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The MLS Cup is the final game of the Major League Soccer postseason, officially recognized as the championship of the league. The trophy is called the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, after the founding chairman of MLS. The award for the regular season championship is called the Supporters' Shield, after the various clubs' supporters, who instituted it. In February 2006, MLS decided that the MLS Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup winner will represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. If one team wins both awards, the second representative will be the Supporters' Shield runner-up.
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Previous finals
After extra time
^ Sell-out crowd
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Playoffs successes by franchise
^: Latest playoff campaign still on-going
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All time playoff records by franchise
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MLS scudetto
For the 2006 season, MLS created their version of the scudetto (Italian: "small shield"), a symbol worn on the jersey by the team who won the previous season's Serie A (the top Italian league).
The MLS scudetto is a curved, triangular badge featuring a backdrop of the American flag behind a replica of the Alan I. Rothenberg MLS Cup trophy. The MLS scudetto is worn by the winning team the season following the victory. It is only during the subsequent season (two years after winning the championship), that the team adds a star — a common soccer signifier of titles won — above the team logo. The team can display the star on other items beside their jersey in the year after winning the Cup, but only if the scudetto is not shown.
The 2005 MLS Cup champion, the Los Angeles Galaxy, will be the first team to wear the scudetto and will receive a second star above the team shield on the jersey during the 2007 season*.
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Most Valuable Player Award recipients
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Halftime shows
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Trivia
The most successful team in MLS Cup playoffs: D.C. United, winning the title four times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004).
The only team to have successfully defended the MLS Cup: D.C. United (1996, 1997).
D.C. United qualified for four successive MLS Cup finals between 1996 to 1999, a record that still stands to date.
Teams with most appearances (5) in MLS Cup finals:
DC United: 4 Wins (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004); 1 Loss (1998).
Los Angeles Galaxy: 2 Wins (2002, 2005); 3 Losses (1996, 1999, 2001).
Only 2 teams captured the MLS Cup by winning every game in the playoffs:
D.C. United (won all 5 postseason games in 1997).
Chicago Fire (won all 5 postseason games in 1998).
The MLS Cup winners who lost the most number of playoffs games was Kansas City Wizards, with 2 losses (once in regulation, once PK) in 2000.
The MLS Cup runners-up who lost the most number of playoffs games was Chicago Fire, with 3 losses (all in regulation) in 2000 as well.
The MLS Cup winners with the worst regular season record was Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005, they finished 4th in the Western Conference and 9th out of 12 teams overall, with a 0.500 record (13-13-6) and negative (-1) goal difference (44-45).
The MLS Cup winners with the 2nd-worst regular season record was D.C. United in 2004, they finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference and 4th out of 10 teams overall, with a 0.524 record (11-10-9) and a goal difference of just +1 (43-42).
The MLS Cup winners with the 3rd-worst regular season record was again D.C. United in 1996, they finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference and 3rd out of 10 teams overall, with a 0.536 record (15-13-4) and a goal difference of just +6 (62-56).
The MLS Cup runners-up with the worst regular season record was Colorado Rapids in 1997, they finished 4th in the Western Conference and 7th out of 10 teams overall, with a 0.444 record (12-15-5) and a negative (-9) goal difference (50-59)!
The MLS Cup runners-up with the 2nd-worst regular season record was New England Revolution in 2002, they finished 1st in the Eastern Conference but only 5th out of 10 teams overall, with a 0.462 record (12-14-2) and a zero goal difference (49-49).
All but one MLS Cup final (2001) involved at least a team that finished in the top-2 of the combined table. Some finals even featured both the Shield winners and runners-up (1999, 2000, 2003).
Interestingly, the inaugural MLS Cup (1996) is, to this point, the only one in which both teams were making their championship game debut.
Up to 2005, Los Angeles Galaxy has been the only team to have qualified for playoffs every season. However, this proud record has come to an end in 2006, as they were knocked out of the playoffs for the first time in their 11-year history.
When San Jose Earthquakes qualified for the playoffs, it either went all the way to win the cup or just lost out in the conference semifinals.
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Notes
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