Major League Soccer 2011
| Major League Soccer 2011 | |
|
|
| master | LA Galaxy |
| Cup winners | Seattle Sounders / Toronto FC |
| Teams | 18th |
| Games | 306 |
| Gates | 795 (ø 2.6 per game) |
| Top scorer |
Dwayne De Rosario and Chris Wondolowski (16 goals) |
| ← Major League Soccer 2010 | |
The 16th Major League Soccer season began on March 15, 2011 with the game Seattle Sounders against the LA Galaxy. The Californians won 1-0. The Brazilian Juninho scored the first goal of the season .
All other teams started the season on March 19th. The regular season ended on October 22nd, 2011. Then the MLS play-offs took place, which ended with the game for the MLS Cup . The winner of the 2011 series was the LA Galaxy. The Californians were able to win the Supporters Shield in advance as the best in points in the regular season.
Innovations
- The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps join Major League Soccer as new franchises. You will be led in the Western Conference.
- Houston Dynamo will move to the Eastern Conference. This was announced on January 28, 2011. The reason for this is the two new expansions in the league, both of which will play in the Western Conference.
- The Kansas City Wizards will be called Sporting Kansas City as of the 2011 season and will be relocating to their new stadium. The Livestrong Sporting Park opened on June 9, 2011. Until then, Sporting's home games were played in the CommunityAmerica Ballpark .
- The MLS Reserve Division returns. This means that the teams can again put together a squad totaling 30 players.
- The number of participants in the MLS play-offs will increase from 8 to 10 teams.
- The waste disposal company Greenstar becomes the new shirt sponsor of Houston Dynamo.
- The league guarantees at least 500 seats in the stadiums for fans at away games. Before that there were 150 guaranteed places.
- The MLS SuperDraft 2011 will not go over five rounds as before, but only over three rounds. This was the first time in the history of the MLS that the draft system was changed.
- The company UnitedHealth Group is the first shirt sponsor at New England Revolution .
Change of coach
- Tom Soehn took over the coaching position at the Vancouver Whitecaps from Teitur Thordarson on May 29, 2011.
- Frank Klopas took over the Chicago Fire coaching position from Carlos de los Cobos on May 30, 2011.
Participating teams 2011
1 coach changes during the season have been updated accordingly. As of June 8, 2011
mode
Regular season
The 18 teams play against each other twice in the regular season. This means that each team plays a total of 34 games. The best three teams in each conference qualify for the MLS Cup semi-finals (quarter-finals) and the four next-placed teams, regardless of their conference, qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs play-in round. The team with the most points in the regular season wins the MLS Supporters' Shield .
Playoffs
After the 34 game days of the regular season, the playoffs will be played out in several rounds, some with different modes. Except for the final, all games take place within the respective conference.
Wild Card Series
In the newly introduced Wild Card Series, the fourth and fifth of each conference meet. The fourth of the regular season has home rights. The winner qualifies for the conference semifinals. They were held on October 26th and 27th, 2011 respectively.
Conference semifinals
The conference semifinals are played with a home and away leg, whereby the away goals rule applies in addition to the total number of goals, which is also used in European cup competitions. The Conference table leader plays against the winner of the Wild Card Series and the second in the Conference table against the third. The first leg takes place in the stadium of the team ranked lower in the conference table, the second leg in the stadium of the other team. The winners, who are determined after both games, reach the conference finals. The first legs will take place on 29./30. October, the second leg on 2/3. November.
Conference finals
The conference finals were played on November 6, 2011 between the winners of the conference semifinals. They are played without a second leg and, if necessary, decided by extra time and penalty shoot-outs.
MLS Cup Final
The MLS Cup final was played on November 20, 2011 between the two winners of the conference finals in the stadium of the team placed higher in the overall table and without a second leg, and if necessary, it was decided by extra time and penalty shoot-outs.
International qualifications
The best team in the regular season and the winner of the MLS Cup qualify directly for the CONCACAF Champions League . The defeated finalist and the US Open Cup winner qualify for the qualifying round for the Champions League.
Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps cannot qualify as Canadian teams for the Champions League via MLS. This is only possible via the Canadian Championship .
