by As the Columbus Crew and LAFC prepare to meet in the 28th edition of the MLS Cup on Saturday, the crown jewel of US soccer has come a long way since its first final back in 1996, played between D.C. United and LA Galaxy on a pitch with rain. in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
But despite the undoubted rise in quality of play, coaching and infrastructure the league has witnessed since then, the first ever MLS Cup might not be beaten for sheer entertainment.
Long before the seismic impact of Lionel Messi reaching the State Cup and still more than a decade shy of David Beckham’s transition in the league, Major League Soccer was founded after the 1994 World Cup hosted by USA as America’s first professional soccer league. since the dissolution of the NASL in 1984.
“It was a startup situation where everyone was trying to figure it out,” says Cobi Jones, the LA Galaxy winger who was one of the breakout stars of the new series. “You talk about the Premier League and English football, it’s been around for centuries. Major league baseball has been around for more than 100 years. This was very new. The LA Galaxy expected 15,000 to 20,000 fans at the first game. They ended up with 67,000 shows up. They were a bit underprepared – they didn’t know the market, didn’t know what to expect.”
Along with Jones, the Galaxy boasted one of the league’s top signings in Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos and were coached by former national team captain Lothar Osiander. They made a run to the top of the Western Conference, winning 12 games in a row to open the season.
It was a different story in DC. Bruce Arena’s side won just one of their first seven games, before finishing second in the East as the campaign ended.
“The team started off slow,” recalls midfielder Tony Sanneh, a midseason DC signee. “Bruce wanted to get me earlier, but the league wouldn’t pay me more. These were strict limits on what they would pay people based on where they came from. It made no sense for me to move to a big city and lose money. So they began to lose. The more they lost, I got more and more calls.
“[Arena] run a very competitive environment. You could tell right away that he was building winners. By the end of the season, we really had our biggest competition.”
After coming off a two-game sweep of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the first round of the playoffs, DC continued their momentum as they swept top seed Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals. On the other side of the playoff bracket, the Clash Galaxy beat San Jose in three games before sweeping the Kansas City Wiz to set up a final showdown with DC in Foxborough.
When they arrived in New England, the DC and LA players found Foxborough Park flooded. Heavy rain from Hurricane Lilli threatened the inaugural MLS showpiece.
“I did not cross our minds [that out would be called off],” says Jones. “I think if it was in today’s era of the game, it would be stopped. There was a cyclone and a downpour on a field that was not prepared for soccer in that type of environment. It was a tight pitch and the water was dumping everywhere, which made it difficult to play.”
“It was bad weather, but you usually play in bad weather,” says Sanneh. “It wasn’t until we got there and saw the condition of the pitch that we thought it might be cancelled. We just had to roll with it. The pitch was worse than we thought it would be.”
First, adjust the Galaxy best for the adverse weather conditions. Eduardo Hurtado put the Western Conference champions ahead early. Then, 10 minutes into the second half, midfielder Chris Armas weaved his way through the DC defense and put LA ahead 2-0 with a low shot that skidded over the sodden grass and into the bottom corner of Mark Simpson’s goal.
“Going up two, you’re thinking, ‘This is good,'” says Jones. “And we weren’t just up two. We were playing well, too. It was unfortunate that some injuries occurred and some substitutes threw everything out of the whale, Jorge Salcedo being removed. He showed how much he was helping to win balls in midfield with Chris Armas, that when he was taken off, he took off.”
He was one of the most influential Arena representatives of all. Sanneh was a regular starter for DC until an injury late in the season. After returning to fitness, he was disappointed to be named on the bench for the MLS Cup final. When asked to replace John Maessner after 59 minutes, he wasted no time in showing why he felt he should have been on the sodden pitch throughout, heading home Marco Etcheverry’s free-kick in the 73rd minute.
“When we went into the final, Bruce was like, ‘We’re going with the same team as the last game,'” Sanneh recalls. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute? I played every minute, I get one injury and I’m not getting my place back.’
“For me, personally, I was very upset. It wasn’t until the day before the game, kicking around, that my sponsor, Adidas, gave me a nice little present at the stadium. I just thought, ‘You know what? Life could be worse. I’m playing in the pros, I’m here, I’m getting free stuff. Be ready.’
“When they brought me in, they told me to go and do something, make a difference. I entered with energy. It was a beautiful ball by Marco and I was able to put it away. I’d like to think I helped change the momentum of the game.”
Jones almost lost the momentum back in the 78th minute, but his 30-yard strike swirled off the crossbar and away to safety.
“You always think they’re going in, right?” says Jones. “If you’re a good hitter, you think every shot you hit is going in. I was a bit disappointed it didn’t go in, but you keep playing, keep doing your job.”
Three minutes later, DC found an equaliser. Once again a set piece was delivered by Man of the Match Etcheverry who was the catalyst, with Shawn Medved scoring after LA failed to clear the initial free kick. DC were in charge, but, as Sanneh recalls, they weren’t going gung-ho for the win in regulation.
“Our mindset, after having that big emotional boost, was to play to win the game, but that means every aspect of the game,” says Sanneh. “That means not only scoring but putting ourselves in a position not to concede. We had fresh subs that came in and we were making a difference. Our mindset was to win the game, but we weren’t taking risks to do it.”
A winning goal must have arrived in the closing minutes of the 90 when Etcheverry’s close-range effort hit the post. United did not have to wait long for their victory-clinching strike, however. Just four minutes into added time, defender Eddie Pope – a future USMNT mainstay – rose above Curt Analfo at the near post to receive another expert Etcheverry delivery, this time from a corner kick. high into the Campos net. With the now defunct golden rule in effect, the Galaxy had no right of reply. The game was over and DC were the first MLS Cup Champions.
Pope went to the sidelines, being chased by his teammates, and slid, belly first, across the rain-soaked pitch, giving MLS one of its first iconic images. The Pope was still a student at the University of North Carolina, the same school where Michael Jordan rose to prominence in the 1980s. Two days after his MLS Cup win, he would be back at school to take three exams. His cup-winning header may have been the most impactful scoring effort by a UNC student active since Jordan’s mid-range jumper in the 1982 NCAA Championship win over Georgetown.
“There were some boys in that first year who were finishing their schooling,” says Sanneh. “The league was just starting and nobody knew what to expect. It wasn’t like they were paying enough people to give everything up.
“I remember only joy. In that team, we had superstars but we worked so hard together. That group of 15, we were so competitive. Our younger players were less known. We were on the road to becoming world class players. We would love to challenge the big names. It was really good that we all got to contribute to that game. It brought us all together.”
“When you’re up 2-0 and then lose the game on a golden goal, you look back at all the moments when things could have changed, or when you could have changed things,” says Jones. “But you have to remember that you did your best right now. It didn’t work out for us. DC then had a great performance, with Eddie Pope and Etcheverry delivering set pieces. They outplayed us in a lot of situations where you would expect your team to do better.”
