2008 Major League Soccer season

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The 2008 Major League Soccer season is the 13th season in league history. The season began on March 29 and is scheduled to end with MLS Cup 2008, on November 23 at The Home Depot Center in Carson California.[1]

Changes from the 2007 season

Competition format

The format for the 2008 season is as follows:

  • The season is scheduled to run from March 29 to November 23.
  • The 14 teams are split into two seven team conferences. Each team plays 30 games that are evenly divided between home and away games. Each team will play every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 26 games. The remaining 4 games will be played against regional rivals, two at home and two away.
  • The three teams from each conference with the most points will qualify for the playoffs. In addition, the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, will also qualify. In the first round aggregate goals over two matches determine the winners. The conference finals will be played as a single match, and the winners will advance to MLS Cup 2008. In all rounds, draws will be broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule is not used in any round.
  • The three teams from each conference with the most points will also qualify for berths into the Third Round of the 2009 U.S. Open Cup where they will compete for a berth into the CONCACAF Champions League 2010–11 Preliminary Round. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams will have to qualify for the remaining two berths into the Third Round via a series of play-in games.
  • The four teams with the most points in the regular season, regardless of conference, will qualify for the 2009 SuperLiga.
  • Finally, the team with the most points in the regular season wins the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10 Group Stage. The MLS Cup Champion also qualifies for the Champions League 2009–10 Group Stage. The MLS Cup runner-up qualifies for the Champions League 2009–10 Preliminary Round. A berth in the Champions League 2009–10 Preliminary Round is awarded to the winner of the 2008 U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualifies for multiple berths into the Champions League, then the final berths will be awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Also, Toronto FC, as a Canadian based team, cannot qualify through MLS for the Champions League, and must instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.

Tiebreakers

  1. Head-to-Head (Points only)
  2. Overall Goal Differential
  3. Overall Total Goals Scored
  4. Tiebreakers 1-3 applied only to matches on the road
  5. Tiebreakers 1-3 applied only to matches at home
  6. Fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table
  7. Coin toss

MLS Tiebreakers

Results table

2008 MLS Schedule and Results
Abbreviation 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 game
Team Match number
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Standings

The Conference standings are used to determine automatic berths to the MLS Cup Playoffs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The overall standings table determines wild card berths to the MLS Cup Playoffs, qualification for the SuperLiga, the CONCACAF Champions League, and the winner of the MLS Supporters' Shield.

Conference standings

Club Pts GP W L T GF GA GD
Eastern Conference
1 Columbus Crew 53 27 16 6 5 46 31 15
2 New England Revolution 43 28 12 9 7 38 38 0
3 Chicago Fire 42 27 12 9 6 35 26 9
4 Kansas City Wizards 36 28 9 10 9 31 36 -5
5 New York Red Bulls 36 28 9 10 9 37 42 -5
6 D.C. United 34 28 10 14 4 41 49 -8
7 Toronto FC1 32 28 8 12 8 31 39 -8
Western Conference
1 Houston Dynamo 44 27 11 5 11 39 30 9
2 Chivas USA 42 28 12 10 6 38 38 0
3 Real Salt Lake 36 28 9 10 9 36 37 -1
4 FC Dallas 35 28 8 9 11 42 36 6
5 Colorado Rapids 34 27 10 13 4 39 40 -1
6 San Jose Earthquakes 30 27 7 11 9 27 33 -6
7 Los Angeles Galaxy 29 27 7 12 8 50 55 -5
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2009 U.S. Open Cup Third Round
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2009 U.S. Open Cup Third Round
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

1 - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the U.S. Open Cup, as it is a Canadian based team.
If they qualify for an automatic berth in the U.S. Open Cup, the next highest ranked team in the Eastern Conference will take their place.

Overall standings

Club Pts GP W L T GF GA GD
1 Columbus Crew (E1) 53 27 16 6 5 46 31 15
2 New England Revolution (E2) 43 28 12 9 7 38 38 0
3 Houston Dynamo (W1) 44 27 11 5 11 39 30 9
4 Chicago Fire (E3) 42 27 12 9 6 35 26 9
5 Chivas USA (W2) 42 28 12 10 6 38 38 0
6 Kansas City Wizards 36 28 9 10 9 31 36 -6
7 New York Red Bulls 36 28 9 10 9 37 42 -5
8 Real Salt Lake (W3) 36 28 9 10 9 36 37 -1
9 FC Dallas 35 28 8 9 11 42 36 6
10 Colorado Rapids 34 27 10 13 4 39 40 -1
11 D.C. United 34 28 10 14 4 41 49 -8
12 Toronto FC2 32 28 8 12 8 31 39 -8
13 San Jose Earthquakes 30 27 7 11 9 27 33 -6
14 Los Angeles Galaxy 29 27 7 12 8 50 55 -5
MLS Supporters' Shield, 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2009 SuperLiga, CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10 Group Stage3
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2009 SuperLiga
2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

2 - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS. Rather, they can qualify through the Canadian Championship.
Should Toronto FC qualify for the Champions League through its MLS position, then the highest ranked team not already qualified will qualify.

