D.C. United–New England Revolution rivalry

The D.C. United–New England Revolution rivalry is a soccer rivalry between D.C. United and the New England Revolution, who both play in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The two clubs were among the 10 founding members of MLS, and began playing against each other regularly since 1996. The rivalry intensified in the mid-2000s as the two clubs were among the premier franchises in MLS, although recently it has been seen as a secondary, yet fierce rivalry, between the two clubs.

Throughout most of the rivalry's history, the series has been fairly evenly matched between the Revolution and United, with the Revolution currently having an advantage in total all-time wins, 37 to 35. During the 1990s, D.C. United were dominate over the New England Revolution, while in the 2020s, New England were dominate over D.C. In the 2000s and 2010s the series was fairly even.

Early years
D.C. United and the New England Revolution's longstanding rivalry dates back to the inception of Major League Soccer in the mid 1990s. Both the clubs were among the ten charter franchises that played in Major League Soccer during its inaugural 1996 season. The prior year to the 1996 season, both clubs were announced as franchises in MLS. D.C. United was announced on June 15, 1994, while on June 6, 1995, Robert Kraft became the founding investor/operator of the Revolution.

The two teams played their first match against one another on April 27, 1996 with the Revolution hosting United at the now-demolished Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, southwest of Boston. In front of a crowd of 32,864; the match finished tied 1–1 in regulation thanks to Raúl Díaz Arce scoring the first goal for United in the 69th minute, and Geoff Aunger scoring the match-tying goal for the Revolution in the 78th minute off of a penalty kick. At the time, regular season matches did not end in dies, henceforth the match went into a penalty-kick shoot-out where the Revolution won 3–2 on penalties. The return match saw United winning 3–1 against the Revolution. Ultimately throughout the 1990s, United would dominate in matches over the Revolution posting eight wins, eight draws, and two losses against New England. During the late 1990s, United would win three of the four MLS Cup titles, as well as one CONCACAF Champions Cup, one Copa Interamericana, one U.S. Open Cup, and two Supporters' Shields. New England during this time failed to qualify for the playoffs three of four years, and the one season they did reach the playoffs, they were eliminated in the first round.

MLS domination
Entering the early 2000s, the Revolution had more fortune in MLS play, in part thanks to the leadership of Steve Nicol, while United fell on harder times. During this time, the Revolution reached the 2001 U.S. Open Cup final, and the 2002 MLS Cup final, losing both occasions. United meanwhile failed to qualify for the playoffs from 2000 through 2002. In 2002, New England won the Eastern Conference regular season. In the mid 2000s, both clubs routinely jockeyed with each other as the premier Eastern Conference franchise in MLS. From 2002 until 2008, one of the two squads finished in the top two of the Eastern Conference in MLS. While the rivalry was split head-to-head between United and the Revolution, United had the advantage in terms of titles and trophies collected, winning the 2004 MLS Cup final, the 2008 U.S. Open Cup final, as well as winning the Supporters' Shield in 2006 and 2007. New England during this time won their first two major trophies, claiming the 2007 U.S. Open Cup title, and the 2008 North American SuperLiga title (a predecessor to the Leagues Cup tournament).

The rivalry was emphasized when the two clubs met in the 2004 Eastern Conference championship game, and the 2006 Eastern Conference championship game. The 2004 Eastern Conference championship game has been called by pundits and American soccer journalists one of the best matches in MLS Cup Playoff history. The match ended in a 3–3 draw before United defeated the Revolution in penalty kicks. United would ultimately go on to win the 2004 MLS Cup title over Kansas City Wizards, 3–2 to win their fourth and most recent MLS Cup title. The 2004 United squad was boasted by players such as Ben Olsen, Christian Gómez, Jaime Moreno, Freddy Adu, and Brian Carroll. The Revolution squad featured several notable players such as Taylor Twellman, Clint Dempsey,

From 2005 until 2008, the Revolution received the unfortunate moniker in MLS as being dubbed the "Buffalo Bills of MLS" by reaching the MLS Cup final three seasons in a row, losing each final (2005 until 2007). Outside of MLS, the two clubs played periodically in the CONCACAF Champions Cup due to their success in MLS play. However, neither club met in the Champions Cup, and the best performances by each side included a quarterfinal run by the Revolution in 2006, and a semifinal run by United in 2007.

By the late 2000s entering the 2010s, both clubs' domination in the East came to a relative end, as United missed the playoffs five times from 2008 through 2014, while the Revolution missed the playoffs three seasons in a row from 2010 through 2012.

Recent years
Since the mid-2010s, both clubs have been less competitive in Major League Soccer play, with only one major title shared between the two clubs since 2015 (New England's 2021 Shield). Despite this, pundits and players have emphasized the importance of the matches between the two sides given the rivalry's history,  and the clubs routinely jockeying for wild-card berths in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Despite the lesser successes by both sides in the late 2010s, the clubs maintained to achieve national and international soccer headlines during this time. In 2018, United opened their new soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field, making New England the final original MLS franchise to not play in a soccer-specific stadium. Additionally, United welcomed the signing of English international star, Wayne Rooney as a Designated Player. Around the same time, New England signed formed D.C. United and U.S. national team manager, Bruce Arena as their head coach.

During the 2021 season, New England set a club record with their best regular season, led by the likes of Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou, Tajon Buchanan, and Matt Turner.

Into the early 2020s, the clubs made news for exporting several of their stars to Europe. New England set a transfer record selling Buchanan to Club Brugge, Buksa to Lens of the French Ligue 1, as well as Turner to Arsenal in the Premier League. United meanwhile sold academy product Kevin Paredes to Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga.

Results

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D.C., then New England

 * Chris Albright
 * Emmanuel Boateng
 * Blake Brettschneider
 * Jeff Causey
 * Charlie Davies
 * Raúl Díaz Arce
 * Earl Edwards Jr.
 * Mario Gori
 * Ian Harkes
 * John Harkes
 * Erik Imler
 * Brian Kamler
 * Daouda Kanté
 * Kris Kelderman
 * Carlos Llamosa
 * Jason Moore
 * Clyde Simms
 * Doug Warren

New England, then D.C.

 * Geoff Aunger
 * Adam Cristman
 * Raúl Díaz Arce
 * Avery John
 * Ivan McKinley
 * Patrick Mullins
 * Sainey Nyassi
 * James Riley
 * Mark Watson
 * John Wilson

Honors
With 13 major honors, D.C. United have won more major competitions than any other Major League Soccer club, and are tied for the most of any North American soccer franchise ever. D.C. United won their first major title in 1996, winning the 1996 MLS Cup championship. Since then, they have claimed three additional MLS Cups (league championship), four Supporters' Shields (league premiership), three U.S. Open Cups (national championship) and one CONCACAF Champions Cup title (continental championship). In addition, United won the 1998 Copa Interamericana, an infrequently-held and now-defunct super cup between the champions of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. Of the original MLS franchises, New York was the last to have won its first major honor, capturing their first Supporters' Shield in 2013.


 * Table correct as of January 22, 2023

Eastern Conference standings finishes
• Total: Tied with 14 higher finishes, each.