MLS Cup 2009 was the 14th edition of theMLS Cup, the championship match ofMajor League Soccer (MLS). Thesoccer match took place on November 22, 2009, atQwest Field inSeattle, Washington, and was contested between theLos Angeles Galaxy andReal Salt Lake.

MLS Cup 2009

Event	MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake LA Galaxy 1 1
Afterextra time Real Salt Lake won 5–4 onpenalties
Date	November 22, 2009
Venue	Qwest Field,Seattle,Washington, US
Man of the Match	Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Referee	Kevin Stott
Attendance	46,011
Weather	Cloudy, 45 °F (7 °C)[1]
←2008 2010 →

Real Salt Lake won the match 5–4 in apenalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw. Salt Lake goalkeeperNick Rimando was namedman of the match for making several saves in the shootout, allowing defenderRobbie Russell to score the winning goal. It was the club's first championship, coming in their fifth season in the league, and the second MLS Cup to be decided by a shootout.

An attendance of 46,011 people made the 2009 final the sixth-largest in MLS Cup history. It was also the first MLS Cup to be played onartificial turf. The match was broadcast in the United States onESPN andGalavisión.

Qwest Field was announced as the venue for the MLS Cup on March 11, 2009, a week beforeSeattle Sounders FC played their inaugural match at the stadium.^[2] Qwest Field became the eighth stadium to host the MLS Cup and the first new stadium chosen for the final since2005.^[2][3] The selection of a venue with anartificial turf playing surface, a first for the MLS Cup, was criticized by several players prior to the final.^[4][5]

Qwest Field was built for theSeattle Seahawks of theNational Football League in 2003, but was designed with soccer in mind. It hosted several international friendly matches, as well as part of the2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, prior to becoming the home stadium of the Seattle Sounders.^[2] Due to the use of Qwest Field as the MLS Cup venue, the Seattle Seahawks schedule was modified to include three away games in November.^[6] In their inaugural season, the Sounders set the league record for average attendance, with 30,897, prompting additional interest in the cup.^[7]

The initial offering of 30,000 tickets were sold out in early November, prompting the release of 6,000 additional tickets.^[8] Ticket sales passed 40,000 on the day before the match.^[9] To celebrate the MLS Cup final, the logos of the league and the two finalists were painted onto the roof of the city's iconicSpace Needle. ThePhilip F. Anschutz Trophy was brought to the city aboard astate ferry by Sounders coachSigi Schmid and technical directorChris Henderson.^[10] Other pre-cup festivities included a free concert by rock bandThird Eye Blind,^[11] a summit of supporters representing several MLS clubs,^[12] aMarch to the Match fromPioneer Square, and a "Soccer Celebration" festival outside the stadium plaza.^[13]

TheMLS Cup is the post-season championship ofMajor League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The2009 season was the 14th in MLS history, and was contested by 15 teams in two conferences.^[2] Each club played 30 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team twice and two in-conference teams a third time.^[14] The playoffs, running from October 29 to November 22, were contested by the top two clubs in each conference and fourwild card teams in the next positions regardless of conference.^[15] It was organized into three rounds: ahome-and-away series in the Conference Semifinals, a single-match Conference Final, and the MLS Cup final.^[16]

The 2009 edition of the MLS Cup was contested by theLos Angeles Galaxy andReal Salt Lake. The two teams were from theWestern Conference, marking the second consecutive edition to be played between two teams from the same conference.^[17][18] The Galaxy and Real Salt Lake played each other twice in the regular season: a 2–2 draw hosted by Real Salt Lake in May and a 2–0 loss for hosts Los Angeles in June.^[3]

The Los Angeles Galaxy were one of the original teams in MLS and appeared in five previous MLS Cup finals, winning in2002 and2005.^[19][20] The team finished joint-last in the league in 2008, replacing managerRuud Gullit with formerUnited States national team coachBruce Arena midway through the season.^[21]

In the2009 SuperDraft, the Galaxy selectedOmar Gonzalez andA. J. DeLaGarza, both of whom would lead a revamped defense alongside newly-acquired goalkeeperDonovan Ricketts.^[22] Though without star midfielderDavid Beckham due to an extended loan toA.C. Milan,^[23] the Galaxy began the season with one loss and two wins in their first twelve matches.^[24] After Beckham's return in July, the team went on a six-match unbeaten streak and secured a playoff berth in late August.^[25][26] The Galaxy finished the season with 12 wins, 6 losses, and 12 draws, placing first in the Western Conference with 48 points.^[24][27]

