2008 Major League Soccer season

13th season of Major League Soccer

Football league season

Major League Soccer

Season| 2008
MLS Cup| Columbus Crew (1st title)
Supporters' Shield| Columbus Crew (2nd shield)
Champions League| Columbus Crew
New York Red Bulls
Houston Dynamo
D.C. United
SuperLiga| Chicago Fire
N.E. Revolution
Chivas USA
Kansas City Wizards
Matches played| 210
Goals scored| 591 (2.81 per match)
Top goalscorer| Landon Donovan
Los Angeles Galaxy
Goals: 20
Biggest home win| COL 4–0 LA
CHI 4–0 NE
RSL 4–0 DCU
Biggest away win| FCD 1–5 LA
NY 1–5 CHI
Highest scoring| NY 4–5 COL
Longest winning run| 5 games:
Columbus Crew
Longest unbeaten run| 9 games:
Columbus Crew
San Jose Earthquakes
Longest losing run| 4 games:
D.C. United
Highest attendance| LA @ NY: 46,754
Lowest attendance| CLB @ CHV: 6,733
Total attendance| 3,456,641
Average attendance| 16,460

← 2007

2009 →

D.C. United

New York

Columbus

New England

Chicago

Kansas City

Toronto

Colorado

Dallas

Chivas USA

Galaxy

Houston

Salt Lake

San Jose

class=notpageimage|

Locations of teams for the 2008 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference Eastern Conference

The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 96th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 30th with a national first-division league.

The San Jose Earthquakes returned to the league, following a two-year hiatus that began after the 2005 season.

The Kansas City Wizards left Arrowhead Stadium and moved to the Kansas side of the metropolitan area, occupying CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City. The league also debuted its newest soccer-specific stadium in October when Real Salt Lake opened Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on October 26. The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 30, and concluded with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23. The Columbus Crew captured the league double by winning their second Supporters' Shield and by defeating the New York Red Bulls, 3-1, in MLS Cup.

## Overview

[edit]

### Season format

[edit]

The season began on March 29 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 23. The 14 teams were split evenly into two conferences. 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 League. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions League, 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 six overall finishers, as opposed 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.

Due to fixture congestion, qualification for the SuperLiga was limited to the top four overall finishers not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. This applied retroactively to the 2008 season, and thus was related to qualification for MLS teams to SuperLiga 2009.

### Stadiums and locations

[edit]

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums

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 | CommunityAmerica Ballpark | 10,385
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
Rio Tinto Stadium | 45,017
20,213
San Jose Earthquakes | Buck Shaw Stadium | 10,525
Toronto FC | BMO Field | 21,566

### Personnel and sponsorships

[edit]

Team  | Head coach  | Captain  | Shirt sponsor

|
|
|

Chicago Fire |  Denis Hamlett |  | Best Buy
Chivas USA |  Preki |  | Comex
Colorado Rapids |  Fernando Clavijo |  | —
Columbus Crew |  Sigi Schmid |  Frankie Hejduk | Glidden
D.C. United |  Tom Soehn |  | Volkswagen
FC Dallas |  Steve Morrow |  | —
Houston Dynamo |  Dominic Kinnear |  Wade Barrett | —
Kansas City Wizards |  Curt Onalfo |  | —
LA Galaxy |  Ruud Gullit |  | Herbalife
New England Revolution |  Steve Nicol |  | —
New York Red Bulls |  Juan Carlos Osorio |  Claudio Reyna | Red Bull
Real Salt Lake |  Jason Kreis |  Kyle Beckerman | —
San Jose Earthquakes |  Frank Yallop |  Nick Garcia | —
Toronto FC |  John Carver |  | —

### Coaching changes

[edit]

Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment

|
|
|
|
|

FC Dallas |  Steve Morrow | Fired  | May 20, 2008  |  Marco Ferruzzi | May 20, 2008
FC Dallas |  Marco Ferruzzi | End of interim period  | June 16, 2008  |  Schellas Hyndman | June 16, 2008

