hail. In typical LA fashion, the Galaxy even had a member of the team in showbiz, as Andrew Shue split his time between Galaxy games and tapings of primetime soap opera Melrose Place, in which he played a starring role as a struggling writer.

History, however, rarely remembers its runners-up as well as its champions, and so the story of the 1996 LA Galaxy was in many ways washed away, along with their hopes of MLS Cup glory, in rainy Foxboro. If only they’d held on for ten more minutes.

They said: “The Galaxy put a star Ecuadorian striker, speedy American winger, brilliant Mexican goalkeeper known for his kits, and a “Melrose Place” star on one team and won the West. It was as bizarre as it was effective, and perfectly summed up MLS’s debut season.” -Ryan Rosenblatt, soccer writer.

New York Red Bulls (2000)

Occurring in the days when the team were known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, this game is often a sore point for fans of the team.

Tied 1-1 in a best-of-three playoff series, the MetroStars travelled to Chicago to play the Fire in a winner-takes-all matchup. Tied 2-2 at half-time, the MetroStars thought they had the lead midway through the second period when a looping ball in behind freed forward Adolfo Valencia to slot home for his hat-trick.

Engrossed in celebrating what they thought would be the winning goal, that’s when they saw the linesman’s flag raised for an offside call on the play (incorrectly). “The feeling I had at that moment was pure joy followed by what I only assume is what a heart-attack would feel like,” defender Mike Petke said in a 2013 interview.

Moments later Ante Razov scored a nigh identical goal for Chicago and the MetroStars were subsequently eliminated. This furthered the idea that the team was cursed and helped coin the term “That’s so Metro”, referring to the team’s ability to self sabotage.

Had they won the game against Chicago and then gone on to collect MLS Cup, not only do they destroy such a perception, they also place themselves on the potential path toward dominance. Blessed with cash rich owners at the time in AEG, using their resources to bring the best talent to the Big Apple could have made for a dominant franchise.

They Said: “I think a ton would have changed [if we won MLS Cup]. The team in 2000 was the best team that we’d had up until that point. Just the opportunity to get to a final after four seasons of mostly strife could have blown the ‘That’s So Metro’ out before it got any momentum to it.

“It’s now 2015 and there are still plenty of folk that believe the worst is yet to come. Until New York wins the last game of the season the notion of that curse - even with two Supporters’ Shields in the trophy case - is still there.” -Mark Fishkin, writer for Empire of Soccer.

Miami Fusion (2001)

As David Beckham continues to try and bring an MLS team to Miami, allow us to tell you about those that came before them — the Miami Fusion.

Coached by Geordie Ray Hudson, they were arguably one of the most exciting and dynamic sides in MLS history. They were known for their beautiful soccer, and Hudson described his approach as “death by 1,000 passes.”

Though they are gone, the ripple effect of that team can still be felt in MLS today with Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando still contributing to the league. Alongside those talented youngsters were more experienced players like U.S. international Preki and Colombian striker Diego Serna.

Though they won the Supporters’ Shield and the Eastern Conference in 2001, a series of financial issues meant Miami faced a do-or-die playoff clash with the San Jose Earthquakes in late 2001.

A game they eventually lost 1-0 in extra time due to a goal by Troy Dayak, if that outcome is reversed there is every chance that it is Miami (not San Jose) that wins MLS Cup that year. If that does occur then it stops Hudson’s Miami from being shut down at the end of the year and we get to enjoy his beautiful symphony for a little bit longer.

They said: “For me, that was arguably the best team to ever take the field in Major League Soccer. A lot of that is down to Ray and the team that he built along with Doug Hamilton who sadly passed away recently.

“That group had an incredible mix of the European experience, the continental sensibility in terms of possession, but also the free flowing attack from the Caribbean, from South America and sprinkled in with young American talent.” -Brian Dunseth, Miami Fusion defender, 2001.

2007 New England Revolution

The New England Revolution have been to MLS Cup five times and lost MLS Cup five times. Four of these defeats have come in either extra-time or penalty kicks. If there is a soccer team that embodies pure and unadulterated sporting heartbreak, it is them.

At every MLS Cup, hope has sprung anew for fans of the red, white, and blue—and MLS Cup 2007 was no different. The Revs had lost the championship in predictably heart-wrenching fashion the two previous years—falling to the Galaxy in extra-time in ’05 and the Houston Dynamo in penalty kicks in ’06—but having kept the same squad into 2007, the team’s seemingly endless stores of resilience were matched with valuable, if agonizingly-won, playoff experience. This was a club whose spine was familiar—from Matt Reis in goal, to a backline marshalled by Michael Parkhurst and (current manager) Jay Heaps, to club legends Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston in the midfield, to Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan up top. Yes, gone was Clint Dempsey, transferred from Foxboro to Fulham in the offseason, but the team actually scored 11 more goals without him (and in two fewer regular-season contests).

They were, however, up against the Dynamo for the second consecutive year—a team that had surrendered only 23 goals in 30 games. Things looked up on MLS Cup Sunday when Twellman, the Revs’ best-ever striker, notched early on in the match. “I remember in the huddle after the goal, looking at Shalrie [Joesph] and saying, ‘You’ve got to get me another chance. We need another one,’ Twellman said. “The problem is I never got that chance.”

The Dynamo rallied in the second half, crushing hopes across New England with goals from Joseph Ngwenya and Dwayne de Rosario in quick succession. While Houston’s repeat was certainly a marvelous story in its own right, it’s easy to feel sorry for the 2005-2007 Revs, who will go down as the greatest group to never win an MLS Cup together. For some on the squad, including Heaps, Ralston, Twellman, and Joseph, they’d never get a ring—and rather than being remembered as the great American soccer story of sticktoitiveness and moxie, they are, for many, MLS’s answer to the Buffalo Bills.

They said: “If we win ’06, and we win ’07, we talk about a little bit [about] an MLS dynasty. If we win ’07, we get rid of the ghost of the past and they say it finally came together … To lose that one when it was our best game in all four finals made it the toughest. That first half we completely outplayed them, but we only got one goal and that made it the hardest to stomach.” -Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution striker, 2002-2010.

2013 Real Salt Lake

Jason Kreis was recently relieved of his duties after a tumultuous season in charge of expansion side NYCFC, but it wasn’t too long ago that he was seen as the touchline savior of Real Salt Lake.

The first-ever player for RSL, Kreis moved from striker to gaffer mid-season in 2007, and along with general manager Garth Lagerwey assembled consistently excellent teams on a budget. In his seven seasons, he took RSL to a pair of MLS Cups that both went to penalty kicks, but ended in contrasting fashion. While the Claret and Cobalt kept their nerve to beat the LA Galaxy in 2009, the “Kreis Era” ended with a loss to Sporting Kansas City in 2013 after Lovel Palmer’s sudden-death shot from the spot crashed off the crossbar. Both the franchise and its beloved manager have endured a hearty share of setbacks since.

Kreis remains the pivotal figure in RSL history—the man who righted the ship and who, along with Lagerwey, instilled a sense of identity and direction in the franchise. It’s hard not to wonder what a fairy-tale ending in 2013 would have been like, but it just wasn’t to be.

They said: “I think that game was just so absurd. It was the coldest damn day in my entire life and with the wind chill and humidity it was below zero. The shootout starts and it just keeps going on from there. It definitely would have been poetic for Jason [to win] as it would have book ended his time at RSL perfectly.

“It’s too bad that Jason couldn’t do it but the fact they got to four cup finals under him is still impressive.” -Chris Kamrani, writer with the Salt Lake Tribune.