2004 Major League Soccer season

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The 2004 Major League Soccer season was the ninth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 92nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 26th with a national first-division league.

After playing one season in the suburb of Southlake, the Dallas Burn returned to the Cotton Bowl.

D.C. United signed 14-year-old prodigy Freddy Adu, who made his debut as a substitute in their season opener becoming the youngest player in North American sports history. The Columbus Crew emerged as a dominant team in the second half of the regular season, running off an MLS-record 18-game unbeaten streak en route to winning the Supporters' Shield.

The regular season began on April 3, and concluded on October 17. The 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 22, and concluded with MLS Cup 2004 on November 14. D.C. United won their record 4th league title by defeating the Kansas City Wizards in MLS Cup.

Overview

Season format

The season began on April 3 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 14. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and two designated opponents from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

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	Soldier Field	61,500
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	Home Depot Center	27,000
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium	68,756
San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium	30,456

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Template:Flagicon Dave Sarachan		Puma	Honda
Colorado Rapids	Template:Flagicon Tim Hankinson		Atletica	—
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Greg Andrulis	Template:Flagicon Robin Fraser	Adidas	Sierra Mist
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Piotr Nowak		Adidas	—
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Colin Clarke		Atletica	RadioShack
Kansas City Wizards	Template:Flagicon Bob Gansler		Adidas	U.S. Soccer Foundation
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Steve Sampson		Nike	Budweiser
MetroStars	Template:Flagicon Bob Bradley	Template:Flagicon Eddie Pope	Nike	—
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Steve Nicol		Reebok	Sierra Mist
San Jose Earthquakes	Template:Flagicon Dominic Kinnear	Template:Flagicon Jeff Agoos	Nike	Yahoo! en Español

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Sigi Schmid	Fired	August 16, 2004	Template:Flagicon Steve Sampson	August 18, 2004

Standings