The NASL legacy of the San Jose Earthquakes is a distinction shared by only a few other clubs in MLS: Seattle Sounders FC, the Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, all of which retain their names from that era. While several Earthquakes players from the NASL years, including George Best and Guus Hiddink, achieved worldwide fame for their soccer prowess, the Earthquakes reached their highest honors as a team in Major League Soccer, twice winning MLS Cup and claiming one time the Supporters’ Shield.
The first of those championship seasons came ten years ago, in 2001. Going into the season, hopes were not high. In 2000, the Quakes had finished at the bottom of the Western Conference with the worst record in the entire league. Long-time captain John Doyle had retired. Owner-operators Kraft Soccer ended their involvement with the franchise after a lackluster two years, taking general manager Lynne Meterparel with them, and Lothar Osiander, a former U.S. National Team coach, was fired shortly after Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, the business and marketing arm of the San Jose Sharks, agreed to operate the team in January.
Things began to turn around after SVS&E hired Tom Neale as the new general manager. Neale brought in a newcomer as head coach, Frank Yallop, whose previous experience had only come as an assistant at D.C. United, but waited until just three days before the 2001 MLS SuperDraft to do so.
Time was tight. Yallop had no time to waste and immediately began reshaping the team. Prior to the draft, he traded for veteran defender Jeff Agoos from D.C. United and outside back Zak Ibsen from the Galaxy. That same day, the team acquired Dwayne De Rosario, who went on to become one of the most gifted attackers San Jose has ever seen, from the A-League’s Richmond Kickers.
Yallop wasn’t done. On draft day, he obtained key midfielder Manny Lagos in a trade with Tampa Bay and picked defender Eddie Robinson, who went on to many successful years with the Quakes, in the draft. With the first overall pick in the SuperDraft, Yallop chose forward Chris Carrieri, who boldly guaranteed that the Earthquakes would make the playoffs in his first year with the team. He was correct, albeit ironically: Carrieri was traded to the Colorado Rapids in June for forward Junior Agogo and played little role in the Earthquakes’ success that year.
There were four other players who joined the Quakes that spring: Ramiro Corrales and Troy Dayak began their second stints in San Jose, one-time Barcelona midfielder Ronnie Ekelund was brought on as a discovery player, and a 19-year-old from Redlands was brought in on loan from Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen — Landon Donovan.
That was the beginning of a magical year, a year that saw the San Jose Earthquakes go from worst to first by winning MLS Cup. Here’s a video that the team prepared after that victory, showing every goal scored that season.
