2008 Major League Soccer season

13th season of Major League Soccer June 2017 June 2017 Major League Soccer Major League Soccer MLS wordmark 2007.svg 2008 14 Columbus Crew (1st title) Columbus Crew (2nd shield) Champions League Columbus CrewNew York Red BullsHouston DynamoD.C. United SuperLiga Chicago FireN.E. RevolutionChivas USAKansas City Wizards Landon DonovanLos Angeles GalaxyGoals: 20 COL 4–0 LACHI 4–0 NERSL 4–0 DCU FCD 1–5 LANY 1–5 CHI NY 4–5 COL 210 591 5 games:Columbus Crew 9 games:Columbus CrewSan Jose Earthquakes 4 games:D.C. United LA @ NY: 46,754 CLB @ CHV: 6,733 3,461,013 16,481 2007 2009 United States 525 right Locations of teams for the 2008 Major League Soccer season8px Western Conference   8px Eastern Conference United States 38.889722 -76.971667 D.C. United bottom ButtonBlue.svg United States 40.737411 -74.153763 New York left ButtonBlue.svg United States 40.009444 -82.991111 Columbus left ButtonBlue.svg United States 42.090833 -71.264444 New England top ButtonBlue.svg United States 41.742432 -87.806789 Chicago top ButtonBlue.svg United States 39.1218 -94.8237 Kansas City bottom ButtonBlue.svg United States 43.632778 -79.418611 Toronto top ButtonBlue.svg United States 39.35 -104.8918 Colorado top ButtonRed.svg United States 33.154444 -96.835278 Dallas right ButtonRed.svg United States 33.864444 -118.261111 Chivas USA top ButtonRed.svg United States 33.864444 -118.261111 Galaxy bottom ButtonRed.svg United States 29.721944 -95.349167 Houston right ButtonRed.svg United States 40.582923 -111.893156 Salt Lake bottom ButtonRed.svg United States 37.350556 -121.936667 San Jose top ButtonRed.svg The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 96th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 30th with a national first-division league. The San Jose Earthquakes returned to the league, following a two-year hiatus that began after the 2005 season. The Kansas City Wizards left Arrowhead Stadium and moved to the Kansas side of the metropolitan area, occupying CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City. The league also debuted its newest soccer-specific stadium in October when Real Salt Lake opened Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on October 26. The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 30, and concluded with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23. The Columbus Crew captured the league double by winning their second Supporters' Shield and by defeating the New York Red Bulls, 3-1, in MLS Cup. Overview Season format The season began on March 29 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 23. The 14 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 26 games. The remaining four games were played against four regional rivals, two at home and two away. The top three teams from each conference automatically qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In addition, the two highest remaining point totals, regardless of conference, also qualified. 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 League. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions League, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Also, Toronto FC, as a Canadian-based team, could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS, and had to instead qualify through the Canadian Championship. Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top six overall finishers, as opposed 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. Due to fixture congestion, qualification for the SuperLiga was limited to the top four overall finishers not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. This applied retroactively to the 2008 season, and thus was related to qualification for MLS teams to SuperLiga 2009. Stadiums and locations List of Major League Soccer stadiums Team Stadium Capacity Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000 Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000 Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061 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 