## Results table

[edit]

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Chicago Fire \- CHI • Chivas USA \- CHV • Colorado Rapids \- COL • Columbus Crew \- CLB • D.C. United \- DC
FC Dallas \- DAL • Houston Dynamo \- HOU • Kansas City Wizards \- KC • Los Angeles Galaxy \- LA • New England Revolution \- NE
New York Red Bulls \- NY • Real Salt Lake \- RSL • San Jose Earthquakes \- SJ • Toronto FC \- TOR
Win • Loss • Tie • Home

Club  | Match
1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | 21  | 22  | 23  | 24  | 25  | 26  | 27  | 28  | 29  | 30
Chicago Fire | RSL | NE | SJ | KC | COL | NE | DC | HOU | NY | DC | DAL | CHV | SJ | CLB | TOR | RSL | KC | CHV | NE | DC | LA | HOU | NY | COL | DAL | LA | KC | CLB | TOR | NY
1-1 | 0-4 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 5-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 4-1 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 2-5
Chivas USA | DAL | RSL | CLB | DAL | LA | HOU | NE | DC | COL | CLB | NY | RSL | CHI | NY | SJ | LA | CHI | KC | LA | HOU | SJ | TOR | TOR | NE | RSL | KC | DC | SJ | COL | HOU
1-1 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 2-0 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 0-4 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 1-1
Colorado Rapids | LA | KC | NE | SJ | CHI | DC | HOU | RSL | CHV | DAL | LA | TOR | HOU | CLB | NY | SJ | DAL | CLB | TOR | KC | DC | RSL | DAL | CHI | NE | NY | HOU | LA | CHV | RSL
0-4 | 2-3 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 5-4 | 3-1 | 2-3 | 2-1 | 1-1
Columbus Crew | TOR | NY | CHV | DC | HOU | KC | SJ | TOR | NE | CHV | SJ | KC | LA | COL | CHI | RSL | KC | COL | HOU | DAL | RSL | DAL | NE | TOR | NY | NE | LA | CHI | NY | DC
0-2 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 3-3 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 3-3 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 2-1 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 0-1
D.C. United | KC | TOR | RSL | CLB | RSL | COL | CHI | CHV | TOR | TOR | NE | CHI | NY | SJ | LA | HOU | KC | NY | CHI | NE | COL | NY | SJ | DAL | LA | DAL | CHV | HOU | NE | CLB
0-2 | 1-4 | 0-4 | 2-1 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 4-1 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2-5 | 0-3 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1
FC Dallas | CHV | HOU | NY | CHV | NE | SJ | RSL | LA | RSL | HOU | COL | NE | CHI | NY | HOU | KC | COL | LA | TOR | CLB | KC | CLB | COL | DC | CHI | DC | SJ | TOR | RSL | LA
1-1 | 3-3 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 5-1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 4-1 | 0-3 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2-2
Houston Dynamo | NE | DAL | KC | LA | CLB | CHV | COL | CHI | SJ | DAL | NY | TOR | NE | COL | DAL | RSL | DC | CLB | RSL | CHV | NY | CHI | KC | SJ | TOR | COL | DC | SJ | LA | CHV
0-3 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 2-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 1-1
Kansas City Wizards | DC | COL | NE | HOU | CHI | TOR | CLB | NY | LA | RSL | CLB | TOR | RSL | DAL | NY | CLB | CHI | DC | CHV | COL | DAL | SJ | HOU | LA | TOR | CHV | CHI | NE | SJ | NE
0-2 | 2-3 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 3-1
Los Angeles Galaxy | COL | SJ | TOR | HOU | CHV | RSL | NY | DAL | KC | TOR | COL | SJ | CLB | DC | NE | CHV | NY | DAL | SJ | CHV | CHI | NE | RSL | KC | DC | CHI | CLB | COL | HOU | DAL
0-4 | 0-2 | 3-2 | 2-2 | 2-5 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 5-1 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 3-0 | 3-3 | 1-4 | 2-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 2-2
New England Revolution | HOU | CHI | KC | COL | NY | DAL | CHI | CHV | SJ | CLB | DC | DAL | HOU | NY | RSL | TOR | LA | CHI | SJ | DC | TOR | LA | CLB | CHV | COL | CLB | RSL | KC | DC | KC
0-3 | 0-4 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 0-4 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 3-1
New York Red Bulls | CLB | DAL | NE | SJ | TOR | LA | KC | CHI | HOU | CHV | DC | NE | DAL | CHV | COL | KC | LA | SJ | DC | TOR | HOU | DC | CHI | RSL | CLB | COL | TOR | RSL | CLB | CHI
0-2 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-1 | 5-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-4 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 4-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 5-4 | 3-1 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 2-5
Real Salt Lake | CHI | CHV | DC | TOR | DC | LA | DAL | COL | DAL | SJ | KC | CHV | SJ | NE | KC | HOU | CLB | CHI | TOR | HOU | CLB | COL | LA | NY | CHV | SJ | NE | NY | DAL | COL
1-1 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 3-2 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 1-1
San Jose Earthquakes | LA | CHI | COL | NY | DAL | CLB | NE | HOU | RSL | CLB | LA | RSL | DC | CHI | CHV | COL | TOR | NY | LA | NE | CHV | KC | DC | HOU | RSL | DAL | CHV | HOU | KC | TOR
0-2 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 0-2
Toronto FC | CLB | DC | LA | RSL | KC | NY | CLB | DC | DC | LA | HOU | COL | KC | NE | CHI | SJ | RSL | DAL | COL | NY | NE | CHV | CHV | CLB | KC | HOU | NY | DAL | CHI | SJ
0-2 | 1-4 | 3-2 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 0-2

