MLS Cup 2000

MLS Cup 2000
Kansas City Wizards Chicago Fire
1 0
Date October 15, 2000
Venue Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., US
Man of the Match Tony Meola
(Kansas City Wizards)
Attendance 39,159
Weather Sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)

MLS Cup 2000 was the final match of the 2000 MLS Season, and the 5th championship awarded in the history of Major League Soccer.

The match took place on Sunday, October 15, 2000, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., between Kansas City Wizards and Chicago Fire Soccer Club. Kansas City won the match 1–0, with an 11th-minute goal from Danish international Miklos Molnar the difference on the afternoon. It was the first MLS Cup final to not feature an Eastern division club; the first to feature a Central team (Chicago), and the first won by a Western conference team.

Venue

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium hosted the MLS Cup Playoffs final for the second time.

The venue chosen to host MLS Cup 2000 was Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.. Home to D.C. United, the venerable stadium has played a significant role in the history of professional soccer in the United States. Soccer Bowl '80 was contested at RFK, which also hosted five games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The site previously hosted MLS Cup '97 in which D.C. United bested Colorado Rapids 2–1 to raise their second league championship. Ironically the 2000 final was the first MLS final to not have DC United competing in it.

At the time of the match in October 2000, seating capacity within the confines of RFK Stadium was 56,454 spectators.

Match

Overview

The match began with Chicago on the offensive early, with Ante Razov and Hristo Stoitchkov creating several attempts within the first ten minutes. In the 11th minute, however, Wizards midfielder Chris Klein stole the ball from Chicago's Diego Gutiérrez near midfield and stormed down the touch line. Klein's cross from the right wing made contact with Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch who failed to clear the ball, allowing Miklos Molnar to make light contact and roll the ball past keeper Zach Thornton for the only goal of the match. The 39,159 fans at RFK Stadium were treated to exciting soccer after Molnar's goal, with the league's best attacking corps hunting for an equalizer against the stout Kansas City defense. Ultimately, Chicago's efforts were stymied by Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola, who capped off a historic season by making 10 impressive saves in the playoff final, notching his 5th shutout of the tournament in addition to 16 clean sheets to his name in the regular season.

Details

Kansas City Wizards United States1–0United States Chicago Fire
Molnar  11' Report
Attendance: 39,159
GK1United States Tony MeolaYellow card 76'
RB3United States Nick GarciaYellow card 58'
CB6United States Peter Vermes
LB4United States Brandon Prideaux
RM17United States Chris Klein (c) 88'
CM15United States Kerry Zavagnin
CM2United States Matt McKeon
CM11United States Preki 74'
LM19United States Chris Henderson
FW10Scotland Mo JohnstonYellow card 48'
FW7Denmark Miklos Molnar
Substitutes:
DF20Nigeria Uche Okafor 74'
DF21United States Francisco Gomez 88'
Manager:
United States Bob Gansler
GK18United States Zach Thornton
RB15United States Jesse Marsch 59'
CB2United States C.J. Brown
CB12United States Carlos Bocanegra
LB30Uganda Tenywa BonseuYellow card 76'
RM21Ukraine Dema KovalenkoYellow card 47'
CM11United States Diego Gutiérrez 70'
CM10Poland Piotr Nowak (c) 83'
LM14United States Chris Armas
CF8Bulgaria Hristo Stoitchkov
CF9United States Ante Razov
Substitutes:
FW16United States Josh Wolff 59'
MF7United States DaMarcus Beasley 70'
MF5Czech Republic Luboš Kubík 83'
Manager:
United States Bob Bradley

Man of the Match:
United States Tony Meola (Kansas City Wizards)

Assistant referees:
Craig Lowry (United States)
George Vergara (United States)
Fourth official:
Kevin Stott (United States)

Match rules[1]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

  1. ↑ "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2013/14" (PDF). Nyon: UEFA. March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.


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