CommunityAmerica Ballpark 10,385 LA 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 Rio Tinto Stadium 45,017 20,213 San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525 Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566 Personnel and sponsorships Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Fire CRC Denis Hamlett Best Buy Chivas USA USA Preki Comex Colorado Rapids USA Fernando Clavijo — Columbus Crew USA Sigi Schmid USA Frankie Hejduk Glidden D.C. United USA Tom Soehn Volkswagen FC Dallas NIR Steve Morrow — Houston Dynamo USA Dominic Kinnear USA Wade Barrett— Kansas City Wizards USA Curt Onalfo — LA Galaxy NED Ruud Gullit Herbalife New England Revolution SCO Steve Nicol — New York Red Bulls COL Juan Carlos Osorio COL Juan Pablo Ángel Red Bull Real Salt Lake USA Jason Kreis USA Kyle Beckerman— San Jose Earthquakes CAN Frank Yallop USA Nick Garcia— Toronto FC ENG John Carver — Coaching changes Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment FC Dallas NIR Steve Morrow Fired May 20, 2008 USA Marco Ferruzzi May 20, 2008 FC Dallas USA Marco Ferruzzi End of interim period June 16, 2008 USA Schellas Hyndman June 16, 2008 Results table Abbreviation and Color Key:Chicago Fire - CHI • Chivas USA - CHV • Colorado Rapids - COL • Columbus Crew - CLB • D.C. United - DCFC Dallas - DAL • Houston Dynamo - HOU • Kansas City Wizards - KC • Los Angeles Galaxy - LA • New England Revolution - NENew York Red Bulls - NY • Real Salt Lake - RSL • San Jose Earthquakes - SJ • Toronto FC - TORWin Loss Tie HomeClubMatch123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930Chicago Fire RSLNESJKCCOLNEDCHOUNYDCDALCHVSJCLBTORRSLKCCHVNEDCLAHOUNYCOLDALLAKCCLBTORNY1-10-41-01-01-23-02-02-15-12-10-10-20-02-21-20-00-00-12-11-01-01-20-10-24-11-31-12-22-32-5Chivas USA DALRSLCLBDALLAHOUNEDCCOLCLBNYRSLCHINYSJLACHIKCLAHOUSJTORTORNERSLKCDCSJCOLHOU1-11-33-42-02-50-02-11-32-10-20-11-00-21-10-11-10-12-32-20-40-01-23-10-41-01-23-01-02-11-1Colorado Rapids LAKCNESJCHIDCHOURSLCHVDALLATORHOUCLBNYSJDALCLBTORKCDCRSLDALCHINENYHOULACHVRSL0-42-31-02-01-20-21-20-22-11-22-31-30-01-20-41-12-22-00-11-20-30-21-00-21-15-43-12-32-11-1Columbus Crew TORNYCHVDCHOUKCSJTORNECHVSJKCLACOLCHIRSLKCCOLHOUDALRSLDALNETORNYNELACHINYDC0-20-23-42-10-11-23-20-01-00-22-03-03-31-22-20-23-32-00-21-20-32-10-41-11-31-00-12-21-30-1D.C. United KCTORRSLCLBRSLCOLCHICHVTORTORNECHINYSJLAHOUKCNYCHINECOLNYSJDALLADALCHVHOUNECLB0-21-40-42-11-40-22-01-30-12-32-22-11-41-31-42-00-24-11-01-20-30-01-22-22-50-33-00-01-20-1FC Dallas CHVHOUNYCHVNESJRSLLARSLHOUCOLNECHINYHOUKCCOLLATORCLBKCCLBCOLDCCHIDCSJTORRSLLA1-13-30-22-01-00-01-25-11-22-21-21-20-10-11-11-12-20-42-01-21-12-11-02-24-10-31-12-21-32-2Houston Dynamo NEDALKCLACLBCHVCOLCHISJDALNYTORNECOLDALRSLDCCLBRSLCHVNYCHIKCSJTORCOLDCSJLACHV0-33-30-02-20-10-01-22-11-22-20-11-32-00-01-10-02-00-23-40-40-31-21-31-11-13-10-01-20-31-1Kansas City Wizards DCCOLNEHOUCHITORCLBNYLARSLCLBTORRSLDALNYCLBCHIDCCHVCOLDALSJHOULATORCHVCHINESJNE0-22-33-10-01-00-21-21-11-30-03-00-00-11-11-23-30-00-22-31-21-11-21-30-20-21-21-10-12-33-1Los Angeles Galaxy COLSJTORHOUCHVRSLNYDALKCTORCOLSJCLBDCNECHVNYDALSJCHVCHINERSLKCDCCHICLBCOLHOUDAL0-40-23-22-22-52-22-15-11-30-22-33-03-31-42-11-12-20-42-32-21-02-22-20-22-51-30-12-30-32-2New England Revolution HOUCHIKCCOLNYDALCHICHVSJCLBDCDALHOUNYRSLTORLACHISJDCTORLACLBCHVCOLCLBRSLKCDCKC0-30-43-11-01-11-03-02-10-21-02-21-22-01-11-21-22-12-10-41-21-12-20-40-41-11-02-20-11-23-1New York Red Bulls CLBDALNESJTORLAKCCHIHOUCHVDCNEDALCHVCOLKCLASJDCTORHOUDCCHIRSLCLBCOLTORRSLCLBCHI0-20-21-10-21-12-11-15-10-10-11-41-10-11-10-41-22-21-14-10-20-30-00-11-21-35-43-11-11-32-5Real Salt Lake CHICHVDCTORDCLADALCOLDALSJKCCHVSJNEKCHOUCLBCHITORHOUCLBCOLLANYCHVSJNENYDALCOL1-11-30-40-11-42-21-20-21-21-30-01-00-01-20-10-00-20-01-23-40-30-22-21-21-03-22-21-11-31-1San Jose Earthquakes LACHICOLNYDALCLBNEHOURSLCLBLARSLDCCHICHVCOLTORNYLANECHVKCDCHOURSLDALCHVHOUKCTOR0-21-02-00-20-03-20-21-21-32-03-00-01-30-01-01-10-01-12-30-40-01-21-21-13-21-11-01-22-30-2Toronto FC