RANKING the TOP 15 Rivalries in MLS

[@ArnoRamone]

Good video but I feel you really underrated the Toronto-Montréal rivalry. Really should be way higher imo! Liking the US Soccer content though, very interesting for a Belgian who's interesting in CONCACAF a lot like me!

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I agree, I think I let my American bias shine a lil bit in this video

[@Kansas462]

You mentioned that Galaxy was the only L.A.-area MLS team for years. The reality is that Chivas USA joined MLS in 2005, playing their home games at Galaxy's stadium. However, mismanagement, diminishing support, and lawsuits accusing the ownership of racism led to the club being put on hiatus until it was rebranded as LAFC. MLS will claim that LAFC is a whole different thing but everyone in MLS knows that they're just a rebrand of Chivas USA. They even have the same core of supporters from their Chivas USA days. So, that adds to the weight of the El Trafico rivalry.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

No you’re right, I should’ve mentioned Chivas USA

[@Theneckofthrogs]

Thanks for sharing man! I actually appear in this video at some points when you mention NYCFC. Old ass video, saw faces there I haven't seen in almost a decade! As an NYCFC fan, we have funny rivalries with Orlando City and Toronto FC. The Orlando rivalry was manufactured by the league as we both joined the league in 2015 and have played each other in season openers 3 times. Even though most City fans don't give a crap about Orlando, we live rent free in their heads. Similar to Philly, they hate us a lot more than we hate them. Toronto FC is one of the more genuine rivalries as during 2016-2019 both City and Toronto were some of the best teams in the east and met in the playoffs, with Toronto eliminating us TWICE during seasons we finished above them. The 2019 playoffs was particularly heartbreaking for City as we finished first in the east and lost to Toronto after Ronald Matarrita gave up the game winning penalty just before the 90th minute. Most City fans are in agreement red bull NJ is our #1 rival, but it's interesting how City fans from the inaugural season will likely say Orlando is #2 while the newer fans would say Toronto. Some may say Philly, but that's mostly due to the geographical location/history of the cities having rivalries in other sports. Also, we defeated them in the 2021 Eastern Conference final and then went on to win MLS Cup, and a lot of Philadelphians are still salty that some of their starters missed the match due to COVID!

[@Antoto96]

NYRB fan here I remember when the Hudson River Derby first started it felt so manufactured by the league and had no genuine feeling but over the years it became so heated it feels like a war zone now haha. We have a mix of RB/Old MetroStars fans who switched over to NYCFC, NJ vs NY, Soocer Stadium vs Baseball Field banter, Energy Drink vs Arab State Owned banter, classic NYC sports hooliganism, and just pure hatred for each other that makes it feel like a proper rivalry comed to when it started. The rivalry gets so deep now you'd think we were around since the beginning lol. The "Blue Wedding" You guys had at RBA during the 2024 regular season hurt me but that just made the Play Off win at Citi Field more special. It's moments like this that make me appreciate NY Soccer now and I can't wait for more even if sometimes I feel like I might get jumped lol.

[@JDBlack-gf9ok]

One good point you missed about Hell is Real- Columbus and Cincinnati, despite being less than 2 hours apart, have never played each other consistently in a major sport until recently, as no league had teams in both cities. Ohio State and University of Cincinnati almost never play either. So there was a lot of pent-up demand!

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I honestly didn’t even think about that. Glad MLS could bring some fun sports rival spirit to the cities!

[@toebarrtalks]

great video man, nice to see more informational videos on US football. Hopefully in the next coming years there are more international rivalries with south American or Mexican clubd and also rivalries against 2nd division teams. MLS has to expand its reaches.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Thank you so much I really appreciate it! And I totally agree, I can’t wait for rivalries with teams outside of the league itself to form, super excited for the future!

