Click on the tile to enhance the image, a season recap lies below the tile.

A few changes to note about the tile:

• Expansion sides are highlighted green in the table, as Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion are in this tile
• The CONCACAF logo placed over the DCU logo in the table represents their ’98 CCL title

1998

The 1998 season gave rise to the first of many MLS expansion efforts. The ten charter clubs were joined by the Miami Fusion in the east and a stacked Chicago Fire side in the western conference. You will notice in the tiles that expansion clubs are highlighted in green on the league tables. The league also introduced a new All Star Game format, switching from the East v. West game used in ‘96 and ‘97 and going with an MLS World All Stars v. MLS USA All Stars format instead. However, at this juncture in time, the league wasn’t attracting enough global talent to reckon with the domestic players, who won the ’98 ASG by a score of 6 – 1.

In the regular season, the LA Galaxy took the Supporters’ Shield with an astonishing 68 points from 32 matches (a league record to this day – both the ppg (2.12) and the 68-point season total). I should note that the Shield didn’t technically exist until 1999, but a regular season champ is a regular season champ, call it what you like. On the other end of the spectrum, New England Revolution continued their struggles in MLS, tying a record low by collecting only 29 points from 32 matches (Colorado achieved this as well in ’96).

Bolivian playmaker Marco Etcheverry took MVP honors after bagging 10 goals and racking up 19 assists in 29 matches, but his club, DC United, would fail to reach the top of the MLS mountain for the first time in their history. After taking the crown in ’96 and ’97 and then reaching MLS Cup for a third straight year, DC united was just 90 minutes away from securing the league’s first three championships. But it was not to be, as the expansion Chicago Fire, led by legendary American manager Bob Bradley, blanked DCU 2-0 in the Rose Bowl for Chicago’s first and only MLS Cup title. It was part of a truly remarkable expansion campaign for the Fire. Just five days after winning MLS Cup, Chicago defeated Columbus Crew 2-1 in the US Open Cup Final, bringing home the double in their inaugural season.

It’s never bad being a DC United fan. Despite coming up short in domestic competitions, in August of 1998 they became the first MLS club to bring home a continental title, defeating Mexican side Toluca 1-0 in the CONCACAF Champs League (CCL) final. This was a landmark moment in MLS history as it represents one of only two CCL titles to the league’s name. Even though Mexican clubs have dominated the CCL historically, the US domestic league has really underwhelmed in the competition. For comparison, Costa Rican clubs have combined to win the tournament five times.

Goal of the Year
I hate to keep directing you to the same video, but it’s tough to find short Goal of the Year clips from MLS’ early days. For a look at Brian McBride’s kamikaze volley against the Chicago Fire that took Goal of the Year honors in 1998, click here and fast forward to the 40 second mark of the video.