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2006 Major League Soccer season
11th season of Major League Soccer
11th season of Major League Soccer
D.C. United Real Salt Lake Goals: 16 LA 0–3 RSL DCU 2–5 LA Wins: 6 (06/21 – 07/15) Wins: 14 (05/13 – 07/22) Loss: 7 (06/24 – 07/22) Los Angeles Galaxy Loss: 7 (05/06 -06/08) Season: 333,016 Game avg.: 20,814 Season: 177,322 Game avg.: 11,083
The 2006 Major League Soccer season was the 11th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 94th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 28th with a national first-division league.
The MetroStars were bought by Austrian company Red Bull and rebranded as the New York Red Bulls.
Due to owner AEG being unable to secure a soccer specific stadium in San Jose, the Earthquakes ceased operations and had their personnel transferred to the expansion Houston Dynamo.
In June, the Chicago Fire moved into their new soccer-specific stadium, Toyota Park, in Bridgeview, Illinois.
The regular season began on April 1, and concluded on October 15. The 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 21, and concluded with MLS Cup 2006 on November 12. Houston marked their inaugural season with a league championship by defeating the New England Revolution on penalties in MLS Cup.
Overview
Season format
The season began on April 1 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 12. 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, and every team in the opposite conference twice.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks 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 and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions' Cup, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Qualification for the inaugural SuperLiga was also awarded to the MLS Cup Champion and Supporters' Shield winner, as well two invited teams, FC Dallas and LA Galaxy.
Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top three finishers in each conference. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.
Stadiums and locations
Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | Toyota Park | 20,000 |
| Chivas USA | Home Depot Center | 27,000 |
| Colorado Rapids | Invesco Field at Mile High | 76,125 |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 22,555 |
| D.C. United | RFK Stadium | 46,000 |
| FC Dallas | Pizza Hut Park | 21,193 |
| Houston Dynamo | Robertson Stadium | 32,000 |
| Kansas City Wizards | Arrowhead Stadium | 81,425 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Home Depot Center | 27,000 |
| New England Revolution | Gillette Stadium | 68,756 |
| New York Red Bulls | Giants Stadium | 80,200 |
| Real Salt Lake | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 45,017 |
Personnel and sponsorships
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | USA Dave Sarachan | Honda | |
| Chivas USA | USA Bob Bradley | — | |
| Colorado Rapids | USA Fernando Clavijo | — | |
| Columbus Crew | USA Sigi Schmid | USA Robin Fraser | — |
| D.C. United | POL Piotr Nowak | Sierra Mist | |
| FC Dallas | NIR Colin Clarke | RadioShack | |
| Houston Dynamo | USA Dominic Kinnear | USA Wade Barrett | — |
| Kansas City Wizards | USA Brian Bliss | U.S. Soccer Foundation | |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | CAN Frank Yallop | Budweiser | |
| New England Revolution | SCO Steve Nicol | Sierra Mist | |
| New York Red Bulls | USA Bruce Arena | HON Amado Guevara | Red Bull |
| Real Salt Lake | USA John Ellinger | USA Jason Kreis | — |
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Galaxy | USA Steve Sampson | Fired | June 6, 2006 | CAN Frank Yallop | June 7, 2006 |
| New York Red Bulls | SCO Mo Johnston | Fired | June 27, 2006 | USA Richie Williams | June 28, 2006 |
| New York Red Bulls | USA Richie Williams | End of interim period | July 18, 2006 | USA Bruce Arena | July 18, 2006 |
| Kansas City Wizards | USA Bob Gansler | Resigned | July 19, 2006 | USA Brian Bliss | July 19, 2006 |
Standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Overall standings
MLS Cup Playoff Bracket
| RD1-group1=Eastern Conference| RD1-group2=Western Conference | team-width=170px| score-width=35px
| RD1-seed1=E1 | RD1-team1=D.C. United | RD1-score1-1=1 | RD1-score1-2=1 | RD1-seed2=E4 | RD1-team2=New York | RD1-score2-1=0 | RD1-score2-2=1
| RD1-seed3=E3 | RD1-team3=Chicago | RD1-score3-1=1 | RD1-score3-2=1 (2) | RD1-seed4=E2 | RD1-team4=New England (p) | RD1-score4-1=0 | RD1-score4-2=2 (4)
| RD1-seed5=W1 | RD1-team5=Dallas | RD1-score5-1=2 | RD1-score5-2=2 (4) | RD1-seed6=W4 | RD1-team6=Colorado (p) | RD1-score6-1=1 | RD1-score6-2=3 (5)
| RD1-seed7=W3 | RD1-team7=Chivas USA | RD1-score7-1=2 | RD1-score7-2=0 | RD1-seed8=W2 | RD1-team8=Houston | RD1-score8-1=1 | RD1-score8-2=2
| RD2-seed1=E1 | RD2-team1=D.C. United | RD2-score1=0 | RD2-seed2=E2 | RD2-team2=New England | RD2-score2=1 | RD2-seed3=W4 | RD2-team3=Colorado | RD2-score3=1 | RD2-seed4=W2 | RD2-team4=Houston | RD2-score4=3
| RD3-seed1=E2 | RD3-team1=New England | RD3-score1=1 (3) | RD3-seed2=W2 | RD3-team2=Houston (p) | RD3-score2=1 (4)
Conference semifinals
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Washington, D.C.
D.C. United advance 2–1 on aggregate.
