In this list, we’ll go through the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Since 1996, this league has been a crucial part of American soccer, and we’re about to reveal the complete list of MLS winners.
If you’re a soccer fan in the US or elsewhere, this is the place for you to understand the evolution of the sport on American soil. From the early days to the present, we’ll show you the teams that conquered the MLS and made history.
We’ll also take a look at every season’s MVP and league table. So, let’s get started!
Most Successful Teams in the United States
Before we explore the complete list of winners, let’s take a look at the number of MLS titles each team has won since the start of the MLS in 1996.
| Team | Titles | Most Recent Win |
|---|---|---|
| LA Galaxy | 5 | 2014 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 2004 |
| Houston Dynamo FC | 2 | 2007 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 2019 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 2 | 2013 |
| Columbus Crew | 2 | 2020 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2003 |
| Chicago Fire FC | 1 | 1998 |
| Portland Timbers | 1 | 2015 |
| Toronto FC | 1 | 2017 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | 2009 |
| Colorado Rapids | 1 | 2010 |
| Atlanta United FC | 1 | 2018 |
| New York City FC | 1 | 2021 |
| Los Angeles FC | 1 | 2022 |
List of All MLS Cup Winners Since 1996
Here is the list of all MLS Cup Winners since its inception in 1996.
| Year | Winner (Number of Titles) | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | D.C. United (1) | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 1997 | D.C. United (2) | Colorado Rapids |
| 1998 | Chicago Fire (1) | D.C. United |
| 1999 | D.C. United (3) | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2000 | Kansas City Wizards (1) | Chicago Fire |
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes (1) | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Galaxy (1) | New England Revolution |
| 2003 | San Jose Earthquakes (2) | Chicago Fire |
| 2004 | D.C. United (4) | Kansas City Wizards |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Galaxy (2) | New England Revolution |
| 2006 | Houston Dynamo (1) | New England Revolution |
| 2007 | Houston Dynamo (2) | New England Revolution |
| 2008 | Columbus Crew (1) | New York Red Bulls |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake (1) | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids (1) | FC Dallas |
| 2011 | Los Angeles Galaxy (3) | Houston Dynamo |
| 2012 | Los Angeles Galaxy (4) | Houston Dynamo |
| 2013 | Sporting Kansas City (1) | Real Salt Lake |
| 2014 | Los Angeles Galaxy (5) | New England Revolution |
| 2015 | Portland Timbers (1) | Columbus Crew |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC (1) | Toronto FC |
| 2017 | Toronto FC (1) | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2018 | Atlanta United FC (1) | Portland Timbers |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC (1) | Toronto FC |
| 2020 | Columbus Crew (2) | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2021 | New York City FC (1) | Portland Timbers |
| 2022 | Los Angeles FC (1) | Philadelphia Union |
List of Most Valuable Player (MVP) Recipients of Each Year
Every year after the MLS season ends, an award is given to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. Here’s the list of every MVP since 1996.
