1999 Major League Soccer season


The 1999 Major League Soccer season was the fourth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 87th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 21st with a national first-division league. This was the last season which used the 35 yard line shootout rule to resolve tied games, and that of the countdown timer, with MLS Cup 1999 adopting the IFAB-standard running clock thereafter.

1999 Major League Soccer season
Season1999
MLS CupD.C. United (3rd title)
Supporters' ShieldD.C. United (2nd shield)
CONCACAF Champions' CupD.C. United
Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played192
Goals scored549 (2.86 per match)
Top goalscorerStern John
Roy Lassiter
Jason Kreis
(18 goals)
Highest attendance73,123
SJ 1–1 DC
(July 4, 1999)
Lowest attendance4,631
KC 1–2 COL
(July 7, 1999)
Total attendance2,742,108
Average attendance14,282
1998
2000

The Columbus Crew moved into the first soccer-specific stadium when Columbus Crew Stadium opened on May 15, 1999.

The regular season began on March 20, and concluded on October 10. The 1999 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 16, and concluded with MLS Cup 1999 on November 21. D.C. United won their second double by winning the Supporters' Shield and defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 20 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 21. The 12 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 20 games. The remaining schedule consisted of two games against each team from the opposite conference.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The conference semifinals and finals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

Team Stadium Capacity
Chicago Fire Soldier Field 66,944
Colorado Rapids Mile High Stadium 76,273
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
Dallas Burn Cotton Bowl 92,100
Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 92,542
MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200
Miami Fusion Lockhart Stadium 20,450
New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 60,292
San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny Raymond James Stadium 69,218

Personnel and sponsorships

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Bob Bradley
Colorado Rapids Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew Tom Fitzgerald Snickers
D.C. United Thomas Rongen MasterCard
Dallas Burn Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards Ron Newman
Los Angeles Galaxy Octavio Zambrano
MetroStars Bora Milutinović Tab Ramos
Miami Fusion Ivo Wortmann
New England Revolution Walter Zenga
San Jose Clash Brian Quinn John Doyle Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny Tim Hankinson

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Kansas City Wizards Ron Newman Fired April 14, 1999 Ken Fogarty April 14, 1999
Los Angeles Galaxy Octavio Zambrano Fired April 22, 1999 Sigi Schmid April 22, 1999
Kansas City Wizards Ken Fogarty End of interim period April 28, 1999 Bob Gansler April 28, 1999
San Jose Clash Brian Quinn Fired September 16, 1999 Jorge Espinoza September 16, 1999
San Jose Clash Jorge Espinoza End of interim period September 22, 1999 Lothar Osiander September 22, 1999

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United 32 17 6 9 65 43 +22 57 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Columbus Crew 32 13 6 13 48 39 +9 45
3 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 9 5 18 51 50 +1 32
4 Miami Fusion 32 8 5 19 42 59 17 29
5 New England Revolution 32 7 5 20 38 53 15 26
6 MetroStars 32 4 3 25 32 64 32 15
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 17 3 12 49 29 +20 54 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Dallas Burn 32 16 3 13 54 35 +19 51
3 Chicago Fire 32 15 3 14 51 36 +15 48
4 Colorado Rapids 32 14 6 12 38 39 1 48
5 San Jose Clash 32 9 10 13 48 49 1 37
6 Kansas City Wizards 32 6 2 24 33 53 20 20
Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United (C, S) 32 17 6 9 65 43 +22 57 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 17 3 12 49 29 +20 54
3 Dallas Burn 32 16 3 13 54 35 +19 51
4 Chicago Fire 32 15 3 14 51 36 +15 48
5 Colorado Rapids 32 14 6 12 38 39 1 48
6 Columbus Crew 32 13 6 13 48 39 +9 45
7 San Jose Clash 32 9 10 13 48 49 1 37
8 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 9 5 18 51 50 +1 32
9 Miami Fusion 32 8 5 19 42 59 17 29
10 New England Revolution 32 7 5 20 38 53 15 26
11 Kansas City Wizards 32 6 2 24 33 53 20 20
12 MetroStars 32 4 3 25 32 64 32 15
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
             
