2006 Major League Soccer season

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2006 Major League Soccer season
Season2006
MLS CupHouston Dynamo (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldD.C. United (3rd shield)
2007 CONCACAF Champions' CupHouston Dynamo
D.C. United
Matches played192
Goals scored503 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorerJeff Cunningham
Real Salt Lake
Goals: 16
Biggest home winNY 6–0 RSL
Biggest away winNY 1–4 DCU
LA 0–3 RSL
DCU 2–5 LA
Highest scoringNY 5–4 CHV
Longest winning runD.C. United
Wins: 6
(06/21 – 07/15)
Longest unbeaten runD.C. United
Wins: 14
(05/13 – 07/22)
Longest losing runK.C. Wizards
Loss: 7
(06/24 – 07/22)
Los Angeles Galaxy
Loss: 7
(05/06 -06/08)
Highest attendanceLos Angeles Galaxy
Season: 333,016
Game avg.: 20,814
Lowest attendanceK.C. Wizards
Season: 177,322
Game avg.: 11,083
Total attendance2,976,787
Average attendance15,504
2005
2007

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

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 File:Flag of the United States.svg Dave Sarachan Honda
Chivas USA File:Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bradley
Colorado Rapids File:Flag of the United States.svg Fernando Clavijo
Columbus Crew File:Flag of the United States.svg Sigi Schmid File:Flag of the United States.svg Robin Fraser
D.C. United File:Flag of Poland.svg Piotr Nowak Sierra Mist
FC Dallas File:Ulster Banner.svg Colin Clarke RadioShack
Houston Dynamo File:Flag of the United States.svg Dominic Kinnear File:Flag of the United States.svg Wade Barrett
Kansas City Wizards File:Flag of the United States.svg Bob Gansler U.S. Soccer Foundation
Los Angeles Galaxy File:Flag of the United States.svg Steve Sampson Budweiser
New England Revolution File:Flag of Scotland.svg Steve Nicol Sierra Mist
New York Red Bulls File:Flag of Scotland.svg Mo Johnston File:Flag of France.svg Youri Djorkaeff Red Bull
Real Salt Lake File:Flag of the United States.svg John Ellinger File:Flag of the United States.svg Jason Kreis

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy File:Flag of the United States.svg Steve Sampson Fired June 6, 2006 File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Frank Yallop June 7, 2006
New York Red Bulls File:Flag of Scotland.svg Mo Johnston Fired June 27, 2006 File:Flag of the United States.svg Richie Williams June 28, 2006
New York Red Bulls File:Flag of the United States.svg Richie Williams End of interim period July 18, 2006 File:Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena July 18, 2006
Kansas City Wizards File:Flag of the United States.svg Bob Gansler Resigned July 19, 2006 File:Flag of the United States.svg Brian Bliss July 19, 2006

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United 32 15 7 10 52 38 +14 55 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 New England Revolution 32 12 8 12 39 35 +4 48
3 Chicago Fire 32 13 11 8 43 41 +2 47
4 New York Red Bulls 32 9 11 12 41 41 0 39
5 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 14 8 43 45 −2 38
6 Columbus Crew 32 8 15 9 30 42 −12 33
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Dallas 32 16 12 4 48 44 +4 52 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Houston Dynamo 32 11 8 13 44 40 +4 46
3 Chivas USA 32 10 9 13 45 42 +3 43
4 Colorado Rapids 32 11 13 8 36 49 −13 41
5 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 11 15 6 37 37 0 39
6 Real Salt Lake 32 10 13 9 45 49 −4 39
Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United (S) 32 15 7 10 52 38 +14 55 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 FC Dallas 32 16 12 4 48 44 +4 52 North American SuperLiga
3 New England Revolution 32 12 8 12 39 35 +4 48
4 Chicago Fire 32 13 11 8 43 41 +2 47
5 Houston Dynamo (C) 32 11 8 13 44 40 +4 46 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6 Chivas USA 32 10 9 13 45 42 +3 43
7 Colorado Rapids 32 11 13 8 36 49 −13 41
8 New York Red Bulls 32 9 11 12 41 41 0 39
9 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 11 15 6 37 37 0 39 North American SuperLiga
10 Real Salt Lake 32 10 13 9 45 49 −4 39
11 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 14 8 43 45 −2 38
12 Columbus Crew 32 8 15 9 30 42 −12 33
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

