MLS Cup 1999 was the fourth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level soccer league of the United States. It took place on November 21, 1999, at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and was contested by D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy in a rematch of the inaugural 1996 final that had been played at the same venue. Both teams finished atop their respective conferences during the regular season under new head coaches and advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
United won 2–0, with first-half goals from Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen, gaining their third MLS Cup victory in four years. Galaxy defender Robin Fraser left the match with a broken collarbone during the opening minutes and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman collided with John Maessner at the end of the half. Olsen was named the most valuable player of the match with his goal to close out the first half, which was scored off a misplayed backpass.
The final was played in front of 44,910 spectators. It was the first MLS match to be played with a standard game clock and without a tiebreaker shootout following a rule change approved by the league days earlier. The Galaxy blamed their performance on decisions by referee Tim Weyland and the quality of the pitch at Foxboro Stadium, which had a narrowed width and was damaged by an earlier National Football League game.
Both finalists qualified for the 2000 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, which was hosted in Southern California. The tournament's semifinals featured a rematch of the MLS Cup final and was decided in a penalty shootout that the Galaxy won. The Galaxy went on to win the tournament, becoming the second MLS team to do so.
Venue
The 1999 final was played at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where the inaugural final had been contested in 1996. MLS announced the stadium as the host venue on October 23, 1998, and the match was scheduled three weeks later than previous editions to avoid conflicting with baseball's World Series. The scheduled date of November 14 was later moved back to November 21. The match was originally planned to be hosted at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, but issues with the Tampa Bay Mutiny's lease at the stadium led to MLS revoking their hosting rights. Foxboro was selected ahead of bids from Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, as well as an unsubmitted speculative bid from Chicago.
The match was played six days after a home game for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, necessitating the retention of the stadium's bleacher sections. As a result, the field was narrowed from to , and had visible dirt patches and yard lines. Approximately 30,000 tickets were sold before the finalists were confirmed.
Road to the final
The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league based in the United States that began playing in 1996. Twelve teams contested the league's fourth season; teams were organized into two conferences, each playing 32 matches during the regular season from March to September. Teams faced opponents from the same conference four times during the regular season, and from outside their conference twice. Before the season began, MLS reduced the number of permitted international players from five to four as a cost-saving measure.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs, which were organized into three rounds and played primarily in October. The first two rounds, named the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, were home-and-away series organized into a best-of-three format with a hosting advantage for the higher-seeded team. The winners of the Conference Finals advanced to the single-match MLS Cup final, which would be held at a predetermined neutral venue.
MLS Cup 1999 was contested by two-time champions D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy, both of which had played in the inaugural 1996 final, which ended in a 3–2 overtime victory for United. The 1996 final had also been played at Foxboro Stadium, and the 1999 match was the fourth consecutive MLS Cup appearance for United. The 1999 final was the first to be contested by the regular season winners of both conferences. During the regular season, the Galaxy and United met twice, each winning on the road.
Los Angeles Galaxy
Since their MLS Cup 1996 appearance, the Los Angeles Galaxy had qualified for the playoffs twice but were eliminated in earlier rounds. During the 1998 regular season, the team finished atop the league standings with a 24–8 record, which included a run of nine consecutive wins and a record 85 goals. The Galaxy earned two shootout wins at the start of the 1999 season but then lost three consecutive matches where they scored only three goals in total. The club dismissed Zambrano on April 21 and replaced him with Sigi Schmid, who had managed UCLA Bruins for 19 years and the men's national under-20 team for two years. Under Schmid, the Galaxy won a playoff berth by early September and rose to first in the West alongside the Colorado Rapids. The team finished the season with a 20–12 record and 54 points, and became the first MLS team to allow an average of less than one goal per match during the regular season with 29 goals in 32 matches. Schmid was named Coach of the Year, Hartman earned Goalkeeper of the Year, and Robin Fraser won Defender of the Year for their regular season performances.
In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Galaxy faced the Rapids, who had finished fourth in the conference and failed to score in their last five consecutive matches. The Galaxy hosted the first leg and led with an eighth-minute strike from defender Ezra Hendrickson, but had midfielder Simon Elliott sent off with a red card ten minutes later. The team extended their lead from a penalty scored in the 52nd minute by Greg Vanney and a strike five minutes later by Mathis that Colorado goalkeeper Ian Feuer deflected into the net for a 3–0 victory. The Galaxy defeated the Rapids 2–0 at Mile High Stadium in Denver, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes through midfielders Danny Pena and Joe Franchino, to complete a two-match sweep in the series.
