The set-tos every season between the Timbers and the Sounders aren’t so much an MLS rivalry as they are an American soccer one The first encounter between the two sides dates back to May 2, 1975 and the days of the North American Soccer League. (It ended 1-0 to Seattle.) Since then the grudge match has spanned multiple leagues — five, to be exact — and several generations of players and fans.
MLS is now benefiting from that history. The Sounders and Timbers have squared off 125 times in official competition, and it’s not just in games where the rivalry is felt, but the competing tifos that each set of fans trot out whenever these two sides meet. As such, it’s nearly impossible to crystallize the rivalry into one or two moments. Yet some incidents stick in the mind’s eye.
There was the near revolt that ensued within the Portland fan base when the rivalry’s longtime villain, Seattle forward Roger Levesque, was brought in to suit up for the Timbers in a 2007 friendly against Toronto FC. He was met by boos every time he touched the ball, as well as the sign “True Fans Hate Levesque.” There was also Levesque’s “tree chop” goal celebration, when he scored in the first minute of a U.S. Open Cup match between the two sides in 2009.
All of this makes any match involving the two teams a must-watch event, but deciding which team has the upper hand depends on your time horizon.
Overall, the Sounders hold a 56-45-15 edge. In the MLS era, it’s the Timbers that have the slight advantage, going 19-17-7. The Timbers have earned bragging rights in the head-to-head matches during the MLS Cup playoffs, twice getting the better of the Sounders in 2013 and again in 2018. Yet it is Seattle that has the edge in MLS Cups, 2-1, even as Portland was the first to make an MLS Cup breakthrough in 2015.
Expect the ebb and flow — as well as the passion — looks set to continue. — Jeff Carlisle
Real rivalries cannot be forced, and when LAFC entered MLS in 2018 — their second time of adding a second team in the Los Angeles market — there was a chance that something meaningful wouldn’t materialize between the Galaxy and LAFC. Enter Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In the first meeting between the clubs, LAFC led 3-1 in the second half when the Swedish striker made his MLS debut — and what a debut it was. The Galaxy scored immediately, setting the stage for a wonder strike from Ibrahimovic to tie the game followed by another goal to win it, 4-3. The performance drew international interest and, like that, a meaningful rivalry was born.
In the years since, El Trafico has seldom disappointed. In 18 matches across all competitions all time, both teams have scored 40 goals. Only five games have been separated by more than one goal, and after the Galaxy dominated the series early — going unbeaten in the first five matches — LAFC have stormed back, winning the past three. While the Galaxy hold a slight edge — the series tilts in their favor, with 7 wins to LAFC’s 6, plus five draws — it’s LAFC who have won both playoff matchups, including last season’s 3-2 victory in the Western Conference semifinals on their way to their first MLS Cup title.
Yet this is more than just an on-field rivalry. This is a fight for the hearts and minds of the people of LA. For two-plus decades, the Galaxy not only ruled the city, but were the example that other MLS teams aspired to be. The Galaxy paved the way for what was possible. Those lessons — both the successes and failures — made it easier for new teams to get things right from the beginning and from that perspective, no team has benefitted more than LAFC.
In just a few years, LAFC have surpassed the Galaxy in just about every way. Now the pressure’s on the Galaxy to get back up. — Kyle Bonagura
The Montreal/Toronto rivalry has a little — make that a lot — of everything needed to get emotions running high, including some that transcend the soccer field. Toronto and Montreal have historically been economic rivals. Then there are the culture clashes between the French-speaking and English-speaking parts of Canada, as well as the hockey rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, which is more than a century old. The soccer portion of the competition between the two cities dates back to the NASL days.
Much of that ingrained hostility has now carried over to the MLS teams and if there was one moment that cemented the rivalry, it was the 2016 Eastern Conference finals. The winner would become the first Canadian team to reach the MLS Cup final, and both sides were keen to get those kind of bragging rights at the rival’s expense.
