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D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supporters' Shields (league regular season), three U.S. Open Cups (domestic cups), and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions Cup title and one Copa Interamericana, the only United States team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer (tied with the LA Galaxy).
Founded in 1994, the club was an inaugural franchise in Major League Soccer, playing in the league since its first season in 1996. The club played a majority of its matches at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium from 1996 until 2017 before moving to the soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field, in 2018, where it has played since. D.C. United was one of the premier franchises in Major League Soccer, and in American soccer in the late 1990s, where it won the bulk of its trophies. Players such as Raúl Díaz Arce, Marco Etcheverry, Roy Lassiter, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen, and Eddie Pope, along with head coach, Bruce Arena, helped the club win eight of their 12 major titles from 1996 through 2000. The club would win an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup, and two Supporters' Shield titles under Piotr Nowak and Tom Soehn in the mid-to-late 2000s. In 2013, under the management of Ben Olsen, the club won the U.S. Open Cup, its most recent major trophy.
Following the sale of United from William Chang and Erick Thohir to Jason Levien, the club went into decline. Throughout the 2010s into the 2020s, the club went through mediocrity, with only one major trophy, and several missed playoff appearances, including multiple last place finishes in the league. During this time, some high-profile acquisitions joined United, including Wayne Rooney, and several homegrown players began making impacts on the United squad including Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, and Kevin Paredes. After a string of poor seasons, Olsen was fired in 2020, after a ten-year tenure as head coach. Olsen was replaced by Hernán Losada, who managed the club until 2022, when he was replaced by former player Wayne Rooney. Rooney was fired in October 2023 after a poor managerial effort, and was replaced in January 2024 with former New York Red Bulls manager Troy Lesesne who manages the club as of May 2024.
Before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States Soccer Federation fulfilled its promise to FIFA by aiding in the foundation of a new professional league, which would become Major League Soccer (MLS). On June 15, 1994, MLS selected Washington, D.C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the league's first seven franchises, with three more added before the league's launch. The team's name was chosen as a reflection of the names of European clubs, such as Manchester United or Leeds United, as well as being the capital of the United States.
The team's colors and original logo, along with those of the other ten original teams, were announced in October 1995, during a presentation in New York City. Black and white were announced D.C. United's primary colors, and red was announced as the club's secondary color.
The club's first season was in 1996. Ahead of the season, United hired Bruce Arena, who had led the University of Virginia men's soccer program to five NCAA College Cup titles, to be the head coach of the club. Under Arena, the club quickly established itself as one of the flagship franchises in MLS, winning two MLS Cup (league championship) titles, a U.S. Open Cup (domestic cup) title, a Supporters' Shield (regular season winner), a CONCACAF Champions' Cup (continental championship), and a Copa Interamericana (intercontinental championship) all within the club's first two seasons. During this late 1990's dynasty, the club was led by its "magic triangle" of Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Raul Diaz Arce. Additionally, the club had several U.S. international stars at the time including Eddie Pope, John Harkes, and Jeff Agoos. United's inaugural match was played on April 6, 1996, against the then-called San Jose Clash (now Earthquakes) at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, which also was the first match to ever be played in MLS history. United would lose the match to the Clash, 0–1 off a late match-winner by Eric Wynalda. However, the season was hallmarked by the Arena leading the team to the first domestic double in modern U.S. soccer history by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first MLS Cup and the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division in the 1996 U.S. Open Cup. The club's early success continued into 1997, repeating as MLS Cup champions, and winning their first Supporters' Shield, becoming the first club in MLS history to achieve the "league double" by winning both the regular season championship and league championship.
In 1998 the club won the Eastern Conference regular season and postseason championship, but finished runners-up for the Supporters' Shield, and lost to Chicago Fire in MLS Cup 1998. Despite not winning any domestic titles, the club managed to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup (now known as the CONCACAF Champions League), defeating Mexican side, Toluca, in the final thanks to a Pope goal, as well as winning the now-defunct Copa Interamericana (a two-legged aggregate series between the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL club champions). D.C. United became the first American club to win a CONCACAF club championship, and the only American club to have won the Copa Interamericana. As of 2022, only two other American clubs have won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup or Champions League (LA Galaxy in 2000 and Seattle Sounders in 2022).
In October 1998, Arena left D.C. United to accept the head coaching role for the United States men's national soccer team, following their poor performance in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Dutch manager, Thomas Rongen, who had previously coached the New England Revolution was hired to coach United for the 1999 season. With the squad, largely constructed by Arena, United achieved a domestic double, winning MLS Cup 1999 (their third MLS Cup title) against their cross-country rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy, a rematch of MLS Cup 1996, and winning their second Supporters' Shield title (off of 57 points). Striker Roy Lassiter led United with 18 goals during the season earning joint Golden Boot honors. United did not fare as well in the 1999 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, losing in the semifinals to eventual champions, Necaxa.
