MLS: 1999 SA Editor Predictions

SA Consensus

Eastern Conference: 1. D.C. United. 2. Columbus. 3. Miami. 4. MetroStars. 5. New England. 6. Tampa Bay. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. Kansas City. 4. Colorado. 5. San Jose. 6. Dallas. MLS Cup Champion: Chicago. Runner-up: Columbus.

Pete Bailey

Eastern Conference: 1. Columbus. 2. D.C. United. 3. Miami. 4. MetroStars. 5. New England. 6. Tampa Bay. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. Kansas City. 4. Colorado. 5. San Jose. 6. Dallas. MLS Cup Champion: D.C. United. Runner-up: Chicago. MVP: Brian McBride (Columbus). Leading scorer: Diego Serna (Miami). D.C. struggles without its Bolivian stars during the Copa America and the Confederations Cup, but Marco Etcheverry leads United to the title in a rain-soaked rematch of the ’98 Cup. A rejuvenated Tab Ramos shines in midfield for the Metros, while Lalas-mania pushes Kansas City to its best-ever attendance mark.

Dean Caparaz

Eastern Conference: 1. Columbus. 2. D.C. United. 3. Miami. 4. New England. 5. Tampa Bay. 6. MetroStars. Western Conference: 1. Chicago. 2. Los Angeles. 3. Kansas City. 4. Colorado. 5. San Jose. 6. Dallas. MLS Cup Champion: Chicago. Runner-up: Columbus. MVP: Peter Nowak (Chicago). Leading scorer: Raul Diaz Arce (San Jose). I like the stability of Chicago when compared with the turnover in other teams. The Fire will get a strong challenge from Columbus, which will terrorize opponents with its frontline of Brian McBride and Stern John. San Jose, the MetroStars and D.C., with Rongen and without John Harkes, remain question marks.

Scott French

Eastern Conference: 1. D.C. United. 2. Columbus. 3. Miami. 4. MetroStars. 5. New England. 6. Tampa Bay. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. Kansas City. 4. Colorado. 5. Dallas. 6. San Jose. MLS Cup Champion: Chicago. Runner-up: Columbus. MVP: Chris Armas (Chicago). Leading scorer: Stern John (Columbus). The Galaxy, Fire and D.C. United will dominate during the regular season, but Bora will prod the MetroStars past D.C. once the postseason arrives. The Fire, after another tense showdown with L.A., will capture the title in the Foxboro rain for the same reasons it won in ’98.

Paul Kennedy

Eastern Conference: 1. D.C. United. 2. Miami. 3. Columbus. 4. MetroStars. 5. Tampa Bay. 6. New England. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. Colorado. 4. San Jose. 5. Kansas City. 6. Dallas. MLS Cup Champion: Los Angeles. Runner-up: Miami. MVP: Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United). Leading scorer: Diego Serna (Miami). Philip Anschutz returns to MLS Cup for the third straight year with a third club as the Galaxy finally gets its first crown. The surprise of the season is in Miami, where the Fusion’s exciting team has prompted the local media to dub Coach Ivo Wortmann the Brazilian Bruce Arena.

Ridge Mahoney

Eastern Conference: 1. D.C. United. 2. Miami 3. Columbus 4. New England 5. Tampa Bay 6. MetroStars Western Conference: 1. Chicago 2. Los Angeles 3. Kansas City 4. Dallas 5. San Jose 6. Colorado. MLS Cup Champion: Chicago. Runner-up: Columbus. MVP: Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United). Leading scorer: Stern John (Columbus). The Fire attackers, in their white jerseys, simply cannot be found amid the Foxboro snow flurries in the Sunday-afternoon final, which SportsCenter misses since Doug Logan moaned all season about the lack of coverage on Saturday nights. Sunil Gulati refs the final and sends off Logan during the trophy presentation.

Amparo Simon

Eastern Conference: 1. D.C. United. 2. Columbus. 3. MetroStars. 4. Miami. 5. New England. 6. Tampa Bay. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. San Jose. 4. Colorado. 5. Kansas City. 6. Dallas. MLS Cup Champion: Chicago. Runner-up: D.C. United. MVP: Cobi Jones (Los Angeles). Leading scorer: Raul Diaz Arce (San Jose). MLS scores with a couple of its new foreign players. Striker Jefferson Gottardi lights up Tampa Bay, living up to the standards set by fellow Bolivians Marco Etcheverry, Jaime Moreno and Mauricio Ramos. Panama’s striker Jorge Dely Valdes scores big in Colorado. But Chicago finishes on top again.

Poul Swain

Eastern Conference: 1. Columbus. 2. D.C. United. 3. Miami. 4. MetroStars. 5. Tampa Bay. 6. New England. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Chicago. 3. Kansas City. 4. Colorado. 5. Dallas. 6. San Jose. MLS Cup Champion: Columbus. Runner-up: Colorado. MVP: Andy Williams (Columbus). Leading scorer: Brian McBride (Columbus). The Columbus Crew thrives in its new stadium, setting MLS records in several offensive categories. Andy Williams leads the league in assists feeding Brian McBride, Stern John and Jeff Cunningham, who all finish in double digits in goals. The Colorado Rapids surprise everyone by emerging out of the West.

Mike Woitalla

Eastern Conference: 1. Miami. 2. Columbus. 3. D.C. United 4. Tampa Bay. 5. MetroStars. 6. New England. Western Conference: 1. Los Angeles. 2. San Jose. 3. Chicago. 4. Colorado. 5. Dallas. 6. Kansas City. MLS Cup Champion: Miami. Runner-up: Los Angeles. MVP: Andy Williams (Columbus). Leading scorer: Diego Serna (Miami). Owner Stuart Subotnick replaces Coach Bora Milutinovic with Stuart Subotnick. D.C. United can barely cope without Bruce Arena. New England’s player-coach experiment goes sour early. San Jose improves immensely. Miami becomes unbeatable at home. Chicago fades late in the season. The Galaxy keeps rockin’. Overall attendance rises.