MLS Cup 2005 was the 10th edition of Major League Soccer‘s showcase event took place on Nov. 13, 2005 at Toyota Stadium (then known as Pizza Hut Park) in Frisco, Tex. This was the second meeting between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution in the MLS Cup Final. The 2005 Major League Soccer season was important as two new clubs arose: Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA. The former would win an MLS Cup against the Galaxy in 2009; the latter would fold one decade later.
The Los Angeles Galaxy had a very rough year, having finished with a record of 13-13-6 (45 points) under new manager Steve Sampson. They would finish fourth in the MLS Western Conference and came into the MLS Cup Playoffs with the worst record of all the playoff participants. Their saving grace: Landon Donovan, who single-handedly kept Los Angeles’s title dream alive and would go on to a decade of dominace as the most storied franchise player in Galaxy history, and the most storied player in American soccer history.
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Other notable faces for the Galaxy in 2005 included goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, midfielder Cobi Jones, defender Cobi Jones, current Real Salt Lake midfielder Ned Grabavoy, current Galaxy Academy Director Peter Vagenas, and Herculez Gomez, a Liga MX bookend who was the hero in the U.S. Open Cup Final against FC Dallas at StubHub Center (then known as the Home Depot Center) on Sept. 28, 2005.
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As for the Revolution, they were still under the mangement of Steve Nicol. The Revolution, as with 2002, had the best record in the MLS Eastern Conference at 17-7-8 (59 points). The 2005 Revs had current manager Jay Heaps; current ESPN MLS color commentator Taylor Twellman; current Galaxy assistant managers Pat Noonan and Matt Reis; current Columbus Crew defender Michael Parkhurst…and a young Clint Dempsey who, after spending time in the Premier League, would resurface as one of the big-name faces behind the Seattle Sounders.
The Galaxy defeated Donovan’s former club, the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-2 on aggregate before shutting out the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the Western Conference Championship. As for the Revolution, they sunk the New York Red Bulls (then known as the NY/NJ MetroStars) 3-2 on aggregate in the conference semifinals before shutting out the Chicago Fire 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Championship.
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The winning goal was scored in the 107th minute by Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez, a Guatemalan midfielder who was on loan from C.S.D. Municipal, a team that currently features another former Galaxy great in Carlos Ruiz, the hero of the 2002 MLS Cup Final. Ramirez had 103 appearances and 15 goals for the national team and had a career that spanned 16 years.
However, there is a sad afterstory to this. Pando’s playing career would be cut short in 2012, when he was found guilty with two others by the National Football Federation of Guatemala in September of conspiring to fix a pair of national team exhibitions and a CONCACAF Champions League game between CSD Municipal and Mexico’s Santos Laguna. Ramirez, alongwith Gustavo Cabrera, a former Real Salt Lake defender, and Yony Florez would all be banned from football for life.