MLS Cup 2008 was the 13th edition of the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

, the championship match of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

(MLS). The

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match took place on November 23, 2008, at the

Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

, near

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. It was contested between

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

and

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, both from the league's Eastern Conference. Both finalists were making their first appearance at the MLS Cup, having historically exited the playoffs in earlier rounds. Columbus won the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since ...

with the most regular season points and defeated

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

and the Chicago Fire in the playoffs to reach the final. The Red Bulls finished the regular season with a losing record and were seeded into the Western Conference bracket as a wildcard, eliminating defending champions

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

and

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

in the process. Columbus won the game by a score of 3–1 with goals from

Alejandro Moreno Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979) is a Venezuelan former footballer who played as a forward, and who is currently a television commentator for ESPN FC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America. Moreno won three MLS Cups during hi ...

, Chad Marshall, and Frankie Hejduk — all assisted by

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Guillermo Barros Schelotto (; born 4 May 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former forward who currently manages the Paraguay national team. Barros Schelotto played 16 years of his professional career in the Argentine Primera Divisi ...

. Schelotto was named man of the match, adding to his MVP award from the regular season.

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fa ...

became the first manager to win the MLS Cup with two different teams, shortly before leaving the Crew to coach the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

Venue

LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo- Western Conference Finals panorama

The

, home to the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

and

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

, was announced as the venue for the 2008 edition of the MLS Cup on November 19, 2007. It marked the third time that the stadium had hosted the MLS Cup final, following back-to-back editions in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. The stadium opened in June 2003 and has a capacity of 27,000, making it the largest

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...

in the United States. The Home Depot Center also hosted the

2003 MLS All-Star Game The 2003 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 8th Major League Soccer All-Star Game, played on August 2, 2003 at The Home Depot Center, now known as StubHub Center, in Carson, California. The All-Star Game celebrated both the opening of th ...

, the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Final The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was an association football match which determined the winner of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was played on October 12, 200 ...

, the 2007 SuperLiga final, and two editions of the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

. The stadium and its grounds are also used for annual training camps by the U.S. men's national team.

Road to the final

The

is the post-season championship of

(MLS), a professional club soccer league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The 2008 season was the 13th in MLS history, and was contested by 14 teams in two conferences. Each club played 30 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team twice and two in-conference teams a third time. The playoffs, running from October 30 to November 23, were contested by the top three clubs in each conference and two wild card teams in the next positions regardless of conference. It was organized into three rounds: a home-and-away series in the Conference Semifinals, a single-match Conference Final, and the MLS Cup final. The 2008 edition of the MLS Cup was contested by the

and

, both first-time finalists. It also marked the first time that two teams from the Eastern Conference played each other in the MLS Cup final. The Crew and Red Bulls played each other three times in the regular season, with New York winning 2–0 and 3–1 at home in April and October, respectively, and Columbus winning 3–1 at home in September. The mayors of Columbus and New York made a ceremonial bet prior to the match, promising to exchange local foods and beer to the winning city.

Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew hired manager

at the end of the 2005 season to lead a rebuilding process after the team finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Schmid had previously managed the

, leading them to three MLS Cup finals appearances and winning in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. His first season with Columbus ended with a last-place finish, but by 2007 the team had acquired veteran players

and

Ezra Hendrickson Ezra Hendrickson (born 16 January 1972) is a Vincentian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire. Born in Layou, Hendrickson moved with his family to the United Sta ...

along with rookies Brad Evans and

Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came o ...

for use in the lineup, which only included three players from the 2005 roster. Argentine forward

was signed in April 2007 and led the team as it fell several points short of playoff qualification in the final weeks of the season. With an adjustment in offensive tactics and an increased reliance on Schelotto as the central playmaker, the Crew claimed the 2008

with the best record in the league. Columbus began the season with six wins in its first eight matches, followed by an unbeaten streak of nine matches near the end of the season. The Crew clinched the Supporters' Shield with 57 points, including 17 wins, both club records. Schmid won

MLS Coach of the Year The Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award is given by Major League Soccer to the best coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 1996 and is determined by a vote from players, club personnel, and members of th ...

for the team's performance and run to the cup. Schelotto led the league in assists (with 19) and scored seven regular season goals, winning the league's most valuable player award. He was named to the MLS Best XI alongside teammates Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall, who also won Defender of the Year. The Crew played against the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse a ...

in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, drawing 1–1 in the first away leg on a goal scored by substitute

Steven Lenhart Steven Lenhart (born August 28, 1986) is a former American soccer player. Career College and amateur Lenhart grew up in Yorba Linda, California, and attended Esperanza High School. He attended Point Loma Nazarene University for one year befor ...