## Standings

[edit]

### Eastern Conference

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Columbus Crew | 30  | 17  | 7  | 6  | 50  | 36  | +14  | 57  | MLS Cup Playoffs
2  | Chicago Fire | 30  | 13  | 10  | 7  | 44  | 33  | +11  | 46
3  | New England Revolution | 30  | 12  | 11  | 7  | 40  | 43  | −3  | 43
4  | Kansas City Wizards | 30  | 11  | 10  | 9  | 37  | 39  | −2  | 42
5  | New York Red Bulls | 30  | 10  | 11  | 9  | 42  | 48  | −6  | 39
6  | D.C. United | 30  | 11  | 15  | 4  | 43  | 51  | −8  | 37  |
7  | Toronto FC | 30  | 9  | 13  | 8  | 34  | 43  | −9  | 35

Source: MLS

### Western Conference

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Houston Dynamo | 30  | 13  | 5  | 12  | 45  | 32  | +13  | 51  | MLS Cup Playoffs
2  | Chivas USA | 30  | 12  | 11  | 7  | 40  | 41  | −1  | 43
3  | Real Salt Lake | 30  | 10  | 10  | 10  | 40  | 39  | +1  | 40
4  | Colorado Rapids | 30  | 11  | 14  | 5  | 44  | 45  | −1  | 38  |
5  | FC Dallas | 30  | 8  | 10  | 12  | 45  | 41  | +4  | 36
6  | LA Galaxy | 30  | 8  | 13  | 9  | 55  | 62  | −7  | 33
7  | San Jose Earthquakes | 30  | 8  | 13  | 9  | 32  | 38  | −6  | 33

