1996 D.C. United season
| 1996 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General Manager |
 Dave Kasper |
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| Head Coach |
Bruce Arena
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| Stadium | RFK Stadium | ||
| MLS | 3rd | ||
| MLS Cup | Champions | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Champions | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: Raúl Díaz Arce (23)All: Raúl Díaz Arce (24)
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| Highest home attendance | 32,864 vs New England (April 27, 1996) |
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| Average home league attendance | 15,585 | ||
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The 1996 D.C. United season was the clubs' second year of existence, as well as their debutant season in Major League Soccer. The United would become the first club to win the MLS Cup this year.
Prior to Major League Soccer's inaugural season, it had been six years since the Washington Metropolitan Area had a professional soccer club play within the region. The last team, was the late 1980s/early 1990s version of the Washington Diplomats. The Diplomats, played in the American Soccer League, which at the time was, by de facto, the top division of soccer in the United States although it was not sanctioned by U.S. Soccer or FIFA as a top tier soccer league. With the installation of the D.C. United franchise, it was the first time since the 1981 that a top division pro soccer club played in the region.
The foundation of the team came on June 15, 1994, when Major League Soccer selected Washington, D.C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the first seven teams, with three more added before the league's launch. Once an MLS franchise was awarded to Washington, the new club management sought a name for the club. Attempting to allude to the American sporting culture, original suppositions included the area's name followed by a mascot for the club. Some ideas included the "Spies", "Americans" and "Eagles". Eventually, the idea of simply naming the team "D.C. United" was decided upon as the club name. The moniker "United" alluded to European club names such as Leeds and Manchester United as well as reflecting on being based in capital of the United States.
The final month of D.C. United's inaugural season saw the club compete in the first ever MLS Cup Playoffs, eventually being crowned the MLS Cup champions. Ten days later, United would earn the double by winning the 1996 U.S. Open Cup, the United States' domestic knockout cup competition. Such a feat would not be accomplished again until the Chicago Fire did so in 1998. To date, only four other MLS sides have ever achieved any sort of "double", being regular season, playoffs, or cup competition.
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