Results
Regular season
Eastern Conference
| franchise | Games | S. | U | N | T + | T- | TD | Points | Total space | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 51 | 5 |
| 2 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 49 | 6th |
| 3 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 11 | 15th | 8th | 44 | 36 | +8 | 48 | 8th |
| 4th | Columbus crew | 34 | 13 | 8th | 13 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 47 | 9 |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8th | 50 | 44 | +6 | 46 | 10 |
| 6th | Chicago Fire | 34 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 43 | 11 |
| 7th | DC United | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 39 | 13 |
| 8th | Toronto FC (CC) | 34 | 6th | 15th | 13 | 36 | 59 | −23 | 33 | 16 |
| 9 | New England Revolution | 34 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 28 | 17th |
Western Conference
| franchise | Games | S. | U | N | T + | T- | TD | Points | Total space | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LA Galaxy (SS) | 34 | 19th | 10 | 5 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 67 | 1 |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders (OC) | 34 | 18th | 9 | 7th | 56 | 37 | +19 | 63 | 2 |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 15th | 8th | 11 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 53 | 3 |
| 4th | FC Dallas | 34 | 15th | 7th | 12 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 52 | 4th |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids (M) | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 49 | 7th |
| 6th | Portland Timbers | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14th | 40 | 48 | −8 | 42 | 12 |
| 7th | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 8th | 14th | 12 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 38 | 14th |
| 8th | CD Chivas USA | 34 | 8th | 12 | 14th | 41 | 43 | −2 | 36 | 15th |
| 9 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 34 | 6th | 10 | 18th | 35 | 55 | −20 | 28 | 18th |
| MLS Cup Playoffs 2011 |
| MLS Supporters' Shield 2011 |
(M) = Champion 2010, (SS) = MLS Supporters' Shield 2010, (CC) = Canadian Cup Winner 2010, (OC) = US Cup Winner 2010
Playoffs
| Wild Card Series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | ||||
| FC Dallas | 0: 2 | New York Red Bulls | ||
| Colorado Rapids | 1-0 | Columbus crew | ||
| Conference semifinals | Conference finals | MLS Cup 2011 | |||||||||||||
| E1 | Sporting Kansas City | 2 | 2 | 4th | |||||||||||
| WC | Colorado Rapids | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Houston Dynamo | 2 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Houston Dynamo | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia Union | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
| E. | Houston Dynamo | 0 | |||||||||||||
| W. | LA Galaxy | 1 | |||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Galaxy | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||
| WC | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | LA Galaxy | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
| W3 | Real Salt Lake | 1 | |||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Real Salt Lake | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||
List of goalscorers
see also: List of Major League Soccer's top scorers
| space | player | club | Gates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Dwayne De Rosario
|
DC United | 16 |
 Chris Wondolowski
|
San Jose Earthquakes | 16 | |
| 3 |
 Thierry Henry
|
New York Red Bulls | 14th |
| 4th |
 Andrés Mendoza
|
Columbus crew | 13 |
| 5 |
 Camilo
|
Vancouver Whitecaps | 12 |
|
Landon Donovan
|
LA Galaxy | 12 | |
 Fredy Montero
|
Seattle Sounders | 12 | |
 Dominic Oduro
|
Chicago Fire | 12 | |
| 9 |
Charlie Davies
|
DC United | 11 |
 Álvaro Saborío
|
Real Salt Lake | 11 | |
|
Brek Shea
|
FC Dallas | 11 | |
|
Sébastien Le Toux
|
Philadelphia Union | 11 |
MLS All-Star Game
The 15th MLS All-Star Game took place on July 27, 2011 in the Red Bull Arena. As in the previous year, the opponent of the All-Star Team was Manchester United .
National competitions
- The Seattle Sounders won the US Open Cup for the third time in a row on October 4, 2011. In the final, the team met Chicago Fire . With two goals from Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso, they won this game.
Canadian Championship
→ Main article: Canadian Championship 2011
- As in the previous year, Toronto FC won the trophy and thus secured a place for the CONCACAF Champions League .
International competitions
→ Main article: CONCACAF Champions League 2010/11
→ Main article: CONCACAF Champions League 2011/12
Unlike the MLS season, the Champions League is played in a season that begins in June and ends in May of the following year. The US teams of the 2011 MLS season can therefore qualify for the 2012/13 Champions League season, while the Canadian team (Toronto FC), which qualified via the 2011 Canadian Championship, which ended in May, are already in the Champions -League season 2011/12 starts.
In addition to the cup winners of the two countries, the winner of the MLS Supporters' Shield and the two finalists of the MLS finals also qualify for the Champions League season 2012/13, provided they come from the USA. If one of the Canadian teams wins the MLS Supporters 'Shield or reaches the MLS Cup Final, or the Supporters' Shield winner moves into the final of the finals, the next US team moves up to the Champions League starting place. In principle, the Canadian Association only has one starting place in the Champions League, which is filled with the winner of the Canadian Championship.
MLS Rivalry Cups
In Major League Soccer, various teams host different trophies within a regular season. The winner is whoever has completed the regular season best or who was able to win the direct comparisons. This regulation changes depending on the cup.
- Atlantic Cup - DC United and New York Red Bulls
- Brimstone Cup - Chicago Fire and FC Dallas
- California Clasico - LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes
- Cascadia Cup - Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps
- Heritage Cup - San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps
- Rocky Mountain Cup - Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake
- Honda SuperClasico - CD Chivas USA and LA Galaxy
- Texas Derby - FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo
- Trillium Cup - Columbus Crew and Toronto FC
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 2011 Schedule MLS ( English ) MLS. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ↑ MLS moves to 34-game schedule in 2011 ( English ) MLS. September 14, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- ^ Houston Dynamo switch to Eastern Conference ( English ) MLS. January 28, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ^ Commissioner reveals details of Reserve Division ( English ) MLS. November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- ↑ MLS Reserve League returns, kicks off Sunday . In: MLSSoccer.com . MLS Communications. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ↑ Playoffs to expand to 10 teams; more changes ahead ( English ) MLS. November 22, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ↑ Dynamo net new sponsor . chron soccer. December 6, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ↑ Simon Borg: MLS SuperDraft trimmed to three rounds . In: MLSSoccer.com . January 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ↑ Major League Soccer Statistics . Retrieved October 24, 2011.