Source: MLS

### Overall standings

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T  | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Columbus Crew (C, S) | 30  | 17  | 7  | 6  | 50  | 36  | +14  | 57  | CONCACAF Champions League
2  | Houston Dynamo | 30  | 13  | 5  | 12  | 45  | 32  | +13  | 51
3  | Chicago Fire | 30  | 13  | 10  | 7  | 44  | 33  | +11  | 46  | North American SuperLiga
4  | Chivas USA | 30  | 12  | 11  | 7  | 40  | 41  | −1  | 43
5  | New England Revolution | 30  | 12  | 11  | 7  | 40  | 43  | −3  | 43
6  | Kansas City Wizards | 30  | 11  | 10  | 9  | 37  | 39  | −2  | 42
7  | Real Salt Lake | 30  | 10  | 10  | 10  | 40  | 39  | +1  | 40  |
8  | New York Red Bulls | 30  | 10  | 11  | 9  | 42  | 48  | −6  | 39  | CONCACAF Champions League
9  | Colorado Rapids | 30  | 11  | 14  | 5  | 44  | 45  | −1  | 38  |
10  | D.C. United | 30  | 11  | 15  | 4  | 43  | 51  | −8  | 37  | CONCACAF Champions League
11  | FC Dallas | 30  | 8  | 10  | 12  | 45  | 41  | +4  | 36  |
12  | Toronto FC | 30  | 9  | 13  | 8  | 34  | 43  | −9  | 35  | CONCACAF Champions League[a]
13  | LA Galaxy | 30  | 8  | 13  | 9  | 55  | 62  | −7  | 33  |
14  | San Jose Earthquakes | 30  | 8  | 13  | 9  | 32  | 38  | −6  | 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
Notes:

1. ^ As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

## MLS Cup Playoffs

[edit]

Main article: 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

| Conference semifinals | | | Conference finals | | | MLS Cup |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| E1 | Columbus Crew | 1 | 2 | | |
| E4 | Kansas City Wizards | 1 | 0 |
| | E1 | Columbus Crew | 2 |
| Eastern Conference |
| | | E2 | Chicago Fire | 1 |
| E3 | New England Revolution | 0 | 0 |

| E2 | Chicago Fire | 0 | 3 |
| | E1 | Columbus Crew | 3 |
|  |
| | | W4 | New York Red Bulls | 1 |
| W1 | Houston Dynamo | 1 | 0 | |

| W4 | New York Red Bulls1 | 1 | 3 |
| | W4 | New York Red Bulls | 1 |
| Western Conference |
| | | W3 | Real Salt Lake | 0 |
| W3 | Real Salt Lake | 1 | 2 |

| W2 | Chivas USA | 0 | 2 |

1 The New York Red Bulls earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs.

## Player statistics

[edit]

### Goals

[edit]

Rank | Player | Club | Goals

|
|
|

1  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy | 20
2  |  Kenny Cooper | FC Dallas | 18
3  |  Edson Buddle | LA Galaxy | 15
4  |  Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls | 14
5  |  Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo | 13
6  |  Luciano Emilio | D.C. United | 11
Conor Casey | Colorado Rapids
8  |  Jaime Moreno | D.C. United | 10
9  |  Chad Barrett | Chicago Fire
Toronto FC | 9
Chris Rolfe | Chicago Fire

### Assists

[edit]

Rank | Player | Club | Assists

|
|
|

1  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew | 16
2  |  Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | 11
3  |  Terry Cooke | Colorado Rapids | 10
4  |  David Beckham | LA Galaxy | 8
Justin Mapp | Chicago Fire
6  |  Christian Gómez | Colorado Rapids | 7
7  |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Chicago Fire | 6
Brad Davis | Houston Dynamo
Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Jaime Moreno | D.C. United
Ronnie O'Brien | San Jose Earthquakes

### Clean sheets

[edit]

Rank  | Player  | Club  | Clean
sheets

|
|
|

1  |  Jon Busch | Chicago Fire | 10
Kevin Hartman | Kansas City Wizards
Will Hesmer | Columbus Crew
4  |  Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes | 9
5  |  Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake | 8
6  |  Jon Conway | New York Red Bulls | 7
Pat Onstad | Houston Dynamo
Darío Sala | FC Dallas
9  |  Matt Reis | New England Revolution | 6
Greg Sutton | Toronto FC