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

. During the second leg at Crew Stadium, Columbus took an early lead with an 8th-minute goal scored by Brad Evans and extended it with a Robbie Rogers goal in the 57th minute to win 2–0. Columbus hosted rivals Chicago Fire in the Conference Final, which began with a 1–0 halftime lead for the Fire after a goal in the 29th minute scored by former Crew forward Brian McBride. Columbus equalized early in the second half on a header by defender Chad Marshall in the 49th minute, which was followed by a 55th-minute goal by

Eddie Gaven Eddie Gaven (born October 25, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, primarily with the Columbus Crew. In July 2012, Gaven became the youngest player to play in 250 MLS matches at 25 years and 257 d ...

to win the match 2–1. The Crew clinched the Eastern Conference championship and a place in their second-ever cup final match, the first being the

2002 U.S. Open Cup The 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament open to all soccer teams in the United States, ran from June through October. The Columbus Crew won the Cup with a 1–0 victory over the defending-champion Los Angeles Galaxy in the final at Colum ...

New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls finished the 2007 season as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

. The team began the 2008 season, their second under the Red Bull brand, with Colombian manager

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian ...

replacing

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

as head coach. The season was tumultuous, with the Red Bulls losing young striker Jozy Altidore on a transfer and captain Claudio Reyna to retirement in July. The team's other star striker,

Juan Pablo Ángel Juan Pablo Ángel Arango (born 24 October 1975) is a Colombian former footballer who last played as a striker for Atlético Nacional in Categoría Primera A. He began his career at Nacional, whom he helped to win the championship in 1994, an ...

, recovered from back and hamstring injuries to lead the Red Bulls to a playoff berth on the final day of the season, finishing ahead of D.C. United with only 39 points and a losing record. During the final weeks of the season, the Red Bulls lost two players to suspensions for violating the league's drug policy; goalkeeper

Jon Conway Jon Conway (born May 6, 1977) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach for Toronto FC. Youth and college Born in Media, Pennsylvania, as a youth, Conway played club soccer for the Lower Merion Gorillas, leading ...

was replaced by backup goalkeeper

Danny Cepero Danny Cepero (born April 22, 1985 in Baldwin, New York) is a former American soccer player. Playing career College Cepero played four years of college soccer at the University of Pennsylvania, where he captained the squad, set Penn's all-time c ...

, who scored the first goal by a keeper in his debut for the team against the Columbus Crew. The Red Bulls were seeded fourth in the Western Conference bracket as a wild card and played

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...

in the Conference Semifinals. After a 1–1 draw at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted spo ...

in New Jersey, the Red Bulls won 3–0 in Houston to advance 4–1 on aggregate over the two-time defending MLS Cup champions. In the Western Conference final, played away to

, the Red Bulls took a 1–0 lead on a 28th-minute goal by

Dave van den Bergh Dave van den Bergh (; born 7 May 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a left winger. Career Europe A product of the famed AFC Ajax youth program, Van den Bergh played for Ajax from 1995 to 1997, winning one league tit ...

. Salt Lake then hit Cepero's goalpost three times, but were unable to score an equalizer and allowed the Red Bulls to advance to their first MLS Cup final. The final would be the first MLS title to be contested by the Red Bulls, who had failed to win trophies in its previous 13 seasons and only advanced from the first round of the playoffs once before.

Summary of results

:''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Broadcasting and entertainment

The MLS Cup final was televised in the United States on ABC in English and TeleFutura in Spanish. English play-by-play commentary was provided by

JP Dellacamera John Paul "JP" Dellacamera (born January 11, 1952) is an American play-by-play sportscaster primarily for Major League Soccer with the Philadelphia Union, as well as major soccer tournaments and ice hockey. Commentary career Soccer In the 19 ...

with color analysis by John Harkes and studio analysis by Rob Stone,

Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired Association football, soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer ...

, and Alexi Lalas. The ABC broadcast was produced by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and featured 20 cameras and the use of a virtual replay system. The match was broadcast in Canada on CBC and CBC Bold, with English commentary by Nigel Reed and

Jason DeVos Jason Richard de Vos (born January 2, 1974) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a central defender. An international for Canada, de Vos played in Canada and the United Kingdom – most notably with Wigan Athletic and Ip ...

. It was also carried in 142 countries on ESPN International and an additional 23 countries in Europe by local broadcasters. Recording artist Colby O'Donis performed the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

and indie pop group Chester French headlined a pregame festival at the final.

Match

Summary

The 2008 final marked the debut of the

Philip F. Anschutz Trophy The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy is a silver trophy that is awarded to winners of MLS Cup. Since the inaugural MLS Cup in 1996, three trophies have been used: the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy from 1996 to 1998, a second version of the Rothenberg Trop ...

, replacing the former MLS Cup trophy.

