Major League Soccer · United States · level 1

1996

Honors
champion D.C. United (MLS Cup)
supporters' shield Tampa Bay Mutiny
mvp Carlos Valderrama
golden boot Roy Lassiter

MLS did not allow ties in its first season. A drawn game went to a shootout, with each attacker starting 35 yards out and given five seconds to score, and 34 of the 160 league games were decided that way. The clock counted down and stopped for dead balls, too. Both rules lasted through 1999.

160 games 3.37 goals / game 17,406 avg. attendance closest-club map

Postseason

MLS Cup Playoffs

Championship · Oct. 20, 1996 D.C. United 3 - 2 Los Angeles Galaxy

Standings

team GP W SOW SOL L pts gf ga ppg gf/ga
Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 19 1 3 9 58 66 51 1.81 1.29
Los Angeles Galaxy 32 15 4 4 9 49 59 49 1.53 1.20
D.C. United 32 15 1 3 13 46 62 56 1.44 1.11
Dallas Burn 32 12 5 3 12 41 50 48 1.28 1.04
Kansas City Wiz 32 12 5 2 13 41 61 63 1.28 0.97
New York/New Jersey MetroStars 32 12 3 2 15 39 45 47 1.22 0.96
San Jose Clash 32 12 3 6 11 39 50 50 1.22 1.00
Columbus Crew 32 11 4 5 12 37 59 60 1.16 0.98
New England Revolution 32 9 6 2 15 33 43 56 1.03 0.77
Colorado Rapids 32 9 2 4 17 29 44 59 0.91 0.75

Season leaders

complete stats

Goals

  1. Roy Lassiter 27
  2. Raúl Díaz Arce 23
  3. Eduardo Hurtado 21
  4. Preki 18
  5. Brian McBride 17
  6. Steve Rammel 14
  7. Digital Takawira 13
  8. Giovanni Savarese 13
  9. Jason Kreis 13
  10. Paul Bravo 13

Assists

  1. Marco Etcheverry 19
  2. Carlos Valderrama 17
  3. Eric Wynalda 13
  4. Preki 13
  5. Mauricio Cienfuegos 11
  6. Robert Warzycha 11
  7. Adrián Paz 10
  8. Tab Ramos 10
  9. Mark Chung 9
  10. Ben Iroha 8

Appearances

  1. Jeff Agoos 32
  2. Mark Chung 32
  3. Preki 32
  4. Scott Benedetti 32
  5. Steve Trittschuh 32
  6. Tim Martin 32
  7. Denis Hamlett 31
  8. Diego Soñora 31
  9. Janusz Michallik 31
  10. Jason Kreis 31

Most recent games

all games

date season team score team venue referee attendance sources
Sept. 22, 1996 1996 Dallas Burn 1 - 2 Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 18347 2
Sept. 21, 1996 1996 San Jose Clash (SO) 0 - 0 Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium 18594 2
Sept. 21, 1996 1996 Colorado Rapids 1 - 3 D.C. United RFK Stadium 20573 2
Sept. 21, 1996 1996 Columbus Crew 1 - 0 New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 38633 2
Sept. 21, 1996 1996 New York/New Jersey MetroStars 1 - 4 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium 11145 2
Sept. 19, 1996 1996 Dallas Burn 1 - 2 Los Angeles Galaxy Cotton Bowl 12569 2
Sept. 18, 1996 1996 Columbus Crew 0 - 1 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Giants Stadium 14007 2
Sept. 18, 1996 1996 San Jose Clash 1 - 1 (SO) Tampa Bay Mutiny Spartan Stadium 13091 2
Sept. 17, 1996 1996 D.C. United 3 - 2 New England Revolution RFK Stadium 7360 2
Sept. 15, 1996 1996 Columbus Crew 2 - 0 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Ohio Stadium 31550 2
Sept. 15, 1996 1996 Los Angeles Galaxy 4 - 2 San Jose Clash Rose Bowl 14179 2
Sept. 14, 1996 1996 D.C. United 0 - 2 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium 8135 2
Sept. 12, 1996 1996 New England Revolution 1 - 2 Tampa Bay Mutiny Foxboro Stadium 11009 2
Sept. 11, 1996 1996 Dallas Burn (SO) 2 - 2 San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 10894 2
Sept. 10, 1996 1996 Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 3 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Giants Stadium 19111 2
Sept. 8, 1996 1996 Colorado Rapids 1 - 3 San Jose Clash Mile High Stadium 8990 2
Sept. 7, 1996 1996 Dallas Burn 0 - 2 New England Revolution Cotton Bowl 18582 2
Sept. 7, 1996 1996 Columbus Crew 5 - 1 Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium 12141 2
Sept. 6, 1996 1996 D.C. United 1 - 2 New York/New Jersey MetroStars RFK Stadium 8053 2
Sept. 5, 1996 1996 Colorado Rapids (SO) 0 - 0 Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 8561 2
Sept. 4, 1996 1996 New York/New Jersey MetroStars 0 - 2 Tampa Bay Mutiny Giants Stadium 16102 2
Sept. 4, 1996 1996 Dallas Burn 1 - 2 New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 12933 2
Sept. 1, 1996 1996 New York/New Jersey MetroStars 2 - 2 (SO) Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium 11139 2
Sept. 1, 1996 1996 Los Angeles Galaxy (SO) 1 - 1 San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 26184 2
Aug. 31, 1996 1996 New England Revolution 1 - 3 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium 8128 2