## Awards

[edit]

### Individual awards

[edit]

Award | Player | Club

|
|

Most Valuable Player |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
Defender of the Year |  Chad Marshall | Columbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the Year |  Jon Busch | Chicago Fire
Coach of the Year |  Sigi Schmid | Columbus Crew
Rookie of the Year |  Sean Franklin | LA Galaxy
Newcomer of the Year |  Darren Huckerby | San Jose Earthquakes
Comeback Player of the Year |  Kenny Cooper | FC Dallas
Golden Boot |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Goal of the Year |  Will Johnson | Real Salt Lake
Fair Play Award |  Michael Parkhurst | New England Revolution
Humanitarian of the Year |  José Burciaga Jr. | Colorado Rapids

### MLS Best XI

[edit]

Goalkeeper  | Defenders  | Midfielders  | Forwards

|
|
|

Jon Busch, Chicago |  Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City
Chad Marshall, Columbus
Bakary Soumaré, Chicago |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Chicago
Shalrie Joseph, New England
Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USA
Robbie Rogers, Columbus
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus |  Kenny Cooper, Dallas
Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy

### Weekly awards

[edit]

Player of the Week

Week | Player | Club
Week 1  |  Terry Cooke | Colorado Rapids
Week 2  |  David Beckham | LA Galaxy
Week 3  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
Week 4  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Week 5  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Week 6  |  David Beckham | LA Galaxy
Week 7  |  Robbie Rogers | Columbus Crew
Week 8  |  Edson Buddle | LA Galaxy
Week 9  |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Chicago Fire
Week 10  |  Robbie Findley | Real Salt Lake
Week 11  |  Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo
Week 12  |  Edson Buddle | LA Galaxy
Week 13  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Week 14  |  Steve Ralston | New England Revolution
Week 15  |  Adam Cristman | New England Revolution
Week 16  |  John Thorrington | Chicago Fire
Week 17  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
Week 18  |  Kenny Cooper | FC Dallas
Week 19  |  Kenny Cooper | FC Dallas
Week 20  |  Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls
Week 21  |  Ronnie O'Brien | San Jose Earthquakes
Week 22  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
Week 23  |  Fabian Espindola | Real Salt Lake
Week 24  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
Week 25  |  Steve Ralston | New England Revolution
Week 26  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Week 27  |  Conor Casey | Colorado Rapids
Week 28  |  Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo
Week 29  |  Brian McBride | Chicago Fire
Week 30  |  Claudio López | Kansas City Wizards
Week 31  |  Chris Rolfe | Chicago Fire
Goal of the Week

Week | Player | Club
Week 1  |  Sainey Nyassi | New England Revolution
Week 2  |  Geoff Cameron | Houston Dynamo
Week 3  |  Sacha Kljestan | Chivas USA
Week 4  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
Week 5  |  Marcelo Gallardo | D.C. United
Week 6  |  Chris Rolfe | Chicago Fire
Week 7  |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Chicago Fire
Week 8  |  Marcelo Gallardo | D.C. United
Week 9  |  Tam McManus | Colorado Rapids
Week 10  |  Robbie Findley | Real Salt Lake
Week 11  |  Luciano Emilio | D.C. United
Week 12  |  Clyde Simms | D.C. United
Week 13  |  Gonzalo Martínez | D.C. United
Week 14  |  Luciano Emilio | D.C. United
Week 15  |  Ante Razov | Chivas USA
Week 16  |  Ante Razov | Chivas USA
Week 17  |  Juan Pablo Angel | New York Red Bulls
Week 18  |  Abe Thompson | FC Dallas
Week 19  |  Jaime Moreno | D.C. United
Week 20  |  Chad Barrett | Toronto FC
Week 21  |  Brian Carroll | Columbus Crew
Week 22  |  Joe Vide | D.C. United
Week 23  |  Fabian Espindola | Real Salt Lake
Week 24  |  Santino Quaranta | D.C. United
Week 25  |  Davy Arnaud | Kansas City Wizards
Week 26  |  Robbie Rogers | Columbus Crew
Week 27  |  Josh Wolff | Kansas City Wizards
Week 28  |  Andy Williams | Real Salt Lake
Week 29  |  Brandon McDonald | LA Galaxy
Week 30  |  Danny Cepero | New York Red Bulls
Week 31  |  Brad Evans | Columbus Crew