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
          
E1 D.C. United 1 1
E4 New York 0 1
E1 D.C. United 0
Eastern Conference
E2 New England 1
E3 Chicago 1 1 (2)
E2 New England (p) 0 2 (4)
E2 New England 1 (3)
W2 Houston (p) 1 (4)
W1 Dallas 2 2 (4)
W4 Colorado (p) 1 3 (5)
W4 Colorado 1
Western Conference
W2 Houston 3
W3 Chivas USA 2 0
W2 Houston 1 2

Conference semifinals

D.C. United1–0New York Red Bulls
Gómez File:Soccerball shade.svg 77' Report
Attendance: 8,630
Referee: Michael Kennedy

D.C. United advance 2–1 on aggregate.


New England Revolution0–1Chicago Fire
Report Mapp File:Soccerball shade.svg 35'
Attendance: 10,217
Referee: Tim Weyland

New England Revolution advance 4–2 on penalties (2–2 aggregate after extra time).


Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties (4–4 aggregate after extra time).


Houston Dynamo advance 3–2 on aggregate.


Conference finals

New England Revolution1–0D.C. United
Twellman File:Soccerball shade.svg 4' Report
Attendance: 19,552
Referee: Kevin Stott

New England Revolution advances 1–0 in single elimination.


Houston Dynamo advances 3–1 in single elimination.


MLS Cup

Player statistics

Goals

Rank Player Club Goals
1 File:Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 16
2 File:Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez D.C. United 14
File:Flag of the United States.svg Ante Razov Chivas USA
4 File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Carlos Ruiz FC Dallas 13
5 File:Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 12
6 File:Flag of Bolivia.svg Jaime Moreno D.C. United 11
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario Houston Dynamo
File:Flag of the United States.svg Taylor Twellman New England Revolution
File:Flag of the United States.svg Kenny Cooper FC Dallas
File:Flag of the United States.svg Brian Ching Houston Dynamo

Assists

Rank Player Club Assists
1 File:Flag of the United States.svg Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9
2 File:Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 8
File:Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez D.C. United
File:Flag of the United States.svg José Burciaga Jr. Kansas City Wizards
File:Flag of the United States.svg Justin Mapp Chicago Fire
File:Flag of the United States.svg Carey Talley Real Salt Lake
File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ronnie O'Brien FC Dallas
File:Flag of England.svg Terry Cooke Colorado Rapids
9 File:Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 7
File:Flag of Wales (1959–present).svg Andy Dorman New England Revolution
File:Flag of the United States.svg Sasha Victorine Kansas City Wizards

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 File:Flag of the United States.svg Matt Reis New England Revolution 10
2 File:Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy 9
3 File:Flag of the United States.svg Troy Perkins D.C. United 8
4 File:Flag of the United States.svg Joe Cannon Colorado Rapids 7
File:Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton Chicago Fire
6 File:Flag of the United States.svg Preston Burpo Chivas USA 5
File:Flag of the United States.svg Jon Conway New York Red Bulls
File:Flag of the United States.svg Brad Guzan Chivas USA
File:Flag of the United States.svg Tony Meola New York Red Bulls
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
File:Flag of the United States.svg Bo Oshoniyi Kansas City Wizards
File:Flag of Argentina.svg Darío Sala FC Dallas

Awards

Individual awards

Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player File:Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez D.C. United
Defender of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Boswell D.C. United
Goalkeeper of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Troy Perkins D.C. United
Coach of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bradley Chivas USA
Rookie of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Bornstein Chivas USA
Comeback Player of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Richard Mulrooney FC Dallas
Golden Boot File:Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake
Goal of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Brian Ching Houston Dynamo
Fair Play Award File:Flag of the United States.svg Chris Klein Real Salt Lake
Humanitarian of the Year File:Flag of the United States.svg Michael Parkhurst New England Revolution

Best XI

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
File:Flag of the United States.svg Troy Perkins, D.C. United File:Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Boswell, D.C. United
File:Flag of the United States.svg José Burciaga Jr., Kansas City
File:Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City
File:Flag of the United States.svg Ricardo Clark, Houston
File:Flag of the United States.svg Clint Dempsey, New England
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario, Houston
File:Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez, D.C. United
File:Flag of the United States.svg Justin Mapp, Chicago
File:Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham, Salt Lake
File:Flag of Bolivia.svg 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

External links