The Galaxy played the Western Conference Semifinals againstChivas USA, the co-tenant of theHome Depot Center appearing in their fourth consecutive playoffs.^[27] The first leg ended in a 2–2 draw, marked by four goals that were the result of defensive mistakes by both teams.^[28] The Galaxy advanced to the Conference Final after winning 1–0 in the second leg, withLandon Donovan scoring the lone goal from apenalty kick.^[29] The Western Conference Final was played against theHouston Dynamo and hosted by the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. The match was interrupted by twopower outages in both halves of regulation time, which ended scoreless after a Dynamo goal in the 80th minute was disallowed.^[30] DefenderGregg Berhalter scored in the 103rd minute and was followed six minutes later by a Landon Donovan penalty to give the Galaxy a 2–0 win and a place in the MLS Cup final.^[19]

Real Salt Lake entered MLS as anexpansion team in 2005, but failed to qualify for the playoffs in its first three seasons.^[31] Veteran midfielderJason Kreis, who had scored the franchise's first goal, was appointed head coach after six straight losses to begin the 2007 season and worked with new general managerGarth Lagerwey to rebuild the team.^[32][33] After acquiring several key players in 2008, including captainKyle Beckerman, and defendersNat Borchers andJámison Olave,^[34] the team qualified for the playoffs and advanced to the Western Conference Final, where they were defeated by theNew York Red Bulls.^[35][36]

Salt Lake began the 2009 season, their first to be fully played atRio Tinto Stadium and fifth overall, with nine home wins, five draws, and one loss. The team failed to produce similar results in away matches and finished with a losing record of 11 wins, 12 losses, and 7 draws.^[37][38] Real Salt Lake qualified for the playoffs on the last day of the season with 40 points, thanks to favorable results from three matches that eliminated five other teams competing for the final two wild card spots.^[39]

As a wild card, the team was seeded into the Eastern Conference Semifinals against theColumbus Crew, the defending MLS Cup champions.^[38] Real Salt Lake won the home leg 1–0 on a goal byRobbie Findley, but conceded two early goals in the opening 35 minutes of the away leg in Columbus. The team responded with three goals scored byJavier Morales, Findley, andAndy Williams to win 3–2 and advanced 4–2 on aggregate.^[40] Real Salt Lake faced theChicago Fire in the Eastern Conference Final atToyota Park inBridgeview, Illinois, which ended in a scoreless draw after extra time. Salt Lake won the ensuingpenalty shootout 5–4 after seven rounds, relying on three saves by goalkeeperNick Rimando.^[38][41] Real Salt Lake became the third MLS Cup finalist to have qualified for the playoffs as the lowest seed, mirroring the New York Red Bulls the previous year, and was the second expansion team to contest an MLS Cup.^[42]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

The MLS Cup final was televised in the United States onESPN andESPN360.com in English andGalavisión in Spanish.^[43]GolTV Canada broadcast the match in Canada,^[44] andESPN International carried the match in 122 countries, primarily in Latin America, the Middle East, and Oceania.^[45] This was the first edition of the MLS Cup to be carried on a cable network, as the previous thirteen were onABC, and was scheduled later at night to compete withNBC Sunday Night Football.^[46] ESPN covered the match using 19 cameras and several digital features, including player tracking statistics and an offside line displayed oninstant replays.^[45]JP Dellacamera was the lead play-by-play commentator andJohn Harkes provided color commentary.^[47] The network's coverage of the final was later criticized by Salt Lake City-area media outlets for its favoritism of the Galaxy.^[48]

The Galaxy were described as the favorites in the MLS Cup match-up, with a better set of players and manager Bruce Arena's previous cup victories withD.C. United.^[49] Both teams fielded their regular lineups, with no major injuries; David Beckham was forced to skip several practice sessions prior to being injected with a painkiller to alleviate a bruised right ankle.^[3][50]Kevin Stott was named the head referee for his third MLS Cup final, following the 2001 and 2005 finals.^[3]

Despite a forecast of rain,^[51] the weather at kickoff was cloudy and the air temperature was 45 °F (7 °C).^[52] During the first half, the Galaxy had the majority of possession and chances on goal, taking six shots.^[53] Real Salt Lake midfielderJavier Morales was substituted in the 22nd minute after suffering from a tornmeniscus in his left knee after a collision with David Beckham; Morales left the field in tears and was replaced byClint Mathis.^[54] After two missed opportunities, Los Angeles forwardMike Magee scored the final's opening goal in the 41st minute, finishing a cross from Landon Donovan.^[51] At halftime, the Galaxy led 1–0 and Real Salt Lake were forced to substitute midfielderWill Johnson, who was suffering fromfood poisoning contracted days earlier.^[55]