### Monthly awards

[edit]

Player of the Month

Week | Player | Club
April  |  Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy
May  |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Chicago Fire
June  |  Luciano Emilio | D.C. United
July  |  Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake
August  |  Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew
September  |  Darren Huckerby | San Jose Earthquakes
October  |  Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls

## Attendances

[edit]

Club  | Games  | Season  | Game Avg.

|
|
|

LA Galaxy | 15  | 390,132  | 26,009
Toronto FC | 15  | 301,793  | 20,120
D.C. United | 15  | 297,531  | 19,835
New England Revolution | 15  | 263,706  | 17,580
Chicago Fire | 15  | 255,511  | 17,034
Houston Dynamo | 15  | 254,083  | 16,939
Real Salt Lake | 15  | 242,690  | 16,179
New York Red Bulls | 15  | 238,925  | 15,928
Chivas USA | 15  | 226,717  | 15,114
Columbus Crew | 15  | 219,332  | 14,622
San Jose Earthquakes | 15  | 205,695  | 13,713
Colorado Rapids | 15  | 204,884  | 13,659
FC Dallas | 15  | 195,356  | 13,024
Kansas City Wizards | 15  | 160,286  | 10,686
Totals | 210 | 3,456,641 | 16,460

## Related competitions

[edit]

### International competitions

[edit]

#### CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008

[edit]

Main article: CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008

The Houston Dynamo and D.C. United earned berths in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup by virtue of their MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield wins, respectively. Houston and D.C. were both victorious in their quarterfinal ties and advanced to the semifinals. For the second straight year, however, both lost their respective semifinals, and were eliminated.

#### SuperLiga 2008

[edit]

Main article: North American SuperLiga 2008

D.C. United, Chivas USA, the New England Revolution, and the Houston Dynamo were MLS's entrants into SuperLiga 2008, based on their top-four finish in the 2007 regular season.

Following the Group Stage, which took place from July 12 to July 20, Houston and New England each won their respective groups to advance to the Semifinals, where they faced 2007 champion Pachuca on July 29 and Atlante on July 30, respectively. D.C. United finished last and Chivas USA finished third in their respective groups and failed to advance.

Both MLS teams were victorious in the Semifinals, setting up a rematch of the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups in the Final on August 5 at Gillette Stadium.

The teams played to a 2–2 draw after extra time. New England eventually defeated Houston 6–5 on penalty kicks.

#### CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09

[edit]

Main article: CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09

The Houston Dynamo (MLS Cup winner), D.C. United (Supporters' Shield Winner), the New England Revolution (U.S. Open Cup winner and MLS Cup runner-up), and Chivas USA (Supporters' Shield runner-up) were the representatives in the rebranded successor to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

New England and Chivas USA entered at the preliminary round, and were eliminated over two legs by Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago and Tauro of Panama, respectively.

D.C. and Houston were seeded into the Group Stage as the top seeds in Groups A and B, respectively.

D.C. was eliminated from Group A with two games remaining in group play, while Houston qualified for the Championship Round with a 1–0 win in their last match against Luis Ángel Firpo on November 26, which was postponed from Matchday 1 due to Hurricane Ike.

Houston was eliminated in the Quarterfinals over two legs by Atlante.