Baldomero Toledo Baldomero Toledo (born February 6, 1970) is a Mexican-born American soccer referee. He has been a Major League Soccer referee since 2004 and a FIFA referee from 2007 to 2017. Both teams played in their home kits for the final, with Columbus in gold and the Red Bulls in white and red. The match kicked off in sunny weather in front of 27,000 spectators, including several thousand Crew fans who re-created the " Nordecke" in the northeastern corner of the Home Depot Center. Columbus entered the match as favorites and attempted to score on a play that was ruled offside, but were outplayed by the Red Bulls in the opening 30 minutes of the match and conceded several scoring chances and attacking set-pieces.

John Wolyniec John Wolyniec (born January 24, 1977) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. During his playing days, Wolyniec played for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls three separate times: In 1999 as the MetroStars, from 2 ...

and

missed close-range shots on the Columbus goal, while the Crew pressed with a counterattack in the 31st minute to score the opening goal.

regained possession of the ball and passed it to

, who dribbled it up the right flank and shot passed defender Diego Jiménez and goalkeeper

. New York began the second half by trying to find an equalizing goal and tied the match 1–1 after six minutes, with a zig-zag run by Dane Richards and a pass to the sliding Wolyniec in front of the Columbus goal. The Crew restored their lead less than 90 seconds later, as defender Chad Marshall headed in a corner kick by Schelotto in the 52nd minute that went past Cepero. While the Red Bulls sought a second equalizer, including a shot by Richards that was saved by goalkeeper

Will Hesmer William Hesmer (born November 23, 1981 in Wilson, North Carolina) is a retired American soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Career College Hesmer played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2000 to 2003, establishing himself as ...

, Columbus continued to push with attacks led by Frankie Hejduk, who sent in several crosses into the six-yard box. Schelotto himself attempted to score with a long-range shot in the 77th minute that struck the crossbar. Three minutes later, Moreno and

would find Schelotto, who scooped a looping ball from the top of the box towards a running Hejduk. Hejduk headed the ball, scoring the Crew's third and final goal of the match. The Crew held onto the 3–1 lead and won their first MLS Cup championship.

Details

Post-match

The Crew became the fourth club to win both MLS Cup and the

in the same season, following D.C. United (1997, 1999),

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

(2000), and

(2002). Guillermo Barros Schelotto was named the match's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

for his three assists—surpassing the MLS Cup record—and became the third player to win both the MLS Cup MVP and league MVP awards.

became the first MLS player to celebrate their birthday on the day of an MLS Cup final and the first goalkeeper to record zero saves during the final. Sigi Schmid became the first coach to win an MLS Cup with two different teams and was named the head coach of the expansion

less than a month after the final. The Crew celebrated with traveling fans at their hotel in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific coast south of El Segundo, west of Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north of Hermosa Beach. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3 ...

, and were greeted at

Port Columbus International Airport John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also ove ...

by Mayor

Michael B. Coleman Michael B. Coleman (born November 18, 1954) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He was the first African-American to serve as the mayor of Ohio's capital city. Coleman was a memb ...

and hundreds of fans. The team was then honored at the

Ohio Statehouse The Ohio Statehouse is the state capitol building and seat of government for the U.S. state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building is located on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus. The capitol houses the Ohio General Assembly, consisting of the H ...

by Governor

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...

with another crowd of supporters at a victory rally in below-freezing weather. Columbus finished the 2009 season as repeat Supporters' Shield champions under promoted coach

Robert Warzycha Robert Warzycha () (born 20 August 1963) is a Polish former professional association football player. Warzycha had a long career in Europe, playing for teams in Poland, Hungary and England with Everton in the Premier League. He won two Polish ...

, but failed to advance from the first round of the playoffs. Both finalists qualified for the

2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League The 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League was the second edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 45th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of ...

, with the winning Crew seeded directly into the group stage and runners-up Red Bulls entering in the preliminary round. The Red Bulls lost 4–3 on

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

to Trinidad and Tobago club

W Connection W Connection Football Club is a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the TT Pro League. The club plays its home games at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. The club's offices are based at the Point Lisas Industrial ...

in the preliminary round, while the Crew advanced from the group stage and were eliminated in the quarterfinals by

Deportivo Toluca Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega is ...

after a 5–4 aggregate loss. Columbus and New York would meet again in the Eastern Conference Championship during the

2015 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs (officially the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 28 with D.C. United defeating ...

, which ended in a 2–1 aggregate win for the Crew, who would host and lose the MLS Cup final to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

References

{{New York Red Bulls

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Columbus Crew matches New York Red Bulls matches Sports competitions in Carson, California November 2008 sports events in the United States 2008 in sports in California 21st century in Carson, California