The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 95th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 29th with a national first-division league.
This year marked the inaugural season for expansion franchise, Toronto FC who began play in the Eastern Conference. Two new soccer-specific stadiums opened as well. The Colorado Rapids moved into Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver-suburb of Commerce City and, before the season began, BMO Field opened for expansion side, Toronto FC.
This season is often cited as the first in the modern-era of Major League Soccer because of the introduction of the Designated Player Rule which permitted each team to sign one big-ticket player without it counting against the salary cap. Six such players were signed for the 2007 season: David Beckham, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Juan Pablo Ángel, Luciano Emilio, Denílson and Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The regular season began on April 7, and concluded on October 21. The 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 25, and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18. For the first time in league history, the same two clubs consecutively won the MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield. The Houston Dynamo repeated as MLS Cup Champions by defeating the New England Revolution in the final and D.C. United won the Supporters' Shield by edging Chivas USA by two points in the standings.
Overview
Season format The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 18. The 13 teams were split into two conferences with 7 playing the Eastern Conference and 6 playing in the Western Conference. 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' 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. 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 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.
Qualification for the SuperLiga was determined by the overall table with the top four overall finishers qualifying for the 2008 edition.
Stadiums and locations
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 Arrowhead Stadium 81,425 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 45,017 Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566
Personnel and sponsorships Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Fire Juan Carlos Osorio — Chivas USA Preki Comex Colorado Rapids Fernando Clavijo — Columbus Crew Sigi Schmid Frankie Hejduk— D.C. United Tom Soehn — FC Dallas Steve Morrow — Houston Dynamo Dominic Kinnear Wade Barrett— Kansas City Wizards Curt Onalfo — LA Galaxy Frank Yallop Herbalife New England Revolution Steve Nicol — New York Red Bulls Bruce Arena Claudio Reyna Red Bull Real Salt Lake Jason Kreis Eddie Pope— Toronto FC Mo Johnston —
Coaching changes Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment Chicago Fire Dave Sarachan Fired June 20, 2007 Juan Carlos Osorio July 1, 2007 Real Salt Lake John Ellinger Fired May 3, 2007 Jason Kreis May 3, 2007
Standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Overall standings
MLS Cup playoffs
Bracket
Player statistics
Goals Rank Player Club Goals 1 Luciano Emilio D.C. United 20 2 Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls 19 3 Taylor Twellman New England Revolution 16 4 Eddie Johnson Kansas City Wizards 15 5 Maykel Galindo Chivas USA 12 6 Ante Razov Chivas USA 11 7 Christian Gómez D.C. United 10 8 Jozy Altidore New York Red Bulls 99 Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 8 Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake
Assists Rank Player Club Assists1 Landon Donovan LA Galaxy11 Steve Ralston New England Revolution3 Davy Arnaud Kansas City Wizards9 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew Sacha Kljestan Chivas USA6 Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire7 Christian Gómez D.C. United Alejandro Moreno Columbus Crew9 Eddie Gaven Columbus Crew 6 Stuart Holden Houston Dynamo Dax McCarty FC Dallas
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Brad GuzanChivas USA132 Pat OnstadHouston Dynamo113 Matt PickensChicago Fire10 Matt ReisNew England Revolution5 Bouna CoundoulColorado Rapids96 Troy PerkinsD.C. United87 Nick RimandoReal Salt Lake78 Joe CannonLA Galaxy5 Jon ConwayNew York Red Bulls Kevin HartmanKansas City Wizards Will HesmerColumbus Crew Darío SalaFC Dallas Ronald WaterreusNew York Red Bulls
Awards
Individual awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable Player Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedDefender of the Year Michael ParkhurstNew England RevolutionGoalkeeper of the Year Brad GuzanChivas USACoach of the Year PrekiChivas USARookie of the Year Maurice EduToronto FCNewcomer of the Year Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedComeback Player of the Year Eddie JohnsonKansas City WizardsGolden Boot Luciano EmilioD.C. UnitedGoal of the Year Cuauhtémoc BlancoChicago FireFair Play Award Michael ParkhurstNew England RevolutionHumanitarian of the Year Diego GutiérrezChicago Fire
Best XI GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Brad Guzan, Chivas USA Michael Parkhurst, New England Eddie Robinson, Houston Dynamo Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA Christian Gómez, D.C. United Shalrie Joseph, New England Dwayne De Rosario, Houston Dynamo Ben Olsen, D.C. United Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Luciano Emílio, D.C. United Juan Pablo Ángel, New York Red Bulls
