December 7th, 2014 at the Stub Hub Center, Carson, CA
Western Conference Champion: LA Galaxy
Starting 11
GK: Jaime Penedo (Panama)
RB: AJ DeLaGarza (Guam)
CB: Omar Gonzalez
CB: Leonardo (Brazil)
LB: Robbie Rogers
RM: Stefan Ishizaki (Sweden)
CM: Marcelo Sarvas (Brazil)
CM: Juninho (Brazil)
LM: Landon Donovan
FW: Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland) Team Captain
FW: Gyasi Zardes
Subs
GK: Brian Rowe
LB: Todd Dunivant
RB: Dan Gargan 91' for Rodgers
CB: Tommy Meyer
CM: Baggio Husidic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 96' for Juninho
CM: Kenney Walker
FW: Alan Gordon 91' for Ishizaki
Manager:
Bruce Arena
vs.
Eastern Conference Champion: New England Revolution
GK: Bobby Shuttleworth
RB: Andrew Farrell
CB: AJ Soares
CB: Jose Goncalves (Portugal)
LB: Chris Tierney
CDM: Scott Caldwell
CDM: Jermaine Jones
RM: Teal Bunbury
CAM: Lee Nguyen
LM: Kelyn Rowe
FW: Charlie Davies
Subs
GK: Brad Knighton
RB: Kevin Alston
CB: Darrius Barnes
CDM: Andy Dorman (Wales) 90+1' for Nguyen
CM: Daigo Kobayashi (Japan) 58' for Caldwell
FW: Diego Fagundez (Uruguay)
FW: Patrick Mullins 72' for Davies
Manager:
Jay Heaps
Result
Gyasi Zardes scored first but Chris Tierney responded which tied the game up 1-1. The game went into extra time but was decided by Robbie Keane, the MLS Season and Final MVP, who scored the winning goal. With a 2-1 score after extra time, the Los Angeles Galaxy won their 5th MLS Cup, now solely in 1st place for most championships won by a single club in the history of Major League Soccer.
Interestingly enough while the Galaxy have won 5, the New England Revolution have now been to 5 MLS Cup finals and lost each of them. Some might say they're the MLS version of the Buffalo Bills. Despite the sting of defeat at the final hurdle being reintroduced to the New England fans, they did very well to get this far, given the amount of attention they received and the kind of team they were perceived to be in the first half of the season.
The first thing that comes to mind is Landon Donovan. A few days after the All Star Game where he was important in the MLS All Stars defeating Bayern Munich 2-1, he announces his retirement at the end of the season. One of the greatest American soccer players of all time, he has done a lot for his national team and Major League Soccer over 14 years or so. His biggest criticism comes from his failed stints in Germany playing for Bayern Munich and Leverkusen, but his brief spell at Everton in between MLS seasons showed that he did have the potential to play in a big European league but instead he chose to play in the United States and help grow the sport there.
Since Donovan became an MLS icon each year it seemed the MLS became a bit more star studded and gained more and more talented players. Not many people when David Beckham joined Landon Donovan in LA Galaxy thought that he would be followed by players such as Robbie Keane, Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, and Tim Cahill. In recent years several other important members of the USMNT such as Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley, and Jermaine Jones, who featured in this year's championship match, left either Europe or Mexico to play the beautiful game in the USA.
Landon Donovan ends his career with many accolades including 6 MLS Cups as well as the record for most goals scored in MLS history. But this is more than just Landon Donovan's story.
Even though Robbie Keane is used to bigger crowds in places like White Hart Lane, he continues to contribute to this leagues growth and his hunger for titles is evident. He's made himself right at home with the LA Galaxy.
It was a significant year for AJ DeLaGarza on and off the pitch. Easily LA Galaxy's most important defender, he had a great season. However, his son Luca was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a serious congenital birth defect. In September, Luca died just at one week old. This only fueled the motivation present in this evidently tight knit group of players.
I could go on and on. From Robbie Rodgers going from retiring after coming out as gay to ending up on a championship team, Jaime Penedo's recent rise to success just over a year after an incredible campaign with Panama at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the importance of the Brazilian midfield duo of Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas, but you guys get the picture. Ultimately the Los Angeles Galaxy not only seemed destined to win but they were built to win. They had the right pieces in building a strong team and they didn't disappoint. They might not have won the Supporters Shield Trophy like the Seattle Sounders but for the MLS winning the MLS Cup is the biggest trophy you can win....aside from the CONCACAF Champions League, where DC United and Montreal Impact will hope to become the first MLS side to win the trophy in the tournament's current form.
The debate as to whether the playoffs or the season should be more important will go on and on because this isn't the sort of thing that's common in most of the top soccer leagues in the world. Mexico and Australia's leagues have a playoff format, and playoffs are used in England and Germany for promotion and relegation between the different tiers. Ultimately for the MLS the playoffs are just something special that people will have to accept if they want to enjoy this league. And if the amount of people that visit the Stub Hub Center or Century Link Field this season among other stadia to support their team suggests, there's plenty of fans to go around.
It was a good season for the MLS. Sending the 10th most players to the 2014 FIFA World Cup out of all the world's leagues, ahead of leagues such as the Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, Raiffeisen, and Scottish Premier League and just two behind Portugal's Primeira Liga, as well as attracting some notable players to the league such as the aforementioned and including Jermain Defoe, Rais M'Bolhi, and Julio Cesar, it only continues to grow. MLS without Landon Donovan will be just like MLB without Derek Jeter next season, it's going to feel strange without such an icon and star player around. But Orlando City and New York City FC join the league as we wave goodbye to Chivas USA. Donovan and Henry may be leaving but Frank Lampard, David Villa, Kaka, and maybe some more players will be joining us. 20 clubs next season and with the quality of players currently in the league, hopefully it will be an even better season than this one.