Real Salt Lake regrouped in the second half and set up a chance in the 47th minute forRobbie Findley, who collided withOmar Gonzalez and Galaxy goalkeeperDonovan Ricketts.^[55] After being clipped by Gonzalez's right foot, Ricketts broke his right hand but elected to continue playing after being evaluated by on-field trainers.^[56] Salt Lake continued attacking and Findley scored the equalizing goal in the 64th minute by finishing a deflected shot fromYura Movsisyan. Ricketts walked off the field and was substituted in the 66th minute for his backupJosh Saunders in what was the first goalkeeper substitution in MLS Cup history.^[51][56] Both teams exchanged several chances late in the second half, including misses from Movsisyan and Donovan, but neither could score a second goal. The half ended with seven minutes ofstoppage time due to Ricketts' treatment.^[51]

In extra time, Real Salt Lake continued to have the majority of possession and chances, eventually tallying nineteen shots to the Galaxy's thirteen.^[53] Shots by Findley and Mathis were blocked and sent wide of the goal, grazing the outside of the side net.^[57] The match remained tied after extra time, leaving the MLS Cup to be decided through apenalty shootout for the second time in its history.^[58]

The shootout began with David Beckham, who scored on his attempt, and was followed by successful penalties taken by Clint Mathis for Salt Lake,Gregg Berhalter for the Galaxy, and Findley for Salt Lake.^[58] With the score tied 2–2, Salt Lake goalkeeperNick Rimando saved an attempt byJovan Kirovski, and Saunders saved a kick by Salt Lake captainKyle Beckerman.^[51] Despite his proficiency in penalties, Landon Donovan missed by putting it over the goalpost, andNed Grabavoy scored to give Salt Lake a 3–2 lead going into the final rounds.^[59] Magee scored to keep the Galaxy in the shootout and an attempt by Salt Lake midfielderAndy Williams was saved by Saunders to triggersudden death rounds. Williams was chosen as the final kick taker for Salt Lake by managerJason Kreis because of the emotional connection to the team and Seattle that he had due to his wife's then-ongoing battle with a rare form ofleukemia, which was being treated in Seattle.^[59][60]Chris Klein andChris Wingert both scored their respective penalties, bringing the score to 4–4 before Rimando saved an attempt by Galaxy forwardEdson Buddle.^[51] Salt Lake defenderRobbie Russell scored the winning penalty in the seventh round, bringing the score to 5–4. After scoring the penalty, he turned around and fell to his knees as he was swarmed by his teammates.^[58]

Real Salt Lake'supset victory gave Utah its first major professional sports championship since theUtah Stars won theAmerican Basketball Association championship in 1971.^[58][61] The 2009 final was the second in MLS Cup history to be won by an expansion team and the second to finish with a penalty shootout.^[42] Nick Rimando was named the MLS Cupmost valuable player, only the second goalkeeper to earn the honor,^[62] andJason Kreis became the youngest coach to win the MLS Cup, along with the fourth former player to coach a championship team.^[63]

The 2009 final was attended by 46,011 spectators, then the fourth-largest crowd for an MLS Cup final and the largest since the2002 final atGillette Stadium inFoxborough, Massachusetts.^[64][65] Approximately 2,000 fans attended from Salt Lake City and were joined bySeattle Sounders FC supporters, who chose to root for the "underdog" team.^[55] The crowd and atmosphere at the stadium were praised by league officials (including executiveDon Garber),^[42] the teams, and the media.^[65][66][67] The stadium, later renamedCenturyLink Field, hosted its second MLS Cup final in2019, which saw the Sounders defeatToronto FC in front of 69,274 spectators—a stadium record for a sporting event.^[68][69]

The Real Salt Lake team returned the following afternoon and was greeted by hundreds of fans atSalt Lake City International Airport.^[70] The team was honored by a reception at theUtah Governor's Mansion and theUtah State Capitol, culminating in a parade from the state capitol to a rally atRio Tinto Stadium attended by 5,000 fans. GovernorGary R. Herbert declared November 24, 2009, as Real Salt Lake Day.^[71] The team was later honored with a traditional champion's ceremony at theWhite House by PresidentBarack Obama on June 4, 2010.^[72]

Real Salt Lake qualified for the2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League, where they became the first MLS team to reach the modern tournament'sfinals, losing 3–2 on aggregate toC.F. Monterrey.^[73][74] Real Salt Lake would later return to the MLS Cup final in2013, finishing as runners-up toSporting Kansas City after losing a penalty shootout.^[75] The Galaxy and Real Salt Lake met in the 2011 Western Conference Final, where Los Angeles won 3–1 and advanced to theMLS Cup final and win their first championship since 2005.^[76][77] Los Angeles would also win the cup in2012 and2014, bringing their total number of MLS Cup championships to five and surpassing the record set byD.C. United.^[78][79]