3 - Three additional Champions League berths will be awarded to the winner and runner up of MLS Cup 2008 and the winner of the the 2008 U.S. Open Cup (D.C. United).
If any of those teams qualify for multiple berths, then the final berth(s) will be awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified.

2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

Template:Round8-MLSformat

Statistics

Budweiser Golden Boot

Full article: MLS Golden Boot
Rank Scorer Club GP G A
1 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 22 19 9
2 United States Kenny Cooper FC Dallas 28 18 3
3 United States Edson Buddle Los Angeles Galaxy 24 13 3
4 United States Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 22 12 5
5 Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United 25 11 5
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls 21 11 3
7 Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United 23 10 9
8 United States Chad Barrett Chicago Fire / Toronto FC 27 9 5
9 Venezuela Alejandro Moreno Columbus Crew 26 9 4
10 United States Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 19 9 2

Last updated October 12, 2008

Goalkeeping leaders

Rank Goalkeeper Club GP MINS SHTS SVS GA GAA W-L-T SHO
1 United States Jon Busch Chicago Fire 27 2430 135 110 26 0.96 12-9-6 10
2 Canada Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo 20 1738 93 67 22 1.14 8-4-7 5
3 United States Will Hesmer Columbus Crew 27 2430 123 90 31 1.15 16-6-5 9
4 United States Joe Cannon San Jose Earthquakes 27 2430 145 108 33 1.22 7-11-9 8
5 Argentina Darío Sala FC Dallas 26 2340 119 85 32 1.23 8-7-11 7

Last updated October 12, 2008

Individual Awards

Player of the Week

Week Player of the Week Club Week's Statline
Week 1 England Terry Cooke Colorado Rapids 1 G (10') GWG, 2 A (67',80')
Week 2 England David Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy 1 G (9') GWG, 1 A (38')
Week 3 Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 1 G (26'), 2 A (35', 71')
Week 4 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 2 G (67', 84') GTG
Week 5 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 3 G (18', 59', 77'), 1 A (84')
Week 6 England David Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy 2 G (36', 40') GTG
Week 7 United States Robbie Rogers Columbus Crew 2 G (73', 81')
Week 8 United States Edson Buddle Los Angeles Galaxy 3 G (31', 39', 85') GWG
Week 9 Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire 1 G (55'), 3 A (8', 48', 60') GWA
Week 10 United States Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake 1 G (48') 1 A (60') GWA
Week 11 United States Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 2 G (52', 69') GWG, 1 A (46')
Week 12 United States Edson Buddle Los Angeles Galaxy 3 G (6', 63', 68') GWG
Week 13 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 2 G (4', 83')
Week 14 United States Steve Ralston New England Revolution 2 G (12', 59') GWG
Week 15 United States Adam Cristman New England Revolution 2 G (33', 37') GWG
Week 16 United States John Thorrington Chicago Fire 1 G (90+2') GWG
Week 17 Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 1 G (26') 2 A (33', 38')
Week 18 United States Kenny Cooper FC Dallas 2 G (15', 17') GWG, 1 A (36')
Week 19 United States Kenny Cooper FC Dallas 2 G (81', 90+1') GWG
Week 20 Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls 2 G (27', 50')
Week 21 Republic of Ireland Ronnie O'Brien San Jose Earthquakes 2 G (11', 87') GWG, 1 A (71')
Week 22 Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 1 G (25') 2 A (15', 55') GWA
Week 23 Argentina Fabian Espindola Real Salt Lake 2 G (23', 59') GWG
Week 24 Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 1 G (39') GWG, 2 A (45', 67')
Week 25 United States Steve Ralston New England Revolution 1 G (90+2') 2 A (53', 83') GWA
Week 26 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 3 G (23', 35', 90+2') 1 A (81')
Week 27 United States Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 3 G (11', 45', 90') GWG
Week 28 United States Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 2 G (2', 9') GWG 1 A (19')