[@mikeramirez4405]

el trafico #1 solely based on the iconic zlatan game, that was one of the best matches I have ever seen, no other derby can match that. biggest crowds too.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I can totally see that. El Trafico is definitely a huge part of the league that helps push MLS forward in the right direction! Buuuuut, the history between Portland and Seattle is unmatched in my opinion and is what gives it the edge to be #1

[@mikeramirez4405]

@@USsoccerwithKopu no one cares about the history except Timbers and Sounders fans, so it's number one for you guys. El Trafico is more relevant and causes more buzz for soccer fans across the country.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

@@mikeramirez4405 lmao I'm not a Sounders or Timbers fan I'm literally from St. Louis. But being a huge fan of the sport I value when there are deep cultural and historical ties to a rivalry especially in America because we so rarely get that in the states compared to the rest of the world. LA may have some of the most exciting games in the modern MLS but it will never have the rich history that some of the other rivalries in this league have, some going back before you or I were even born.

[@mikeramirez4405]

@@USsoccerwithKopu but if you are talking about MLS, So Cal does a have one of the richest history of Rivalries. I mean it's not as old as sounders/timbers but the Cali Clasico has been around since 1996, one of the oldest in MLS and still happening. Also in the early days it was Galaxy/DC. Superclasico Galaxy/Chivas and that became El Trafico.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

@@mikeramirez4405 Oh for sure, the SJ vs LAG rivalry is one of the oldest rivalries in MLS history and thus why I ranked it high, but like you said it has only been around for about half as long as Portland vs Seattles' soccer rivalry so I ranked SEA vs POR higher in part because of that. I also don't think it's fair to just say that El Trafico is the Superclasico revived because LAFC is like literally a completely different organization that is entirely unrelated to Chivas USA. You can't just say that the Superclasico is 'back' because a completely new unrelated team came up after Chivas died and it's in the same city lol

[@Josh_Luna]

Great video bro! I'm trying to catch up on my MLS knowledge, so it's cool to get some info from some great rivalries in the league, thank you

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Of course, thank you so much for the comment! I definitely recommend some of the channels I linked in the video. There are so many great, lesser-known MLS KZbinrs out there

[@chrisohnebriefkasten6759]

Good Video💪🏻

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Big up brotha

[@christianpereira5365]

The top 3 rivalries are far and away the best

[@Simplement724]

putting the mtl toronto rivalry so low is crazy

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Ya I prob shoulda had that higher I’ll admit

[@AKUNJIG]

Really good List. It's not there yet, but the Atlanta-Charlotte & Atlanta-Nashville Matchups have been Heating up. Both of those Derby Matches have been well attended by the Opposition especially Atlanta-Charlotte since we both play in NFL Stadiums. Still have not had a Full Stadium in Charlotte though. I'm also very disappointed that the Cannon for the Texas Derby has been replaced by a Trophy.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I can't wait to see the southeast rivalries really heat up, gonna be a really cool thing for the league as a whole

[@matthewsmith908]

I would have added Vancouver with the Seattle/Portland rivalry and for the Cascadia cup

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I agree Vancouver sort of got left out on this list. However, I decided to just keep it to 2 team rivalries and the rivalry between Portland and Seattle is much more prominent than between either of them and Vancouver. I agree though they did get snubbed from the list

[@darbyhawk]

Kansas City St Louis is going to be an epic rivalry. already met in the playoffs (which kc swept) and every game is an absolute thriller.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

The stage is set for one of the coolest rivalries in the league for sure!

[@elicarlson7682]

Go STL!!