| Year | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Marco Etcheverry | D.C. United |
| 1997 | Jaime Moreno | D.C. United |
| 1998 | Peter Nowak | Chicago Fire |
| 1999 | Ben Olsen | D.C. United |
| 2000 | Tony Meola | Kansas City Wizards |
| 2001 | Dwayne De Rosario | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2002 | Carlos Ruiz | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2003 | Landon Donovan | San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2004 | Alecko Eskandarian | D.C. United |
| 2005 | Guillermo Ramírez | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2006 | Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo |
| 2007 | Dwayne De Rosario | Houston Dynamo |
| 2008 | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew |
| 2009 | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake |
| 2010 | Conor Casey | Colorado Rapids |
| 2011 | Landon Donovan | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2012 | Omar Gonzalez | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2013 | Aurélien Collin | Sporting Kansas City |
| 2014 | Robbie Keane | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 2015 | Diego Valeri | Portland Timbers |
| 2016 | Stefan Frei | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2017 | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC |
| 2018 | Josef Martínez | Atlanta United FC |
| 2019 | Víctor Rodríguez | Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2020 | Lucas Zelarayán | Columbus Crew |
| 2021 | Sean Johnson | New York City FC |
| 2022 | John McCarthy | Los Angeles FC |
Other Tournaments/League Winners Lists:
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Europa League
- English Premier League
- FA Cup
- EFL Cup
- La Liga
- Copa Del Rey
- Serie A
- Bundesliga
- DFB-Pokal
- Ligue 1
- UEFA Euros
- Copa America
- Copa Libertadores
MLS Table and Final of Every Season Since 1996
1996 – D.C United
MLS Cup Final
D.C. United 3-2 Los Angeles Galaxy
1997 – D.C United
MLS Cup Final
D.C. United 2-1 Colorado Rapids
1998 – Chicago Fire
MLS Cup Final
Chicago Fire 2-0 DC United
1999 – D.C. United
MLS Cup Final
Los Angeles Galaxy 0-2 DC United
2000 – Kansas City Wizards
MLS Cup Final
Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Chicago Fire
2001 – D.C United
MLS Cup Final
San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
2002 – Los Angeles Galaxy
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
MLS Cup Final
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 New England Revolution
2003 – San Jose Earthquakes
MLS Cup Final
Chicago Fire 2-4 San Jose Earthquakes
2004 – D.C United
MLS Cup Final
DC United 3-2 Kansas City Wizards
2005 – Los Angeles Galaxy
MLS Cup Final
New England Revolution 0-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
2006 – Houston Dynamo
MLS Cup Final
New England Revolution 1-1 Houston Dynamo (Houston won 4-3 on penalties)
2007 – Houston Dynamo
MLS Cup Final
New England Revolution 1-2 Houston Dynamo
2008 – Columbus Crew
MLS Cup Final
Columbus Crew 3-1 New York Red Bulls
2009 – Real Salt Lake
MLS Cup Final
Real Salt Lake 1-1 Los Angeles Galaxy (Real Salt Lake won 5-4 on penalties)
2010 – Colorado Rapids
MLS Cup Final
FC Dallas 1-2 Colorado Rapids
2011 – Los Angeles Galaxy
MLS Cup Final
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo
2012 – Los Angeles Galaxy
MLS Cup Final
LA Galaxy 3-1 Houston Dynamo
2013 – Sporting Kansas City
MLS Cup Final
Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Real Salt Lake (Sporting Kansas City won 7-6 on penalties)
2014 – Los Angeles Galaxy
MLS Cup Final
LA Galaxy 2-1 New England Revolution
2015 – Portland Timbers
MLS Cup Final
Columbus Crew SC 1-2 Portland Timbers
2016 – Seattle Sounders FC
MLS Cup Final
Toronto FC 0-0 Seattle Sounders FC (Seattle Sounders FC won 5-4 on penalties).
2017 – Toronto FC
MLS Cup Final
Toronto FC 2-0 Seattle Sounders FC
2018 – Atlanta United FC
MLS Cup Final
Atlanta United FC 2-0 Portland Timbers
2019 – Seattle Sounders FC
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
MLS Cup Final
Seattle Sounders FC 3-1 Toronto FC
2020 – Columbus Crew SC
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
MLS Cup Final
Columbus Crew SC 3-0 Seattle Sounders FC
2021 – New York City FC
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
MLS Cup Final
Portland Timbers 1-1 New York City FC (New York City won 4-2 on penalties)
2022 – Los Angeles FC
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
MLS Cup Final
Los Angeles FC 3-3 Philadelphia Union (Los Angeles FC won 3-0 on penalties)
Other Tournaments/League Winners Lists:
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Europa League
- English Premier League
- FA Cup
- EFL Cup
- La Liga
- Copa Del Rey
- Serie A
- Bundesliga
- DFB-Pokal
- Ligue 1
- UEFA Euros
- Copa America
- Copa Libertadores
Thank You For Reading
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