Player of the Month WeekPlayerClubApril Eddie Johnson Kansas City WizardsMay Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red BullsJune Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red BullsJuly Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus CrewAugust Troy Perkins D.C. UnitedSeptember Luciano Emilio D.C. UnitedOctober Matt Pickens Chicago Fire
Weekly awards Player of the WeekWeekPlayerClubWeek 1 Jeff Cunningham Real Salt LakeWeek 2 Eddie Johnson Kansas City WizardsWeek 3 Maykel Galindo Chivas USAWeek 4 Landon Donovan Los Angeles GalaxyWeek 5 Dwayne De Rosario Houston DynamoWeek 6 Taylor Twellman New England RevolutionWeek 7 Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red BullsWeek 8 Eddie Johnson Kansas City WizardsWeek 9 Eddie Johnson Kansas City WizardsWeek 10 Ben Olsen D.C. UnitedWeek 11 Luciano Emilio D.C. UnitedWeek 12 Brad Davis Houston DynamoWeek 13 Nicholas Addlery D.C. UnitedWeek 14 Stuart Holden Houston DynamoWeek 15 Juan Toja FC DallasWeek 16 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus CrewWeek 17 Ante Razov Chivas USAWeek 18 Luciano Emilio D.C. UnitedWeek 19 Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red BullsWeek 20 Jozy Altidore New York Red BullsWeek 21 Maykel Galindo Chivas USAWeek 22 Ben Olsen D.C. UnitedWeek 23 Luciano Emilio D.C. UnitedWeek 24 Scott Sealy Kansas City WizardsWeek 25 Ante Razov Chivas USAWeek 26 Fred D.C. UnitedWeek 27 Abe Thompson FC DallasWeek 28 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus CrewWeek 29 Scott Sealy Kansas City Wizards
Goal of the WeekWeekPlayerClubWeek 1 Sacha Kljestan Chivas USAWeek 2 Herculez Gomez Colorado RapidsWeek 3 Jozy Altidore New York Red BullsWeek 4 Taylor Twellman New England RevolutionWeek 5 Chris Brown Real Salt LakeWeek 6 Danny Dichio Toronto FCWeek 7 Chris Gbandi FC DallasWeek 8 Jim Brennan Toronto FCWeek 9 Danny Dichio Toronto FCWeek 10 Ben Olsen D.C. UnitedWeek 11 Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red BullsWeek 12 Brad Davis Houston DynamoWeek 13 Maykel Galindo Chivas USAWeek 14 Stuart Holden Houston DynamoWeek 15 Joseph Ngwenya Houston DynamoWeek 16 Dwayne De Rosario Houston DynamoWeek 17 Kerry Zavagnin Kansas City WizardsWeek 18 Robbie Findley Real Salt LakeWeek 19 Jozy Altidore New York Red BullsWeek 20 Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago FireWeek 21 Jaime Moreno D.C. UnitedWeek 22 Eddie Johnson Kansas City WizardsWeek 23 Taylor Twellman New England RevolutionWeek 24 Scott Sealy Kansas City WizardsWeek 25 Chris Rolfe Chicago FireWeek 26 Luciano Emilio D.C. UnitedWeek 27 Paulo Nagamura Chivas USAWeek 28 Edson Buddle Los Angeles GalaxyWeek 29 Danny Dichio Toronto FC
Attendance ClubGames SeasonGame Avg.LA Galaxy 15363,782 24,252D.C. United 15 314,506 20,967Toronto FC 15301,947 20,130New England Revolution 15 251,132 16,742New York Red Bulls 15 247,948 16,530Chicago Fire 15 247,536 16,502 Real Salt Lake 15239,395 15,960Houston Dynamo 15 238,240 15,883Columbus Crew 15 228,451 15,230FC Dallas 15 227,182 15,145Colorado Rapids 15 221,209 14,747Chivas USA15 214,578 14,305Kansas City Wizards 15 173,784 11,586OVERALL1953,269,69016,768
International competitions
CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2007
D.C. UnitedDefeated Club Deportivo Olimpia in the QuarterfinalsLost Club Deportivo Guadalajara in the Semifinals.
Houston DynamoDefeated Puntarenas FC in the Quarterfinals.Lost C.F. Pachuca in the Semifinals.
SuperLiga 2007
FC DallasFinished in fourth place and did not advance fromGroup A after going 0-1-2 in group play.
D.C. UnitedRunner-up of Group B after going 1-1-1 in group play.Lost to Los Angeles Galaxy in Semifinals.
Houston DynamoWinner of Group B after going 2-0-1 in group play.Lost to C.F. Pachuca on penalty kicks in the Semifinals.
Los Angeles GalaxyWinner of Group A after going 2-1-0 in group play.Defeated D.C. United in the SemifinalsLost to C.F. Pachuca on penalty kicks in the Final.
Copa Sudamericana 2007
D.C. UnitedLost to Club Deportivo Guadalajara on away goals in the Round of 16.
Other competitions
2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Eight of the twelve U.S.-based MLS teams entered the tournament in the third round.
D.C. UnitedLost to Harrisburg City Islanders in the third round.
Los Angeles GalaxyLost to Richmond Kickers in the third round.
Chicago FireLost to Carolina RailHawks in the third round.
Houston DynamoLost to Charleston Battery in the third round.
Chivas USALost to Seattle Sounders (USL) in the third round
Colorado RapidsDefeated California Victory in the third round.Lost to Seattle Sounders (USL) in the Quarterfinals.
FC DallasDefeated Atlanta Silverbacks on penalty kicks in the third round,Defeated Charleston Battery after extra time in the Quarterfinals,Defeated Seattle Sounders (USL) after extra time in the Semifinals,Lost to New England Revolution in the Final.
New England RevolutionDefeated Rochester Raging Rhinos in the third round.Defeated Harrisburg City Islanders in the Quarterfinals.Defeated Carolina RailHawks after extra time in the Semifinals.Defeated FC Dallas in the Final.
All-Star game
The 2007 MLS All-Star Game was held at Dick's Sporting Goods Parkin Commerce City, Colorado, home of the Colorado Rapids on July 19.The opponent was Celtic F.C. of the Scottish Premier League.
Final Score:MLS All-Stars 2-0 Celtic F.C.
External links