2012 MLS Championship ( English 2012 Major League Soccer season ) is the hundredth football season sanctioned by FIFA in the USA and Canada, the thirty-fourth season of the national league of the first division and the seventeenth season of MLS , the major league of the USA and Canada on football. The championship began on March 10 and ended on December 1 with the final game for the MLS Cup . The tournament was attended by 19 clubs (16 from the USA and 3 from Canada).
| MLS Championship 2012 | |
|---|---|
| 2012 Major League Soccer season | |
 | |
| Tournament Details | |
| Time spending | March 10 - December 1, 2012 |
| Number of participants | 19 |
| Stadiums | 18 [1] |
| Top places | |
 Winner | Los Angeles Galaxy (4th time) |
 Second place | Houston dynamo |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 323 |
| Goals scored | 854 ( 2.64 per game) |
| Bombardier (s) |  Chris Wondolowski (27 goals) |
| The best player | Chris Wondolowski |
| Total attendance | 6 074 729 ( 18 807 per game) |
The MLS Supporters' Shield trophy for the most points in the regular season was the San Jose Earthquakes club, winning this award for the second time in league history.
Los Angeles Galaxy became the league champion, winning the MLS Cup for the second season in a row. For Los Angeles, this was the fourth title.
Content
- 1 Changes from previous season
- 2 Participating Clubs
- 3 Standings
- 3.1 Eastern Conference
- 3.2 Western Conference
- 3.3 Tiebreaker Rules
- 4 Regular Championship Leaders
- 4.1 Scorers
- 4.2 Assists
- 5 Statistics
- 5.1 Goals
- 5.2 Match attendance
- 6 Prizes of the year
- 6.1 Symbolic team of the year
- 7 Playoffs of the MLS Cup 2012
- 7.1 Preliminary Round
- 7.2 Conference Semifinals
- 7.2.1 Eastern Conference
- 7.2.2 Western Conference
- 7.3 Conference Finals
- 7.4 Match for the MLS Cup 2012
- 8 Notes
- 9 References
Changes from previous season
The Montreal Impact club joined the MLS , bringing the total number of clubs in the league to nineteen. Impact made its debut on the field on March 10, visiting the Vancouver Whitecaps club, losing 0-2 to the hosts. The club’s first home game took place on March 17 at the Olympic Stadium against the Chicago Fire team and ended in a 1-1 draw. The game was distinguished by the fact that it was visited by 58 thousand 912 spectators, which at that time was an absolute record for visiting professional football matches in Montreal [2] .
Montreal Impact was added by the tenth team to the Eastern Conference. There are nine teams left in the Western Conference.
Each of the nineteen teams played 34 games in the regular season, but due to the unequal number of teams in conferences, the format of the games has changed [3] . Clubs of the Western Conference held three games with each other and one game with each club of the Eastern Conference. The Eastern Conference clubs played three times against seven rivals of their conference, twice against the remaining two and one match against all the clubs of the Western Conference. The duration of the regular season was at that time the longest in the history of MLS , starting with five games on March 10 and ending with three matches on October 28 [4] .
Ten teams still qualified for the playoff tournament, but there were no qualifying games between conferences. The five strongest teams from each conference, by the most points, reached the playoffs. The fourth team of each conference hosted the fifth place team, and they played one match for the right to play in the semi-finals of the conference with the strongest team in this conference. Conference finals, as well as semi-finals, now consisted of two matches - away and at the home stadium [5] .
The final match for the MLS Cup was no longer held in a pre-selected, neutral stadium (a tradition that has existed since 1996). The league’s board of directors has decided to hold this match in the home stadium of the final team with the most points in the regular season [5] .
Member Clubs
Orange color - Western Conference clubs. Blue - Eastern Conference Clubs.
