Rongen fled Tampa to coach the rival New England Revolution for the 1997 season. Quraishi’s ouster reportedly didn’t sit well with his friend and fellow NASL veteran, Coach-of-the-Year Thomas Rongen. Quraishi took the fall for Fortunat’s scheme and for the Mutiny’s poor attendance in 1996, which ranked 9th out of 10 teams in MLS, despite the club’s on field success. Following the season, MLS Commissioner Doug Logan fired Mutiny chief President & GM Farrukh Quraishi, a former player on Tampa’s popular North American Soccer League franchise of the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Mutiny Director of Finance Mark Fortunat was arrested in 1996 and charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the club. Departure of Rongen, Valderrama, LassiterĪfter the promising 1996 season, the core of the Mutiny came apart quickly. United in the semi-finals in a mild upset. The 1996 Mutiny lost to eventual MLS Cup champions D.C. Thomas Rongen was named the MLS Coach of the Year. El Pibe was one of the most recognizable faces in the early years of MLS, well known to American soccer fans from the 1994 World Cup and for his unruly mane of Muppet hair. Colombian World Cup veteran Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, set up many of Lassiter’s goals and won MLS’ first Most Valuable Player award. American striker Roy Lassiter led the league in goals with 27, a MLS single-season record that still stands 17 years later. The 1996 club was outstanding, winning the MLS Supporters Shield (best regular season record) at 20-12. ![]() The Mutiny made their debut on Apwith a 3-2 victory against the New England Revolution before 26,473 fans in Tampa. The league never solved this problem and it would be the key factor in the club’s demise six years later. Tampa Bay was one of three MLS franchises that did not have an investor/operator when the league launched in 1996. Investor/Operators could purchase a share in the overall league and control the operations of a team. MLS is organized as a single-entity structure. The Tampa Bay Mutiny were one of the ten founding franchises of Major League Soccer in the spring of 1996. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.We earn commission from purchases made through links on this post The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The away goals rule was not used in any round. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The conference semifinals and finals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The rest of the schedule consisted of three games against each team from the opposite conference, with four games against one designated team. ![]() Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 16 games. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. ![]() The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. The season began on March 22 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 26. United won their first Supporters' Shield and defended their MLS Cup championship becoming the first team to win back-to-back cups. The 1997 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 4, and concluded with MLS Cup 1997 on October 26. The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on September 28. It was also the 85th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 19th with a national first-division league.įollowing the 1996 season, the Wiz changed names, becoming the Wizards, following legal action from electronics retailer The Wiz. The 1997 Major League Soccer season was the second season of Major League Soccer. Locations of teams for the 1997 Major League Soccer season
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