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supporters' Shields (league regular season), three U.S. Open Cups (domestic cups), and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions Cup title and one Copa Interamericana, the only United States team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer (tied with the LA Galaxy).
Founded in 1994, the club was an inaugural franchise in Major League Soccer, playing in the league since its first season in 1996. The club played a majority of its matches at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium from 1996 until 2017 before moving to the soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field, in 2018, where it has played since. D.C. United was one of the premier franchises in Major League Soccer, and in American soccer in the late 1990s, where it won the bulk of its trophies. Players such as Raúl Díaz Arce, Marco Etcheverry, Roy Lassiter, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen, and Eddie Pope, along with head coach, Bruce Arena, helped the club win eight of their 12 major titles from 1996 through 2000. The club would win an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup, and two Supporters' Shield titles under Piotr Nowak and Tom Soehn in the mid-to-late 2000s. In 2013, under the management of Ben Olsen, the club won the U.S. Open Cup, its most recent major trophy.
Following the sale of United from William Chang and Erick Thohir to Jason Levien, the club went into decline. Throughout the 2010s into the 2020s, the club went through mediocrity, with only one major trophy, and several missed playoff appearances, including multiple last place finishes in the league. During this time, some high-profile acquisitions joined United, including Wayne Rooney, and several homegrown players began making impacts on the United squad including Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, and Kevin Paredes. After a string of poor seasons, Olsen was fired in 2020, after a ten-year tenure as head coach. Olsen was replaced by Hernán Losada, who managed the club until 2022, when he was replaced by former player Wayne Rooney. Rooney was fired in October 2023 after a poor managerial effort, and was replaced in January 2024 with former New York Red Bulls manager Troy Lesesne who manages the club as of May 2024.
Before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States Soccer Federation fulfilled its promise to FIFA by aiding in the foundation of a new professional league, which would become Major League Soccer (MLS). On June 15, 1994, MLS selected Washington, D.C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the league's first seven franchises, with three more added before the league's launch. The team's name was chosen as a reflection of the names of European clubs, such as Manchester United or Leeds United, as well as being the capital of the United States.
The team's colors and original logo, along with those of the other ten original teams, were announced in October 1995, during a presentation in New York City. Black and white were announced D.C. United's primary colors, and red was announced as the club's secondary color.
The club's first season was in 1996. Ahead of the season, United hired Bruce Arena, who had led the University of Virginia men's soccer program to five NCAA College Cup titles, to be the head coach of the club. Under Arena, the club quickly established itself as one of the flagship franchises in MLS, winning two MLS Cup (league championship) titles, a U.S. Open Cup (domestic cup) title, a Supporters' Shield (regular season winner), a CONCACAF Champions' Cup (continental championship), and a Copa Interamericana (intercontinental championship) all within the club's first two seasons. During this late 1990's dynasty, the club was led by its "magic triangle" of Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Raul Diaz Arce. Additionally, the club had several U.S. international stars at the time including Eddie Pope, John Harkes, and Jeff Agoos. United's inaugural match was played on April 6, 1996, against the then-called San Jose Clash (now Earthquakes) at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, which also was the first match to ever be played in MLS history. United would lose the match to the Clash, 0–1 off a late match-winner by Eric Wynalda. However, the season was hallmarked by the Arena leading the team to the first domestic double in modern U.S. soccer history by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first MLS Cup and the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division in the 1996 U.S. Open Cup. The club's early success continued into 1997, repeating as MLS Cup champions, and winning their first Supporters' Shield, becoming the first club in MLS history to achieve the "league double" by winning both the regular season championship and league championship.
In 1998 the club won the Eastern Conference regular season and postseason championship, but finished runners-up for the Supporters' Shield, and lost to Chicago Fire in MLS Cup 1998. Despite not winning any domestic titles, the club managed to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup (now known as the CONCACAF Champions League), defeating Mexican side, Toluca, in the final thanks to a Pope goal, as well as winning the now-defunct Copa Interamericana (a two-legged aggregate series between the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL club champions). D.C. United became the first American club to win a CONCACAF club championship, and the only American club to have won the Copa Interamericana. As of 2022, only two other American clubs have won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup or Champions League (LA Galaxy in 2000 and Seattle Sounders in 2022).
In October 1998, Arena left D.C. United to accept the head coaching role for the United States men's national soccer team, following their poor performance in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Dutch manager, Thomas Rongen, who had previously coached the New England Revolution was hired to coach United for the 1999 season. With the squad, largely constructed by Arena, United achieved a domestic double, winning MLS Cup 1999 (their third MLS Cup title) against their cross-country rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy, a rematch of MLS Cup 1996, and winning their second Supporters' Shield title (off of 57 points). Striker Roy Lassiter led United with 18 goals during the season earning joint Golden Boot honors. United did not fare as well in the 1999 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, losing in the semifinals to eventual champions, Necaxa.