[@lucasvidal-ribassmith5339]

While definitely a homer opinion but I disagree with your suggestion that Toronto and Montreal is the seventh best rivalry in the MLS. As a Toronto fan I appreciate you saying Montreal have been mid, and they have been, but I would say a rivalry match is only as real as the hatred between the fans. In that sense I think the 401 Derby is one of the top three Derby's as it has a real us vs them division. As much as the New York Derby is fun the underlying separations between Red Bull fans and NYCFC fans is not backed by 157 years of political and religious tensions that shaped the modern Canadian State. Even stripping away the history and just staying on the football side the 2016 playoff matchup built a rivalry that got TFC's largest supporter group banned for life for throwing flares on the pitch in Montreal. Even today with both sides being middling to poor these matches sell out and the atmospheres are some of the most intense in the MLS.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Ya that’s fair I can see that POV. The real history of city animosity between the two sides definitely adds to the rivalry beyond the somewhat short MLS history the rivalry has

[@Grimprospect]

There's only one team from Ohio! No one cares about that crap team from Kentucky 🙃

[@djskooba8]

🖤💛

[@agoddamndelight3278]

#RCTID

[@ygroling7033]

vancouver is the ever lasting forgotten middle child, tied for most cascadia cups (will probably have the most at the end of this season) along with being just as old as the other two cascadia teams. Not to mention having strong fight with the other canadian clubs, just annoying

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

I totally agree and I am definitely furthering the fact by not including them here lol. I love Vancouver though, beautiful city, awesome fans, and gorgeous coach

[@wolffriendinus]

Don't worry, Seattle won't forget about you guys lol.

[@miguelzepedajr2765]

RCTID

[@Rodo_58]

Awesome video but respectfully el trafico has taken over!

[@so-calraider2354]

In my opinion: 1. L.A. Galaxy vs LAFC 2. Seattle vs Portland

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

It was definitely a tough call but at the end of the day the history going back all the way to the 70s is what pushed Seattle vs Portland over the top for me

[@FatKid07]

As an LAFC Fan, I agree historically Seattle and Portland have the best rivalry for now and eventually it will be el traffico, great video though with the explanation.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

@@FatKid07 I really appreciate it!

[@hengineer]

As a Galaxy fan, I respect Port vs Seattle for now, but I do believe in a few years El Trafico will easily surpass it, it just doesn't have the "history" yet. Yes I know LAFC to us is just a continuation of Chivas because its all of the Chivas fans migrating to LAFC, but it still not there yet.

[@wolffriendinus]

Nope, the Cascadia Rivalry is 50 years old this year. No one is beating that.

[@fantasyEXX]

The LA Galaxy vs LA Former Chivas rivalry draws a lot of fights and the hardcore fans truly hate each other. One Galaxy fan had a bottle broken over his head and split open because he told a coworker he's a Galaxy fan. LAFC fans are all seen as traitors/bandwagon/chivas fans by LA Galaxy fans. They vandalize each other's stadiums and the LAPD has to send in a huge amount of police presence to prevent things from getting out of control for each match. The 4th of July game 2 weeks ago had more police presence than when the president comes to town. The Galaxy were fined $100k by MLS for the supporter groups lighting a dozen flares during the game and making visibility very difficult due to smoke. There were post match brawls in the stadium. Those Rose Bowl games should be a bucket list game for any big MLS fan, it's an insane game to attend live as a fan of either team. MLS should do whatever it takes to make it a permanent fixture on the calendar. 4th of July at the Rose Bowl is the best event in Southern California

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

El Trafico on the 4th at the Rose Bowl is going to become an iconic tradition

[@volinger4360]

Portland vs Seattle had its violent moment as well when in 2011, a Portland fan was strangled and choked with his own scarf by 3 Seattle fans after some banter. All though, since then it hasn't really been violent between fans but im sure if there was no security always separating the fans, we would be seeing fan fights on the levels of Balkan Football.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

@@volinger4360 that's crazy! I hadn't heard of that

[@el._vato_samuel]

@@USsoccerwithKopu I hope not lol. I love these games but i also love lighting fireworks and family get-togethers on the 4th but i get crazy FOMO so i went to both games but hope this past one was the last time so i can get a real fourth next year

[@blakjops586]

What a joke. Why did you leave out LAFC beating Carson x2 in the playoffs and beat them in the summer at the Rosebowl this year.

[@USsoccerwithKopu]

Because I’m evil