The Galaxy advanced to play the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Burn, who had finished second in the conference and eliminated defending champions Chicago. The Galaxy won the first leg, which was played at the Rose Bowl, 2–1 with a goal from Ezra Hendrickson that was scored with 40 seconds remaining in the match. The Galaxy twice took the lead during the second leg at the Cotton Bowl through a brace from Carlos Hermosillo but Dallas equalized to force a tie-breaking shootout. Dallas won 4–3 in the shootout, forcing a deciding third leg at the Rose Bowl. The Galaxy clinched their place in their second MLS Cup final with a 3–1 win, having taken advantage of the Burn's weakened defense in their starting lineup due to an injury and suspension. Greg Vanney scored from a penalty in the second minute, which was followed by goals from Hermosillo and Mauricio Cienfuegos to extend the lead; Jason Kreis scored a late consolation goal for Dallas.
D.C. United
D.C. United had played in the first three MLS Cup finals, winning in 1996 and 1997 against the Galaxy and Colorado Rapids, respectively. Following their loss in the 1998 final to the Chicago Fire, manager Bruce Arena left the team to join the U.S. men's national team and was replaced by New England head coach Thomas Rongen. During the early part of their season, United played without several injured starting players and reserves, forcing the starting lineup to change several times. The team also lost several players to national team call-ups during the Copa América, but was able to take first place in the Eastern Conference.
The team lost six starting players to national teams at the FIFA Confederations Cup in July. Rongen turned to a lineup of reserves, including an inexperienced four-man defense, minor-league players, and new acquisitions to secure a playoff berth in late August. The team also clinched first in the Eastern Conference in mid-September, having amassed a 15-point lead over the second-place Columbus Crew. During the regular season, United won 17 of their 20 matches against opponents in the Eastern Conference and finished atop the league with 57 points.
United played Miami Fusion, who had a 13–9 record in the regular season, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. United won 2–0 in the first leg, which they hosted at RFK Stadium; forward Jaime Moreno scored in the 34th and 88th minutes. The second leg in Florida ended 0–0 after regulation time and was decided in a shootout that United won 3–2. Goalkeeper Tom Presthus, having stopped four goals in regulation time, made four saves during the six-round shootout.
In a repeat of the previous two Eastern Conference Finals, United played the Columbus Crew, who had defeated the Tampa Bay Mutiny. United took a lead in the series at RFK Stadium in the first leg, winning 2–1 with a strike from Moreno in the 15th minute and a volley from Ben Olsen in the 72nd minute. The second leg in Columbus ended in a 5–1 victory for the hosts, giving United their worst playoff defeat and forcing a third match in the series. Roy Lassiter scored early for United in the sixth minute but the Crew responded with first-half goals from Ansil Elcock and Jeff Cunningham, and a hat-trick from Stern John in the second half. United recovered in the third leg to win 4–0 and extended their unbeaten streak at home in the playoffs to 12 matches. Moreno scored in the 17th minute and was joined by a brace from Roy Lassiter on both sides of half-time, the latter coming from a bicycle kick in the penalty area. Marco Etcheverry, who had provided three assists on the earlier goals, scored a free kick from with four minutes remaining to clinch a MLS Cup final berth for United.
Summary of results
Regular season
+1999 Western Conference table Club 1Los Angeles Galaxy3220312542Dallas Burn3219313513Chicago Fire3218314484Colorado Rapids3220612485San Jose Clash3219101337Key:
+1999 Eastern Conference table Club 1D.C. United ()322369572Columbus Crew3219613453Tampa Bay Mutiny3214518324Miami Fusion3213519295New England Revolution321252026Key:
Playoffs
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Playoffs were in best-of-three format with penalty shootout (SO) if scores were tied.
Los Angeles GalaxyRoundD.C. United Opponent1st leg2nd leg3rd legMLS Cup PlayoffsOpponent1st leg2nd leg3rd leg3–0 (H)2–0 (A)—Conference Semifinals2–0 (H)0–0 (A)—2–1 (H)2–2 (A)3–1 (H)Conference Finals2–1 (H)1–5 (A)4–0 (H)
Broadcasting and entertainment
The MLS Cup final was broadcast in the United States by ABC with English commentary, and Spanish commentary was available via secondary audio programming. The ABC broadcast was led by play-by-play announcer Phil Schoen and color commentator Ty Keough, who were joined by studio host Rob Stone. MLS players John Harkes and Alexi Lalas joined the pre-game and half-time broadcasts as co-hosts. ABC deployed 18 cameras for the match and added field microphones to capture crowd noise. The television broadcast on ABC drew a 1.0 national rating (approximately 1.16 million viewers), a 17 percent decline from 1998, partially due to competition from National Football League games. Pop singer Christina Aguilera sang the U.S. national anthem before the match and performed in the half-time show.
Match
Match rules