E1 D.C. United 2 0 (3) x
E4 Miami 0 0 (2) x
E1 D.C. United 2 1 4
Eastern Conference
E2 Columbus 1 5 0
E2 Columbus 2 2 x
E3 Tampa Bay 0 0 x
E1 D.C. United 2
W1 Los Angeles 0
W1 Los Angeles 3 2 x
W4 Colorado 0 0 x
W1 Los Angeles 2 2 (3) 3
Western Conference
W2 Dallas 1 2 (4) 1
W2 Dallas 2 0 3
W3 Chicago 1 4 2
  • Best of Three series winner will advance.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United20Miami Fusion
  • Moreno 34', 88'
Report
Attendance: 18,011
Referee: Tim Weyland
  • D.C. United advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Game 1
Columbus Crew20Tampa Bay Mutiny
Report
Game 2
Tampa Bay Mutiny02Columbus Crew
Report
Attendance: 14,392
Referee: Tim Weyland
  • Columbus Crew advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy30Colorado Rapids
Report
Attendance: 16,307
Referee: Marcel Yonan
Game 2
Colorado Rapids02Los Angeles Galaxy
Report
Attendance: 6,542
Referee: Rich Grady
  • Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Game 1
Dallas Burn21Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 10,980
Referee: Andrew Barnes
Game 2
Chicago Fire40Dallas Burn
Report
Attendance: 13,197
Referee: Ali Saheli
Game 3
Dallas Burn32Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 9,795
Referee: Kevin Stott
  • Dallas Burn advance 2–1, to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Game 1
D.C. United21Columbus Crew
Report
Attendance: 14,529
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Columbus Crew51D.C. United
Report
Game 3
D.C. United40Columbus Crew
Report
  • D.C. United advance 2–1, advance to MLS Cup '99.

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy21Dallas Burn
Report
Attendance: 17,372
Referee: Noel Kenny
Game 3
Los Angeles Galaxy31Dallas Burn
Report
Attendance: 25,703
Referee: Brian Hall
  • Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–1. advance to MLS Cup '99.

MLS Cup

Los Angeles Galaxy02D.C. United
Report
Attendance: 44,910
Referee: Tim Weyland

Player statistics

Goals

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Stern John Columbus Crew 18
Roy Lassiter D.C. United
Jason Kreis Dallas Burn
4 Joe-Max Moore New England Revolution 15
Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash
6 Ante Razov Chicago Fire 14
7 Raúl Díaz Arce San Jose Clash,
Tampa Bay Mutiny
13
8 Musa Shannon Tampa Bay Mutiny 12
Jeff Cunningham Columbus Crew
10 5 players 10

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Jason KreisDallas BurnNew England Revolution4–0March 20
Stern JohnColumbus CrewMiami Fusion4–0August 1
Stern JohnColumbus CrewMetroStars4–2August 18

Assists

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Marco Etcheverry D.C. United 13
Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny
3 Steve Ralston Tampa Bay Mutiny 12
4 Ben Olsen D.C. United 11
5 Jeff Baicher San Jose Clash 9
Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy
Roman Kosecki Chicago Fire
Eddie Lewis San Jose Clash
9 Henry Gutierrez Miami Fusion 8
Jason Kreis Dallas Burn
Brian McBride Columbus Crew

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy 11
Matt Jordan Dallas Burn
3 Ian Feuer Colorado Rapids 8
4 Zach Thornton Chicago Fire 7
5 Mark Dougherty Columbus Crew 6
6 Scott Garlick Tampa Bay Mutiny 5
7 Joe Cannon San Jose Clash 4
Marcus Hahnemann Colorado Rapids
9 Jeff Cassar Miami Fusion 3
Garth Lagerway Miami Fusion
Tony Meola Kansas City Wizards
Tom Presthus D.C. United

Awards

Individual awards

AwardPlayerTeam
Most Valuable Player Jason KreisDallas Burn
Defender of the Year Robin FraserLos Angeles Galaxy
Goalkeeper of the Year Kevin HartmanLos Angeles Galaxy
Coach of the Year Sigi SchmidLos Angeles Galaxy
Rookie of the Year Jay HeapsMiami Fusion
Scoring Champion Jason KreisDallas Burn
Fair Play Award Steve RalstonTampa Bay Mutiny
Goal of the Year Marco EtcheverryD.C. United

Best XI

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Kevin Hartman, LA Galaxy Jeff Agoos, D.C. United
Luboš Kubík, Chicago
Robin Fraser, LA Galaxy
Chris Armas, Chicago
Mauricio Cienfuegos, LA Galaxy
Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
Eddie Lewis, San Jose
Steve Ralston, Tampa Bay
Jason Kreis, Dallas
Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Player of the Month

WeekPlayerClub
March Ante RazovChicago Fire
April Musa ShannonTampa Bay Mutiny
May Roy LassiterD.C. United
June Jason KreisDallas Burn
July Raúl Díaz ArceTampa Bay Mutiny
August Matt JordanDallas Burn
September Ronald CerritosSan Jose Clash

Weekly awards

Attendance

Rank Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1Columbus Crew16283,12924,74113,89117,696
2Los Angeles Galaxy16282,11360,4334,82517,632
3D.C. United16278,71135,16710,84617,419
4New England Revolution16267,75230,5647,26016,735
5Chicago Fire16256,26127,3116,22316,016
6San Jose Clash16239,35073,1236,82414,812
7MetroStars16235,30143,1926,87614,706
8Colorado Rapids16224,45951,0254,74614,029
9Tampa Bay Mutiny16209,70020,9768,26413,106
10Dallas Burn16195,38717,6217,23712,212
11Miami Fusion16139,02113,6485,8628,689
12Kansas City Wizards16130,92415,5094,6318,183
Total1922,742,10873,1234,63114,282

References

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