Major League Soccer's history may not go back as far as most other leagues, but American and Canadian soccer has already seen many memorable teams provide many memorable moments with trophies on the line.
MLS Cup is the league's top trophy, even with the rise in importance of the Supporters' Shield over the years. At the end of it all, a full season comes down to just one final game: the MLS Cup final.
As of 2023, after the introduction of St Louis City, a total of 32 different clubs have played in MLS and 19 have appeared in at least one MLS Cup final. Of those 19, 15 teams have lifted the trophy in the end at one point or another.
With the introduction of seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi to the league with Inter Miami, MLS has seen a major spike in viewership. Despite the Argentine's heroics with the club in the 2023 Leagues Cup, the Herons failed to replicate the same form in the Eastern Conference and will miss out on the chance to make it to the finals having missed out on the playoffs. However, the playoffs have had a newcomer with expansion side St Louis City making it to the playoffs on their first try. Could they become the third side in history, after Houston Dynamo and Chicago Fire, to win the MLS Cup in their expansion season? Defending champions, LAFC, have also safely made it to the playoff this season and the Black and Gold will look to win their second consecutive MLS Cup.
But which clubs are they? GOAL has you covered with everything you need to know.
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All MLS Cup final results
| Year | Winners | Runners-Up | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | DC United | LA Galaxy | D.C. United 3-2 LA Galaxy | Mario Etchevvery |
1997 | DC United | Colorado Rapids | D.C. United 2-1 Colorado Rapids | Jaime Moreno |
1998 | Chicago Fire | DC United | Chicago Fire 2-0 D.C. United | Petr Nowak |
1999 | DC United | LA Galaxy | D.C. United 2-0 LA Galaxy | Ben Olsen |
2000 | Kansas City Wizards | Chicago Fire | Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Chicago Fire | Tony Meola |
2001 | San Jose Earthquakes | LA Galaxy | San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 LA Galaxy | Dwayne De Rosario |
2002 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 1 -0 New England Revolution | Carlos Ruiz |
2003 | San Jose Earthquakes | Chicago Fire | San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 Chicago Fire | Landon Donovan |
2004 | DC United | Kansas City Wizards | D.C. United 3-2 Kansas City Wizards | Alecko Eskandaraian |
2005 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 1 -0 New England Revolution | Guillermo Ramirez |
2006 | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo 1 (4)-(3) 1 LA Galaxy | Brian Ching |
2007 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution | Houston Dynamo 2-1 New England Revolution | Dwayne De Rosario |
2008 | Columbus Crew | New York Red Bulls | Columbus Crew 3-1 New York Red Bulls | Guillermo Barros Schelotto |
2009 | Real Salt Lake | LA Galaxy | Real Salt Lake 1 (5) - (4) 1 LA Galaxy | Nick Rimando |
2010 | Colorado Rapids | FC Dallas | Colorado Rapids 2-1 FC Dallas | Conor Casey |
2011 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo | Landon Donovan |
2012 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy 3-1 Houston Dynamo | Omar Gonzalez |
2013 | Sporting KC | Real Salt Lake | Sporting KC 1 (7) - (6) 1 Real Salt Lake | Aurelien Collin |
2014 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 2-1 New England Revolution | Robbie Keane |
2015 | Portland Timbers | Columbus Crew | Portland Timbers 2 -1 Columbus Crew | Diego Valeri |
2016 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders 0 (5) - (4) 0 Toronto FC | Stefan Frei |
2017 | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC 2-0 Seattle Sounders | Jozy Altidore |
2018 | Atlanta United | Portland Timbers | Atlanta United 2-0 Portland Timbers | Josef Martinez |
2019 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders 3-1 Toronto FC | Victor Rodriguez |
2020 | Columbus Crew | Seattle Sounders | Columbus Crew 3-0 Seattle Sounders | Lucas Zelarayan |
2021 | New York City FC | Portland Timbers | New York City FC 1 (4) - (2) 1 Portland Timbers | Sean Johnson |
2022 | Los Angeles FC | Philadelphia Union | LAFC 3 (3) - (0) 3 Philadelphia Union | John McCarthy |
2023 | Columbus Crew | Los Angeles FC | Columbus Crew 2-1 Los Angeles FC | Cucho Hernandez |
MLS Cup wins by club
Club | MLS Cups |
|---|---|
LA Galaxy | 5 (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014) |
D.C. United | 4 (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004) |
Columbus Crew | 3 (2008, 2020, 2023) |
Houston Dynamo | 2 (2006, 2007) |
Seattle Sounders | 2 (2016, 2019) |
Sporting KC | 2 (2000, 2013) |
San Jose Earthquakes | 2 (2001, 2003) |
New York City FC | 1 (2021) |
Atlanta United | 1 (2018) |
Toronto FC | 1 (2017) |
Portland Timbers | 1 (2015) |
Colorado Rapids | 1 (2010) |
Real Salt Lake | 1 (2009) |
Chicago Fire | 1 (1998) |
LAFC | 1 (2022) |