2002 Major League Soccer season

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The 2002 Major League Soccer season was the seventh season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 90th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 24th with a national first-division league.

According to FC Dallas president Dan Hunt, the entire league nearly folded during the 2001 offseason.^[1] The owners agreed to shut down the league on a conference call in November 2001, but within two days Lamar Hunt convinced the other owners to give the league another year.

On January 8, 2002, the league folded two of its teams, both of which were in Florida. The Miami Fusion ceased operations after only four years of existence due to low attendance and an unfavorable stadium deal. The Tampa Bay Mutiny also ceased operations due to the lack of local ownership. Additionally, the league eliminated the Central Division and returned to the original two-conference alignment.

Two new stadiums opened this season. The Colorado Rapids moved into Invesco Field at Mile High and the New England Revolution moved into CMGI Field, which was renamed Gillette Stadium on August 5. Additionally, due to renovations at Soldier Field, the Chicago Fire played at Cardinal Stadium in the western suburb of Naperville.

In an effort to lower costs, the number of games was reduced from 32 to 28, marking the fewest games played in league history. The playoffs were also reformatted as the teams with the 8 highest point totals qualified regardless of conference affiliation.

The regular season began on March 23, and concluded on September 22. The 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 25, and concluded with MLS Cup 2002 on October 20. After three previous losses in the final, the Los Angeles Galaxy won their first MLS Cup with a victory over the New England Revolution.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 23 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 20. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 28 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and one designated opponent from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice.

The top eight teams regardless of conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The first round and conference finals were played as a three game series, and the first team to 5 points advanced. The winners of the conference finals advanced to MLS Cup.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup and the runner-up qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

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Team	Stadium	Capacity
Chicago Fire	Cardinal Stadium	15,000
Colorado Rapids	Invesco Field at Mile High	76,125
Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium	22,555
D.C. United	RFK Stadium	46,000
Dallas Burn	Cotton Bowl	92,100
Kansas City Wizards	Arrowhead Stadium	81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy	Rose Bowl	92,542
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
New England Revolution	CMGI Field	68,756
San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium	30,456

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Template:Flagicon Bob Bradley		—
Colorado Rapids	Template:Flagicon Tim Hankinson
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Greg Andrulis		Pepsi
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Ray Hudson		—
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Mike Jeffries
Kansas City Wizards	Template:Flagicon Bob Gansler		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Sigi Schmid		—
MetroStars	Template:Flagicon Octavio Zambrano	Template:Flagicon Tab Ramos
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Steve Nicol		—
San Jose Earthquakes	Template:Flagicon Frank Yallop	Template:Flagicon Jeff Agoos	Yahoo! Sports

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Fernando Clavijo	Fired	May 23, 2002	Template:Flagicon Steve Nicol	May 23, 2002

Standings

MLS Cup Playoffs