Standings
Source: League official website statistics
Eastern Conference
| M | Team | AND | AT | N | P | Balls | ± | ABOUT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | eighteen | 9 | 7 | 42 - 27 | +15 | 63 | Semifinals Eastern Conference |
| 2 | DC United | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 53 - 43 | +10 | 58 | |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 57 - 46 | +11 | 57 | |
| four | Chicago fire | 34 | 17 | 6 | eleven | 46 - 41 | +5 | 57 | Exit qualifier in the semifinal of the Eastern Conference |
| 5 | Houston dynamo | 34 | fourteen | eleven | 9 | 48 - 41 | +7 | 53 | |
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 34 | fifteen | 7 | 12 | 44 - 44 | 0 | 52 | |
| 7 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 45 - 51 | −6 | 42 | |
| 8 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 10 | 6 | eighteen | 37 - 45 | −8 | 36 | |
| 9 | New England Revolution | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 39 - 44 | −5 | 35 | |
| 10 | Toronto | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 36 - 62 | −26 | 23 |
And - games, B - wins, N - draws, P - losses, Goals - goals scored and goals conceded, ± - goal difference, O - points
Western Conference
| M | Team | AND | AT | N | P | Balls | ± | ABOUT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 72 - 43 | +29 | 66 | Semifinals Western conference |
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 17 | 6 | eleven | 46 - 35 | +11 | 57 | |
| 3 | Seattle sounders | 34 | fifteen | eleven | 8 | 51 - 33 | +18 | 56 | |
| four | Los angeles galaxy | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 59 - 47 | +12 | 54 | Exit qualifier in the semifinals of the Western Conference |
| 5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 34 | eleven | 10 | 13 | 35 - 41 | −6 | 43 | |
| 6 | Dallas | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 42 - 47 | −5 | 39 | |
| 7 | Colorado rapids | 34 | eleven | four | 19 | 44 - fifty | −6 | 37 | |
| 8 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 34 - 56 | −22 | 34 | |
| 9 | Chivas USA | 34 | 7 | 9 | eighteen | 24 - 58 | −34 | thirty |
And - games, B - wins, N - draws, P - losses, Goals - goals scored and goals conceded, ± - goal difference, O - points
Tiebreaker Rules
If the teams scored the same number of points, the following rules for tiebreaking apply: [6]
- Goals scored
- The difference between goals scored and goals conceded.
- The smallest number of team disciplinary points (foul - 1 point, first yellow - 3 points, second yellow - 5 points, direct red - 6 points, sanction of the disciplinary committee - 6 points) in the official table
- Goals scored in away matches
- The difference between goals scored and goals conceded in away matches.
- Goals scored in home matches
- The difference between goals scored and goals conceded in home games.
- Coin (two teams) or lots (three or more teams)
Regular Championship Leaders
Bombardiers
Source: Statistics on the official website of the league - goals | Assists
Source: Statistics on the official website of the league - transfers |
Statistics
Goals
- First Goal of the Season: Sebastien Le Tu for Vancouver Whitecaps against Montreal Impact (March 10)
- Most goals in a match: 8 goals
- San Jose Earthquakes 5: 3 DC United (May 2)
- Portland Timbers 3: 5 Los Angeles Galaxy (July 14)
- Chivas USA 2: 6 Seattle Sounders (August 25)
- The biggest victory of the hosts: 5 goals
- San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 Real Salt Lake (July 14)
- Dallas 5-0 Portland Timbers (July 21)
- The biggest victory of the guests: 4 goals
- Chivas USA 0-4 Los Angeles Galaxy (August 12)
- Chivas USA 2: 6 Seattle Sounders (August 25)
- Chivas USA 0-4 Real Salt Lake (September 29)
Match attendance
- Highest match attendance: 66,452, Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers (October 7)
- Lowest attendance: 6,149, New England Revolution vs. Colorado Rapids (May 2)
- In total, matches of the regular season were visited by 6 074 729 people, on average 18 807 per game
Prizes of the Year
| Prizes | Name | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most valuable player | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Goal of the year | Patrick Ianni [7] [8] | Seattle Sounders (in the match against Sporting Kansas City, June 20, 2012) |
| Save the Year | Nick Rimando [9] [10] | Real Salt Lake (in the match against Sporting Kansas City, April 14, 2012) |
| Golden boot | Chris Wondolowski (27 goals) | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Goalkeeper of the year | Jimmy nielsen | Sporting Kansas City |
| Defender of the year | Matt Besler | Sporting Kansas City |
| Rookie of the Year | Austin berry | Chicago fire |
| Recovering Player of the Year | Eddie Johnson [11] | Seattle sounders |
| New Arrival Player of the Year | Federico Higuain [12] | Columbus Crew |
| Coach of the year | Frank Yellop | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Fair play | Logan Pos [13] | Chicago fire |
| Team fair play | New England Revolution [13] | |
| Judge of the year | Silviu Petrescu [14] | |
Source: Prizes of the Year MLS 2012
Symbolic Team of the Year
The national team was composed according to the results of the league players' voting, club management and media representatives [15] .
