The worst teams in MLS history

This year’s Major League Soccer season had barely started when the COVID-19 outbreak forced play to be suspended for the foreseeable future.

The two newest teams in the league, Inter Miami and Nashville, had yet to grab a point through their first two matches, but both sides were competitive. However, there have been teams in the history of the league that got battered week in and week out.

Let’s look at the five worst teams in the history of the MLS.

5. 2013 D.C. United (0.47 points per match)

The first team on our list is a weird one, because it won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2013. But D.C. United was atrocious in league play. The club won an MLS record low three matches on the year, and also scored the fewest goals in a single season in MLS history.

United entered the season with new leadership, as the only CEO they had known in their 18 year history stepped down to take over Toronto FC. The club was expected to be a contender after a solid 2012 campaign.

Those dreams died early, as United had a stretch of 13 matches early in the season where it registered 10 defeats and three draws. After a win in early August, D.C. United failed to win a match the remainder of the season. It finished 10 points behind the next-worst team in the East, and 43 points behind Eastern champs.

4. 2012 Toronto FC (0.68 points per match)

Toronto FC set a record no team wants to claim — the most consecutive defeats to start a season. Toronto's first nine matches were losses, which cost manager Aron Winter his job in early June, after he got the first win of the season.

Toronto then had a decent spell of matches, with four wins and four draws in a nine-match span. After matchday 20, the club bounced back up to 19 points after a horrific start. That would be the end of any good feelings, however, as Toronto went winless in its final 14 matches.

The season was capped off by a hip injury to German national Torsten Frings, which ended his long, successful career. The club's 23 points put it 40 behind conference leader Sporting Kansas City.

3. 2005 Chivas USA (0.56 points per match)

The first season for Chivas was so bad that two managers were fired before it was over. The club won just four times in 32 matches, scored only 31 goals, and finished 46 points behind Western champion San Jose. Two of Chivas' four wins came against Real Salt Lake, which finished just two points ahead of the now-defunct club in the standings.

Chivas suffered 13 losses in its first 17 matches, with just one win during that stretch. Manager Thomas Rongen was fired in late May, and Javier Ledesma was named interim manager. Ledesma was fired in late June, and Hans Westerhof took over. Westerhof was relieved of his duties at the end of the season.

2. 1999 Metrostars (0.47 points per match)

The Metrostars were terrible. They were terrible on the pitch, with a record-low 15 points on the year in 32 matches. They were terrible off the pitch, as they traded away multiple important players, including Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas. They also traded away their leading scorer in franchise history, Giovanni Savarese, which upset many fans.

This was the era when there were no draws. Tied matches went to shootouts. Three of their seven wins came via shootout, but their 25 losses gave their manager, Bora Milutinovic, the worst managerial record in MLS history.

1. 2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny (0.63 points per match)

Some seasons are so bad that they derail a franchise for years. For the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the 2001 season was so bad it killed the franchise. The season was be the final year of pro soccer in Tampa for nearly a decade, because the club was unable to find new ownership at the end of the season.

The season started decently, with two wins in Tampa's first three matches and eight goals scored. The team lost nine of its next 10 matches, with a 4-4 draw its only positive result, and was outscored 28-8 during the streak. That led to the firing of manager Alfonso Mondelo.

The Mutiny endured losing streaks of six and seven matches, and won just once in its final 13. The season was cut short because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, but the club's 68 goals conceded in just 27 matches is the worst goals-allowed-per-match ratio in the history of the league.

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