D.C United Club History

The club was one of the founding ten members of the MLS in 1996 and was initially the most successful. They won the first "double" in modern U.S. soccer history in 1996, beating Los Angeles Galaxy to take the MLS Cup and the A-League club Rochester Raging Rhinos to win the U.S. Open Cup. They have also been successful in CONCACAF competitions, winning the Champions' Cup and the Interamerican Cup in 1998.

From the back of domestic success, the club's first coach, Bruce Arena, went on to direct the national side. Although United would win an MLS Cup in the season after his departure, the loss of Arena would signal a significant downturn in the team's fortunes. While Thomas Rongen's initial year was a success, two lackluster seasons led to his departure and replacement by Ray Hudson in 2002. The team did not fare much better under Hudson, however, and Peter Nowak replaced him prior to the start of the 2004 season. The season was marred by injuries in the early-going, and some players were known to have complained about Nowak's methods. A strong late finish propelled United into the playoffs with the second seed, where they advanced past the New England Revolution on penalty kicks in what some have called "the greatest MLS game ever played." United then defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-2 to take their fourth MLS Cup.

D.C. United's primary rival is Red Bull New York, formerly known as the MetroStars. The two teams compete annually for the Atlantic Cup, a minor title instituted by the two teams' management, that goes to the team that gets the most points across the teams' four meetings throughout the year. They also have a unique (among MLS teams anyway) rivalry with the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues, as they compete for the Coffee Pot Cup every time they compete in a trophy setup by the two sides' supporters.

Famous players for United have included the US internationals Roy Lassiter, Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, Tony Sanneh, Ben Olsen, Carlos Llamosa, Bobby Convey and Santino Quaranta. Foreign stars have included Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, and Hristo Stoitchkov.

On November 18, 2003, MLS made sports history by signing Freddy Adu, a 14-year-old soccer prodigy and on January 16, 2004 he was officially selected by United with the first pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. When Adu entered United's regular-season opener as a second-half substitute on April 3, 2004, he became the youngest player in any professional sport in the United States since 1887.