| Pos. | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| VR | Jimmy nielsen | Sporting Kansas City |
| Defense | Victor Bernardes | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Defense | Matt Besler | Sporting Kansas City |
| Defense | Aurelien Collen | Sporting Kansas City |
| PP | Osvaldo Alonso | Seattle sounders |
| PP | Landon Donovan | Los angeles galaxy |
| PP | Chris Pontius | DC United |
| PP | Graham Zusi | Sporting Kansas City |
| Nap | Thierry Henry | New York Red Bulls |
| Nap | Robbie Keane | Los angeles galaxy |
| Nap | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes |
2012 MLS Cup Playoffs
Each conference held a separate playoff tournament for the title of champion of the conference. The champion of the Western Conference met with the champion of the Eastern Conference in the match for the MLS Cup in which the league champion was determined.
The top five teams of each conference entered the playoff tournament according to the number of points scored in the regular season. The fourth and fifth teams of each conference met in a single match of the preliminary round in the home field of the team seeded under the fourth number. The winner of the preliminary round reached the semifinals, where he met with the team that won first place in this conference. The second and third team of the conference played in the second semi-final. Semi-finals and conference finals consisted of two matches - away and at home. The team with the most points in the regular season got the right to play the second match of the semi-finals and finals at home. The winners of the finals became champions of their conferences and met in the MLS Cup match for the league title.
In the event of a tie, teams spend two additional fifteen-minute periods. If the result is a draw, then penalty shoot-outs will be awarded. The rule of a goal scored in a foreign field or a golden goal in MLS does not apply.
| Preliminary Round East | |||
| Sun4 | Chicago fire | one | |
| Sun5 | Houston dynamo | 2 | |
| Preliminary Round West | |||
| Zap4 | Los angeles galaxy | 2 | |
| Zap5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | one | |
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | MLS Cup 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sun1 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | one | one | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun5 | Houston dynamo | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Sun5 | Houston dynamo | 3 | one | four | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vos2 | DC United | one | one | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Vos2 | DC United | one | one | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Sun3 | New York Red Bulls | one | 0 | one | ||||||||||||||
| Zap4 | Los angeles galaxy | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sun5 | Houston dynamo | one | ||||||||||||||||
| Zap1 | San Jose Earthquakes | one | one | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Zap4 | Los angeles galaxy | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Zap4 | Los angeles galaxy | 3 | one | four | ||||||||||||||
| Western conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zap3 | Seattle sounders | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Zap2 | Real Salt Lake | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Zap3 | Seattle sounders | 0 | one | one | ||||||||||||||
Source: League Official Website
Preliminary Round
| October 31, 2012 20:00 |
| Toyota Park , Bridgeview , Illinois Spectators: 10 923 Judge: Baldomero Toledo |
| November 1, 2012 19:30 |
| Home Deepo Center , Carson , CA Spectators: 14,703 Judge: Silvio Petrescu |
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
| November 3, 2012 20:00 |
| Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium , Washington Spectators: 17,556 Judge: Khair Marrufo |
| November 8, 2012 19:30 |
| Red Bull Arena , Harrison , New Jersey Viewers: 14,035 Judge: Mark Geiger |
The sequence of the matches was changed by agreement between the league and the New York Red Bulls and DC United clubs as an exception due to a lack of electricity at the Red Bull Arena after Hurricane Sandy . [16] Subsequently, the second match, originally scheduled for November 7, was postponed to November 8 due to heavy snowfall. [17]
“DC United” reached the final with a total score of 2: 1.
| November 4, 2012 14:30 |
| BBC Compass Stadium , Houston , Texas Spectators: 20 689 Judge: Edwin Jurisewick |
| November 7, 2012 20:00 |
| Livstrong Sporting Park , Kansas City , Kansas Spectators: 20 894 Judge: Allen Chapman |
Houston Dynamo reached the final with a total score of 2: 1.