CLBDCLARSLKCNYCLBDCDCLAHOUCOLKCNECHISJRSLDALCOLNYNECHVCHVCLBKCHOUNYDALCHISJ0-21-43-20-10-21-10-00-12-30-21-31-30-01-21-20-01-22-01-00-21-11-23-11-10-21-13-12-22-30-2 Standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Overall standings MLS Cup playoffs 2008 MLS Cup playoffs Bracket Bracket Player statistics Goals Rank Player Club Goals 1USA Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 20 2USA Kenny Cooper FC Dallas 18 3USA Edson Buddle LA Galaxy 15 4COL Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls 14 5USA Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 136BRA Luciano Emilio D.C. United 11USA Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 8BOL Jaime Moreno D.C. United 109USA Chad Barrett Chicago Fire Toronto FC9USA Chris Rolfe Chicago Fire Assists Rank Player Club Assists 1ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 16 2ARG Javier Morales Real Salt Lake 11 3ENG Terry Cooke Colorado Rapids 104ENG David Beckham LA Galaxy 8USA Justin Mapp Chicago Fire 6ARG Christian Gómez Colorado Rapids 77MEX Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire6USA Brad Davis Houston DynamoUSA Landon Donovan LA GalaxyBOL Jaime Moreno D.C. United IRL Ronnie O'Brien San Jose Earthquakes Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1USA Jon BuschChicago Fire10USA Kevin HartmanKansas City WizardsUSA Will HesmerColumbus Crew4USA Joe CannonSan Jose Earthquakes95USA Nick RimandoReal Salt Lake86USA Jon ConwayNew York Red Bulls7CAN Pat OnstadHouston DynamoARG Darío SalaFC Dallas9USA Matt ReisNew England Revolution6CAN Greg SuttonToronto FC Awards Individual awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable PlayerARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewDefender of the YearUSA Chad MarshallColumbus CrewGoalkeeper of the YearUSA Jon BuschChicago FireCoach of the YearUSA Sigi SchmidColumbus CrewRookie of the YearUSA Sean FranklinLA GalaxyNewcomer of the YearENG Darren HuckerbySan Jose EarthquakesComeback Player of the YearUSA Kenny CooperFC DallasGolden BootUSA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyGoal of the YearCAN Will JohnsonReal Salt LakeFair Play AwardUSA Michael ParkhurstNew England RevolutionHumanitarian of the YearUSA José Burciaga Jr.Colorado Rapids MLS Best XI GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwardsUSA Jon Busch, ChicagoUSA Jimmy Conrad, Kansas CityUSA Chad Marshall, ColumbusMLI Bakary Soumaré, ChicagoMEX Cuauhtémoc Blanco, ChicagoGRN Shalrie Joseph, New EnglandUSA Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USAUSA Robbie Rogers, ColumbusARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto, ColumbusUSA Kenny Cooper, DallasUSA Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy Player of the Month WeekPlayerClubAprilUSA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyMayMEX Cuauhtémoc BlancoChicago FireJuneBRA Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedJulyUSA Nick RimandoReal Salt LakeAugustARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewSeptemberENG Darren HuckerbySan Jose EarthquakesOctoberCOL Juan Pablo ÁngelNew York Red Bulls Weekly awards Player of the WeekWeekPlayerClubWeek 1ENG Terry CookeColorado RapidsWeek 2ENG David BeckhamLA GalaxyWeek 3ARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewWeek 4USA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 5USA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 6ENG David BeckhamLA GalaxyWeek 7USA Robbie RogersColumbus CrewWeek 8USA Edson BuddleLA GalaxyWeek 9MEX Cuauhtémoc BlancoChicago FireWeek 10USA Robbie FindleyReal Salt LakeWeek 11USA Brian ChingHouston DynamoWeek 12USA Edson BuddleLA GalaxyWeek 13USA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 14USA Steve RalstonNew England RevolutionWeek 15USA Adam CristmanNew England RevolutionWeek 16USA John ThorringtonChicago FireWeek 17ARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewWeek 18USA Kenny CooperFC DallasWeek 19USA Kenny CooperFC DallasWeek 20COL Juan Pablo ÁngelNew York Red BullsWeek 21IRE Ronnie O'BrienSan Jose EarthquakesWeek 22ARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewWeek 23ARG Fabian EspindolaReal Salt LakeWeek 24ARG Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewWeek 25USA Steve RalstonNew England RevolutionWeek 26USA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 27USA Conor CaseyColorado RapidsWeek 28USA Brian ChingHouston DynamoWeek 29USA Brian McBrideChicago FireWeek 30ARG Claudio LópezKansas City WizardsWeek 31USA Chris RolfeChicago Fire Goal of the WeekWeekPlayerClubWeek 1GAM Sainey NyassiNew England RevolutionWeek 2USA Geoff CameronHouston DynamoWeek 3USA Sacha KljestanChivas USAWeek 4USA Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 5ARG Marcelo GallardoD.C. UnitedWeek 6USA Chris RolfeChicago FireWeek 7MEX Cuauhtémoc BlancoChicago FireWeek 8ARG Marcelo GallardoD.C. UnitedWeek 9Scotland Tam McManusColorado RapidsWeek 10USA Robbie FindleyReal Salt LakeWeek 11BRA Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedWeek 12USA Clyde SimmsD.C. UnitedWeek 13COL Gonzalo MartínezD.C. UnitedWeek 14BRA Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedWeek 15USA Ante RazovChivas USAWeek 16USA Ante RazovChivas USAWeek 17Colombia Juan Pablo AngelNew York Red BullsWeek 18USA Abe ThompsonFC DallasWeek 19BOL Jaime MorenoD.C. UnitedWeek 20USA Chad BarrettToronto FCWeek 21USA Brian CarrollColumbus CrewWeek 22USA Joe VideD.C. UnitedWeek 23ARG Fabian EspindolaReal Salt LakeWeek 24USA Santino QuarantaD.C. UnitedWeek 25USA Davy ArnaudKansas City WizardsWeek 26USA Robbie RogersColumbus CrewWeek 27USA Josh WolffKansas City WizardsWeek 28JAM Andy WilliamsReal Salt LakeWeek 29USA Brandon McDonaldLA GalaxyWeek 30USA Danny CeperoNew York Red BullsWeek 31USA Brad EvansColumbus Crew Attendance Major League Soccer attendance RankTeamGP Home games playedCumulative Cumulative total of all home games attendanceHigh Highest season attendanceLow Lowest season attendanceMean Statistical mean season attendance 1 LA Galaxy 15 27,000 20,426 2 Toronto FC 15 22,264 19,657 3 D.C. United 15 35,979 13,329 4 New England Revolution 15 54,045 7,606 5 Chicago Fire 15 20,492 13,274 6 Houston Dynamo 15 30,361 10,908 7 Real Salt Lake 15 26,391 10,333 8 New York Red Bulls 15 46,754 9,053 9 Chivas USA 15 27,000 10,267 10 Columbus Crew 15 22,685 6,733 11 San Jose Earthquakes 15 39,872 9,046 12 Colorado Rapids 15 18,943 10,609 13 FC Dallas 15 23,500 7,103 14 Kansas City Wizards 15 26,211 8,096 Total 210 3,461,013 54,045 6,733 Related competitions International competitions CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008 The Houston Dynamo and D.C. United earned berths in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup by virtue of their MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield wins, respectively. Houston and D.C. were both victorious in their quarterfinal ties and advanced to the semifinals. For the second straight year, however, both lost their respective semifinals, and were eliminated. SuperLiga 2008 North American SuperLiga 2008 D.C. United, Chivas USA, the New England Revolution, and the Houston Dynamo were MLS's entrants into SuperLiga 2008, based on their top-four finish in the 2007 regular season. Following the Group Stage, which took place from July 12 to July 20, Houston and New England each won their respective groups to advance to the Semifinals, where they faced 2007 champion Pachuca on July 29 and Atlante on July 30, respectively. D.C. United finished last and Chivas USA finished third in their respective groups and failed to advance. Both MLS teams were victorious in the Semifinals, setting up a rematch of the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups in the Final on August 5 at Gillette Stadium. The teams played to a 2–2 draw after extra time. New England eventually defeated Houston 6–5 on penalty kicks. CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 The Houston Dynamo (MLS Cup winner), D.C. United (Supporters' Shield Winner), the New England Revolution (U.S. Open Cup winner and MLS Cup runner-up), and Chivas USA (Supporters' Shield