### National competitions

[edit]

#### 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

MLS awarded the top three finishers in each conference last season automatic berths into the 2008 U.S. Open Cup's Third Round. D.C. United, the New England Revolution, and the New York Red Bulls qualified from the Eastern Conference while Chivas USA, the Houston Dynamo, and FC Dallas qualified from the Western Conference. The rest of MLS's U.S.-based teams would have to compete for the final two berths into the third round via a seven-team playoff. Eventually Chicago Fire and the Kansas City Wizards qualified by beating the Columbus Crew and the Colorado Rapids respectively.

Each of the qualified MLS teams was matched up against the winner of a Second Round game, all of whom came from either one of the USL's three divisions or the USASA, in the third round on July 1. Three MLS teams were eliminated by these lower division clubs. Chivas USA was eliminated by USL-1's Seattle Sounders, the New York Red Bulls were upset by Crystal Palace Baltimore of USL-2, and the Houston Dynamo lost a penalty shootout to the USL-1's Charleston Battery.

In the Quarterfinals on July 8, FC Dallas and the Kansas City Wizards were eliminated by the Charleston Battery and the Seattle Sounders, respectively. This meant an MLS team, either D.C. United or the New England Revolution would face a USL-1 team in the final.

In the Semifinals on August 12, D.C. United upset the Open Cup holding Revolution by a score of 3 to 1. This earned United a berth in the final against the USL-1's Charleston Battery on September 3 at RFK Stadium.

In the Final on September 3, D.C. United won their second U.S. Open Cup in a 2–1 win over the Charleston Battery.

#### 2008 Canadian Championship

[edit]

Main article: 2008 Canadian Championship

Due to the fact that none of the Canadian teams playing in the American soccer pyramid can qualify for Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League through their leagues or the U.S. Open Cup, the Canadian Soccer Association was forced to develop a tournament to determine the country's representative in the Champions League. The country's top three teams, MLS's Toronto FC and the USL-1's Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC were entered into the inaugural Canadian Championship. The tournament was played as a double round robin group from May 27 to July 22. The Montreal Impact finished first, claiming the Canadian berth in the Champions League.

### All-Star game

[edit]

Main article: 2008 MLS All-Star Game

The 2008 MLS All-Star Game was held at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, home of Toronto FC, on July 24.[1] The opponent was West Ham United, of England's Premier League. It was the first time that the game was played outside the United States.

The game was won by the MLS All-Stars by a score of 3–2. Cuauhtémoc Blanco was named MVP of the game after assisting the All-Stars' first goal and scoring their second.

## See also

[edit]

Wikinews has news related to:

2008 Major League Soccer season

* Association football portal

* List of transfers for the MLS 2008 Season
* 2007 MLS Expansion Draft

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kelly, Cathal (February 28, 2008). "Luring Liverpool to Toronto would be an all-star coup". The Star. Retrieved April 22, 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Site of Major League Soccer

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2008 MLS season by team

* SuperDraft
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Eastern|

* Chicago Fire
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* Chivas USA
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2008 in American soccer

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2009 »

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* Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–09)
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Women|

* W-League
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Cups|

* U.S. Open Cup (qualification)
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* College Cup

Other|

* MLS All-Star Game
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International

Club competitions|

* CONCACAF Champions League (2008–09)
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* 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
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Women|

* Algarve Cup
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MLS|

* Chicago Fire
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USL-1|

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USL-2|

* Bermuda Hogges
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* Harrisburg City Islanders
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* Richmond Kickers
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* W-League

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* Canadian Championship
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Club seasons|

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* Toronto FC

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* Vancouver Whitecaps FC
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2007-08 in North and Central America and Caribbean association football (CONCACAF)

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Domestic cups|

* Canada '07 '08
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2008-09 in North and Central America and Caribbean association football (CONCACAF)

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* Canada '08 '09
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CONCACAF competitions|

* Champions League (Preliminary round
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*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[L]: Lost
*[T]: Tied
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points