Western Conference
| November 2, 2012 19:00 |
| Century Link Field , Seattle , Washington Spectators: 34 941 Judge: Hilario Graheda |
| November 8, 2012 19:30 |
| Rio Tinto Stadium , Sandy , Utah Spectators: 19,657 Judge: Chris Penceau |
“Seattle Sounders” reached the final with a total score of 1: 0.
| November 4, 2012 18:00 |
| Home Deepo Center , Carson , CA Spectators: 27,000 Judge: Ricardo Salazar |
| November 7, 2012 20:00 |
| Buck Shaw Stadium , San Jose , California Spectators: 10 744 Judge: Kevin Stott |
Los Angeles Galaxy reached the final with a total score of 3: 2.
Conference Finals
| November 11, 2012 3 p.m. |
| BBC Compass Stadium , Houston , Texas Spectators: 22 101 Judge: Ricardo Salazar |
| November 18, 2012 16:00 |
| Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium , Washington Spectators: 20 015 Judge: Baldomero Toledo |
Houston Dynamo won by a total score of 4: 2. The club became the champion of the Eastern Conference and reached the final of the MLS Cup 2012.
| November 11, 2012 18:00 |
| Home Deepo Center , Carson , CA Spectators: 27,000 Judge: Khair Marrufo |
| November 18, 2012 18:00 |
| Century Link Field , Seattle , Washington Spectators: 44 575 Judge: Mark Geiger |
“Los Angeles Galaxy” won in a total score of 4: 2. The club became the champion of the Western Conference and reached the final of the MLS Cup 2012.
2012 MLS Cup Match
| December 1, 2012 13:30 |
| Home Deepo Center , Carson , CA Spectators: 30 510 Judges: Silvio Petrescu, Daniel Bello, Darren Clark, Hilario Graheda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2012 MLS Cup Winner: |
|---|
| Los angeles galaxy (4th title) |
Notes
- ↑ Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA teams play home games at the same stadium - Home Deep Dip Center .
- ↑ Impact ties 1-1 with Chicago Fire in front of record crowd at Olympic Stadium (English) , impactmontreal.com (March 17, 2012).
- ↑ Garber confirms 2012 season will have unbalanced schedule (English) , mlssoccer.com (November 10, 2011).
- ↑ MLS reveals 2012 conference-based schedule format (English) , mlssoccer.com (November 20, 2011).
- ↑ 1 2 Big changes for MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2012 (English) , mlssoccer.com (November 20, 2011).
- ↑ MLS Competition Rules and Regulations . MLSsoccer.com. Date of treatment October 17, 2012. Archived October 28, 2012.
- ↑ Stunner from Seattle's Ianni voted AT&T Goal of the Year . mlssoccer.com (November 29, 2012).
- ↑ MLS 2012 goal video of the year . mlssoccer.com (November 29, 2012).
- ↑ RSL's Rimando wins 2012 MLS Save of the Year . mlssoccer.com (November 29, 2012).
- ↑ Video of the Saved Year of 2012 (English) . mlssoccer.com (November 29, 2012).
- ↑ Seattle's Johnson earns MLS Comeback Player of the Year . mlssoccer.com (November 27, 2012).
- ↑ Crew's Higuain lands MLS Newcomer of the Year award . mlssoccer.com (November 28, 2012).
- ↑ 1 2 Fire's Pause, New England claim Xbox Fair Play awards . mlssoccer.com (November 19, 2012).
- ↑ [Canadian Petrescu named 2012 Referee of the Year http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/11/20/canadas-petrescu-named-2012-referee-year ] . mlssoccer.com (November 20, 2012).
- ↑ MLS reveals 2012 Best XI, headlined by Sporting KC quartet . mlssoccer.com (November 26, 2012).
- ↑ Garber: Circumstances "much bigger than the sport of soccer" guided NY-DC venue switch (English) (October 31, 2012). Archived November 23, 2012.
- ↑ NY-DC postponed due to blizzard at Red Bull Arena, Rescheduled for Thursday, 7:30 pm ET ( November 7, 2012). Archived November 23, 2012.