Awards

award winner
Best XI Leonel Álvarez
Best XI Carlos Valderrama
Best XI Eduardo Hurtado
Best XI Roy Lassiter
Best XI Robin Fraser
Best XI Roberto Donadoni
Best XI Preki
Best XI Mauricio Cienfuegos
Best XI John Doyle
Best XI Mark Dodd
Best XI Marco Etcheverry
Coach of the Year Thomas Rongen
Defender of the Year John Doyle
Goalkeeper of the Year Mark Dodd
MVP Carlos Valderrama
Rookie of the Year Steve Ralston
Supporters' Shield Tampa Bay Mutiny

Where the minutes came from

United States: 200,765 minutes, 63.5%United States: 200,765 minutes, 63.5%England: 7,333 minutes, 2.3%South Africa: 8,398 minutes, 2.7%South Africa: 8,398 minutes, 2.7%Nigeria: 12,695 minutes, 4.0%Mexico: 9,351 minutes, 3.0%Argentina: 9,018 minutes, 2.9%Zimbabwe: 2,233 minutes, 0.7%Venezuela: 1,576 minutes, 0.5%Uruguay: 3,382 minutes, 1.1%Scotland: 5,616 minutes, 1.8%Trinidad and Tobago: 1,512 minutes, 0.5%Trinidad and Tobago: 1,512 minutes, 0.5%Switzerland: 2,805 minutes, 0.9%Serbia: 2,894 minutes, 0.9%Serbia: 2,894 minutes, 0.9%Poland: 4,237 minutes, 1.3%Jamaica: 548 minutes, 0.2%Italy: 5,684 minutes, 1.8%Italy: 5,684 minutes, 1.8%Italy: 5,684 minutes, 1.8%Italy: 5,684 minutes, 1.8%Ireland: 2,155 minutes, 0.7%Iran: 852 minutes, 0.3%Haiti: 69 minutes, 0.0%Guatemala: 1,773 minutes, 0.6%Greece: 1,235 minutes, 0.4%El Salvador: 4,756 minutes, 1.5%Ecuador: 2,323 minutes, 0.7%Ecuador: 2,323 minutes, 0.7%Croatia: 1,412 minutes, 0.4%Costa Rica: 2,790 minutes, 0.9%Colombia: 5,601 minutes, 1.8%Chile: 583 minutes, 0.2%Chile: 583 minutes, 0.2%Chile: 583 minutes, 0.2%Canada: 6,288 minutes, 2.0%Cameroon: 1,693 minutes, 0.5%Brazil: 2,597 minutes, 0.8%Bosnia and Herzegovina: 136 minutes, 0.0%Bosnia and Herzegovina: 136 minutes, 0.0%Bolivia: 3,004 minutes, 1.0%
  • 25% and over
  • 10-25%
  • 5-10%
  • 2-5%
  • under 2%
Minutes by country of origin. Each country is shaded by its share of the minutes; the bands are fixed, so one season can be compared with another. Hover or focus a country for its figures, and read the table below for all of them. A country too small to draw at this crop is marked with a dot.
minutes by country of origin
countryminutesshare
United States 200,765 63.5%
Nigeria 12,695 4.0%
Mexico 9,351 3.0%
Argentina 9,018 2.9%
South Africa 8,398 2.7%
England 7,333 2.3%
Canada 6,288 2.0%
Italy 5,684 1.8%
Scotland 5,616 1.8%
Colombia 5,601 1.8%
El Salvador 4,756 1.5%
Poland 4,237 1.3%
Uruguay 3,382 1.1%
Bolivia 3,004 1.0%
Serbia 2,894 0.9%
Switzerland 2,805 0.9%
Costa Rica 2,790 0.9%
Brazil 2,597 0.8%
Ecuador 2,323 0.7%
Zimbabwe 2,233 0.7%
Ireland 2,155 0.7%
Guatemala 1,773 0.6%
Cameroon 1,693 0.5%
Venezuela 1,576 0.5%
Trinidad and Tobago 1,512 0.5%
Croatia 1,412 0.4%
Greece 1,235 0.4%
Iran 852 0.3%
not recorded 622 0.2%
Chile 583 0.2%
Jamaica 548 0.2%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 136 0.0%
Haiti 69 0.0%
Yugoslavia 45 0.0%

No birthplace is on record for 254,833 of these minutes, so they go by the player's recorded nationality instead.

Totals are summed from what the record holds — see the coverage note.