Bridgeview, Illinois
Noonan | Foxborough, Massachusetts Gutiérrez Herron Guerrero Reis Noonan Twellman
New England Revolution advance 4–2 on penalties (2–2 aggregate after extra time).
Thompson Martins Denver, Colorado
Mathis
Ruíz
Goodson
Frisco, Texas
Hernández
Kirovski
Beckerman
Karanka
Mastroeni
O'Brien
Mulrooney
Vanney
Valakari
Sala
Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties (4–4 aggregate after extra time).
Palencia Carson, California
Ching | Houston, Texas
Houston Dynamo advance 3–2 on aggregate.
Conference finals
Washington, D.C.
New England Revolution advances 1–0 in single elimination.
Mullan | Houston, Texas
Houston Dynamo advances 3–1 in single elimination.
MLS Cup
Main article: MLS Cup 2006
Frisco, Texas Holden De Rosario Davis Ching Reis Noonan Twellman Heaps|
Player statistics
Goals
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Jeff Cunningham | Real Salt Lake | 16 |
| 2 | ARG Christian Gómez | D.C. United | 14 |
| USA Ante Razov | Chivas USA | ||
| 4 | GUA Carlos Ruiz | FC Dallas | 13 |
| 5 | USA Landon Donovan | Los Angeles Galaxy | 12 |
| 6 | BOL Jaime Moreno | D.C. United | 11 |
| CAN Dwayne De Rosario | Houston Dynamo | ||
| USA Taylor Twellman | New England Revolution | ||
| USA Kenny Cooper | FC Dallas | ||
| USA Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo |
Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks
| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo | Colorado Rapids | 5–2 | |
| HAI Peguero Jean Philippe | New York Red Bulls | Chivas USA | 5–4 | |
| USA Edson Buddle | New York Red Bulls | Real Salt Lake | 6–0 | |
| HON Amado Guevara | New York Red Bulls | Kansas City Wizards | 3–2 |
Assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Brad Davis | Houston Dynamo | 9 |
| 2 | USA Jeff Cunningham | Real Salt Lake | 8 |
| ARG Christian Gómez | D.C. United | ||
| USA José Burciaga Jr. | Kansas City Wizards | ||
| USA Justin Mapp | Chicago Fire | ||
| USA Carey Talley | Real Salt Lake | ||
| IRL Ronnie O'Brien | FC Dallas | ||
| ENG Terry Cooke | Colorado Rapids | ||
| 9 | USA Landon Donovan | Los Angeles Galaxy | 7 |
| WAL Andy Dorman | New England Revolution | ||
| USA Sasha Victorine | Kansas City Wizards |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean |
|---|---|---|---|
| sheets | |||
| 1 | USA Matt Reis | New England Revolution | 10 |
| 2 | USA Kevin Hartman | Los Angeles Galaxy | 9 |
| 3 | USA Troy Perkins | D.C. United | 8 |
| 4 | USA Joe Cannon | Colorado Rapids | 7 |
| USA Zach Thornton | Chicago Fire | ||
| 6 | USA Preston Burpo | Chivas USA | 5 |
| USA Jon Conway | New York Red Bulls | ||
| USA Brad Guzan | Chivas USA | ||
| USA Tony Meola | New York Red Bulls | ||
| CAN Pat Onstad | Houston Dynamo | ||
| USA Bo Oshoniyi | Kansas City Wizards | ||
| ARG Darío Sala | FC Dallas |
Awards
Individual awards
| Award | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | ARG Christian Gómez | D.C. United |
| Defender of the Year | USA Bobby Boswell | D.C. United |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | USA Troy Perkins | D.C. United |
| Coach of the Year | USA Bob Bradley | Chivas USA |
| Rookie of the Year | USA Jonathan Bornstein | Chivas USA |
| Comeback Player of the Year | USA Richard Mulrooney | FC Dallas |
| Golden Boot | USA Jeff Cunningham | Real Salt Lake |
| Goal of the Year | USA Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo |
| Fair Play Award | USA Chris Klein | Real Salt Lake |
| Humanitarian of the Year | USA Michael Parkhurst | New England Revolution |
Best XI
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA Troy Perkins, D.C. United | USA Bobby Boswell, D.C. United | ||
| USA José Burciaga Jr., Kansas City | |||
| USA Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City | USA Ricardo Clark, Houston | ||
| USA Clint Dempsey, New England | |||
| CAN Dwayne De Rosario, Houston | |||
| ARG Christian Gómez, D.C. United | |||
| USA Justin Mapp, Chicago | USA Jeff Cunningham, Salt Lake | ||
| BOL Jaime Moreno, D.C. United |
Attendance
| Club | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 16 | 333,016 | 20,814 |
| Chivas USA | 16 | 317,432 | 19,840 |
| Houston Dynamo | 16 | 302,957 | 18,935 |
| D.C. United | 16 | 291,442 | 18,215 |
| Real Salt Lake | 16 | 261,855 | 16,366 |
| FC Dallas | 16 | 239,714 | 14,982 |
| New York Red Bulls | 16 | 233,112 | 14,570 |
| Chicago Fire | 16 | 225,775 | 14,111 |
| Columbus Crew | 16 | 212,699 | 13,294 |
| Colorado Rapids | 16 | 192,894 | 12,056 |
| New England Revolution | 16 | 188,569 | 11,786 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 16 | 177,322 | 11,083 |
| **Totals** | **192** | **2,976,787** | **15,504** |
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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