runner-up) were the representatives in the rebranded successor to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. New England and Chivas USA entered at the preliminary round, and were eliminated over two legs by Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago and Tauro of Panama, respectively. D.C. and Houston were seeded into the Group Stage as the top seeds in Groups A and B, respectively. D.C. was eliminated from Group A with two games remaining in group play, while Houston qualified for the Championship Round with a 1–0 win in their last match against Luis Ángel Firpo on November 26, which was postponed from Matchday 1 due to Hurricane Ike. Houston was eliminated in the Quarterfinals over two legs by Atlante. National competitions 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup MLS awarded the top three finishers in each conference last season automatic berths into the 2008 U.S. Open Cup's Third Round. D.C. United, the New England Revolution, and the New York Red Bulls qualified from the Eastern Conference while Chivas USA, the Houston Dynamo, and FC Dallas qualified from the Western Conference. The rest of MLS's U.S.-based teams would have to compete for the final two berths into the third round via a seven-team playoff. Eventually Chicago Fire and the Kansas City Wizards qualified by beating the Columbus Crew and the Colorado Rapids respectively. Each of the qualified MLS teams was matched up against the winner of a Second Round game, all of whom came from either one of the USL's three divisions or the USASA, in the third round on July 1. Three MLS teams were eliminated by these lower division clubs. Chivas USA was eliminated by USL-1's Seattle Sounders, the New York Red Bulls were upset by Crystal Palace Baltimore of USL-2, and the Houston Dynamo lost a penalty shootout to the USL-1's Charleston Battery. In the Quarterfinals on July 8, FC Dallas and the Kansas City Wizards were eliminated by the Charleston Battery and the Seattle Sounders, respectively. This meant an MLS team, either D.C. United or the New England Revolution would face a USL-1 team in the final. In the Semifinals on August 12, D.C. United upset the Open Cup holding Revolution by a score of 3 to 1. This earned United a berth in the final against the USL-1's Charleston Battery on September 3 at RFK Stadium. In the Final on September 3, D.C. United won their second U.S. Open Cup in a 2–1 win over the Charleston Battery. 2008 Canadian Championship 2008 Canadian Championship Due to the fact that none of the Canadian teams playing in the American soccer pyramid can qualify for Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League through their leagues or the U.S. Open Cup, the Canadian Soccer Association was forced to develop a tournament to determine the country's representative in the Champions League. The country's top three teams, MLS's Toronto FC and the USL-1's Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC were entered into the inaugural Canadian Championship. The tournament was played as a double round robin group from May 27 to July 22. The Montreal Impact finished first, claiming the Canadian berth in the Champions League. All-Star game 2008 MLS All-Star Game The 2008 MLS All-Star Game was held at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, home of Toronto FC, on July 24.https://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/307638 Luring Liverpool to Toronto would be an all-star coup The Star Cathal Kelly February 28, 2008 April 22, 2010 The opponent was West Ham United, of England's Premier League. It was the first time that the game was played outside the United States. The game was won by the MLS All-Stars by a score of 3–2. Cuauhtémoc Blanco was named MVP of the game after assisting the All-Stars' first goal and scoring their second. See also 2008 Major League Soccer season Association football List of transfers for the MLS 2008 Season 2007 MLS Expansion Draft References External links Official Site of Major League Soccer 2008 1 United States