Player of the Month

Month Player of the Month Club Month's Statline
April United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 8 G, 2 A, Galaxy 2-2-1 in April
May Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire 2 G, 4 A, Fire 3-1-0 in May
June Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United 7 G, 1 A, D.C. United 4-0-0 in June
July United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake 3 SHO, Real Salt Lake 2-0-2 in July
August Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 1 G, 6 A, Crew 3-1-0 in August
September England Darren Huckerby San Jose Earthquakes 3 G, 1 A, Earthquakes 1-1-1 in September

Sierra Mist Goal of the Week

Week Scorer Club Goal
Week 1 The Gambia Sainey Nyassi New England Revolution (90+3')
Week 2 United States Geoff Cameron Houston Dynamo (90+1')
Week 3 United States Sacha Kljestan Chivas USA (33')
Week 4 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy (67')
Week 5 Argentina Marcelo Gallardo D.C. United (80')
Week 6 United States Chris Rolfe Chicago Fire (29')
Week 7 Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire (62')
Week 8 Argentina Marcelo Gallardo D.C. United (30')
Week 9 Scotland Tam McManus Colorado Rapids (80')
Week 10 United States Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake (48')
Week 11 Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United (90+3')
Week 12 United States Clyde Simms D.C. United (26')
Week 13 Colombia Gonzalo Martinez D.C. United (55')
Week 14 Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United (37')
Week 15 United States Ante Razov Chivas USA (88')
Week 16 United States Ante Razov Chivas USA (15')
Week 17 Colombia Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls (71')
Week 18 United States Abe Thompson FC Dallas (89')
Week 19 Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United (60')
Week 20 United States Chad Barrett Toronto FC (44')
Week 21 United States Brian Carroll Columbus Crew (62')
Week 22 United States Joe Vide D.C. United (45')
Week 23 Argentina Fabian Espindola Real Salt Lake (59')
Week 24 United States Santino Quaranta D.C. United (76')
Week 25 United States Davy Arnaud Kansas City Wizards (69')
Week 26 United States Robbie Rogers Columbus Crew (46')
Week 27 United States Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards (70')
Week 28 Jamaica Andy Williams Real Salt Lake (73')

Related Competitions

Preseason competitions

Pan-Pacific Championship 2008

The inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship took place in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The tournament involved the MLS Cup Champion and an A-League representative as well as the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup winner of the J-League. The final berth was intended to go to the 2007 SuperLiga winner, but Pachuca declined the invitation so the Los Angeles Galaxy were invited instead.[1] However, other reports have stated that the "Galaxy are guaranteed their place on an annual basis" implying that their invitation was not due to their finish in the previous season's SuperLiga.[2]

Gamba Osaka of Japan won the tournament defeating the Houston Dynamo 6-1 in the final.

Texas Pro Soccer Festival

The Texas Pro Soccer Festival 2008 was held outside San Antonio, Texas. The participating teams were D.C. United, Toronto FC, Chivas USA, and hosted by the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo won the competition, edging out D.C. United on goals scored.

Carolina Challenge Cup 2008

The Carolina Challenge Cup 2008 featured the New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, the San Jose Earthquakes, and was hosted by the Charleston Battery. The Earthquakes won the competition, winning all three of their games. They are the only team to go undefeated in the Carolina Challenge Cup's history.

International competitions

CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008

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.

2008 SuperLiga

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

Following Group play, 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

Houston Dynamo (MLS Cup winner), D.C. United (Supporters Shield Winner), New England Revolution (MLS Cup runner-up and U.S. Open Cup winner), 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 Stage, and were eliminated over two legs by Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago and Tauro of Panama, respectively.

D.C. and Houston have been drawn into the Group Stage as the top seeds in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Group play will commence on September 16 and will conclude on October 30.

National competitions

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, 2007 Open Cup champions New England, and New York qualified from the Eastern Conference while Chivas USA, Houston, 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 qualifying tournament. Eventually Chicago and Kansas City qualified by beating Columbus and Colorado 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

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 were entered into the inaugural Canadian Championship. The tournament would be played as a double round robin, or in the standard "league" format. The Montreal Impact finished top of the group, claiming the Canadian spot in the inagural CONCACAF Champions League.

All-Star game

MLS All-Star 2008

The 2008 MLS All-Star game was held at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, home of Toronto FC, on July 24.[3] 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. Cuauhtemoc Blanco was named MVP of the game after assisting the All-Stars' first goal and scoring their second.

See also

Wikinews has news related to:

References

  1. ^ "MLS Cup 2008 Awared to Los Angeles".
  2. ^ Toronto FC: Roster: Player Bio
  3. ^ "Luring Liverpool to Toronto would be an all-star coup".

External links

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