What’s navy blue, white, and gold all over? That dress that went viral in 2015, and, of course, the defending MLS Cup Champions, the LA Galaxy. Now that I think about it, these two have way more in common than I thought. Both are divisive in their own way; the dress is definitely white and gold, and the Galaxy are definitely not in LA. How many people did I trigger by making those two claims? I rest my case.
There’s more to this seemingly random comparison, though. Like all of the best trends, that dress eventually faded away into the ether, left to be brought up for a jolt of nostalgia and used for intros to articles on MNUFC.com. Likewise, many of Major League Soccer’s defending champions fail to stay on top long after their triumph, doomed to fade back into the parity of this ever-changing league. In fact, only seven teams have won multiple MLS Cups, and we’ve only seen a repeat champion three times. Success is hard to sustain in the ecosystem we’ve created here, and the start to the Galaxy’s 2025 is proof enough of that.
Through their first four games, the defending champs have just one point, courtesy of a draw against the Timbers last weekend. They’ve only scored two goals in league play while conceding eight, giving them the league’s worst goal difference and putting them in last place across every tiebreaker possible. Sure, they’re missing some seriously talented players in Riqui Puig and Joseph Paintsil, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have had an incredibly slow start. I took a look at how defending champs of years past have fared after winning their lovely trophies, and I threw my findings into a couple of categories for you to enjoy.
Cream of the Crop
After sifting through 29 seasons of MLS facts and figures, I’ve selected what were, in my opinion, the four best title defenses in league history. All four of these squads managed to win silverware two years in a row, and while the league has changed quite a bit since these fantastic performances, their efforts should be applauded nonetheless.
1997 DC United: DC opened the second-ever season of MLS with 10 points in their first five games, won the Supporters’ Shield, and fought their way to another MLS Cup title. Their dominance in the first decade of Major League Soccer could be considered a title defense of its own, laying the foundation of what success looks like in this league. Hard to top these guys, even if it’s been ages since they lifted a trophy.
2007 Houston Dynamo: The Dynamo were a force to be reckoned with in the mid-2000s, pulling off the league’s second-ever successful title defense in 2007. They didn’t do it in quite the same style as DC did in 1997, as they failed to secure the Supporters’ Shield double, but I won’t turn my nose up at a third-place overall finish and an MLS Cup.
2012 LA Galaxy: Ah, of course. The current club in question has been here before. This year is, in fact, their sixth title defense, and it could end up being eerily similar to 2012. Though they lost three of their first five matches that season, Landon Donovan and David Beckham’s Galaxy came storming back, finding form to sneak into the postseason and run the table on their way to LA’s fourth title.
2009 Columbus Crew: Unlike the previous three, the Crew did not repeat as champions in 2009. I nearly drew the line right above them, but I thought their Supporters’ Shield triumph was enough to separate them from the rest of the pack. They choked in the playoffs, but a year of consistency after winning the league double the year prior still feels like a success to this biased writer.
What Happened?
With the best title defenses out of the way, we now turn our attention to some of the worst. Now, to be on this list at all means you first had to win the league, so when I say that a team was terrible the next year, it’s with that little caveat of prior excellence. I even included my beloved Columbus Crew on this list, so you know it’s not personal: strictly business.
2000 DC United: While they dominated the early years of MLS, DC United fell flat in 2000, taking just three points from their first five matches and ending the year with the league’s second-worst point total. They even managed to miss the playoffs back when eight of the 12 teams in the league qualified. A bad start turned into a bad season.
2016 Portland Timbers: After winning their one and only MLS Cup in 2015 (in one of the most frustrating Finals I’ve ever watched), Caleb Porter’s Timbers seemed drained when it came time to defend the title. They beat 2000 DC, taking five points in their opening five games, but the hope was short-lived. After allowing the most goals in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs didn’t really come as much of a surprise.
2018 Toronto FC: It feels crazy to me that Toronto’s 2017 MLS Cup triumph was eight years ago, but here we are. Honestly, it’s kind of been downhill for the Canadian side ever since, as they’ve flirted with the Wooden Spoon more often than any other trophy in the following years. 2018 was tough, with a 19th-place finish keeping them out of the playoffs and signaling the beginning of the end of what was a great era for the Reds.
2021 Columbus Crew: Caleb Porter is a winner, but he’s prone to a slip or two after he climbs the summit. He’s on this list twice, so he’s got two MLS Cups to his name: well done. But the defense of both titles proved more difficult than winning the titles themselves, it seems, as he failed to make the playoffs in each of the seasons that followed. The Crew would eventually recover, but not after an underwhelming, playoffless 2021 that saw them finish 17th in the Supporters’ Shield race.
You may have noticed a trend in this admittedly small sample size. While I can’t definitively say it was easier to retain your title in the olden days of MLS, it certainly seems like it’s getting harder and harder as new teams join, bringing new roster-building strategies and unique approaches to the game. The last repeat champion was in 2012, and while a few sides have fallen at the final hurdle, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as they say.
Are the old dogs refusing to learn new tricks? Are the new dogs simply too clever to keep up with? I don’t know. But I do know what separates my “Cream of the Crop” title defenders from their “What Happened?” counterparts: playoff soccer. In a league structure that rewards improving as the season goes along, any team that qualifies and is playing good soccer come the end of the regular season is going to have a shot at the title. If the Galaxy want to emulate what they did in 2012, they’ll certainly have to pick it up at some point this season, but I wouldn’t hit the panic button in Carson just yet.
