California Clasico

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The California Clasico,^[1]^[2]^[3] also known as the Interstate 5 Rivalry,^[4] is a soccer rivalry between two Major League Soccer teams, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes, which existed from 1996 to 2005 and was resumed in 2008. This rivalry originated from the historical Northern California vs. Southern California sporting and cultural rivalries, as well as from the relative proximity of the cities (about 360 miles apart) which allows rival fans to attend each others’ games.

While there have been several players to play for both teams beforehand, the rivalry intensified after the Anschutz Entertainment Group (owner of the Los Angeles Galaxy) took sole ownership of the San Jose Earthquakes in December 2002. The rivalry reached its peak from 2001 to 2005, during which time the Earthquakes and the Galaxy combined to win four MLS Cup titles in a five-year period. Both clubs reached MLS Cup 2001, with San Jose posting a 2-1 overtime victory on goals by Landon Donovan and Dwayne DeRosario. In 2002, Carlos Ruiz led Los Angeles to its first MLS Cup title over the New England Revolution after San Jose was previously upset in the playoffs by the Columbus Crew.

The two teams squared off again in the first round of the 2003 MLS Cup playoffs in what would become an epic series. Los Angeles won the first game at home 2-0 in the two-game aggregate-goal series. In the second game in San Jose, the Galaxy scored two early goals to widen its aggregate lead to four goals, only to have San Jose score five unanswered goals to win the series 5-4. Many neutral MLS pundits at the time viewed that game as the best in league history. After eliminating the Galaxy, San Jose went on to defeat the Kansas City Wizards en route to winning its second MLS Cup title (over the Chicago Fire) in three years.

After a rumored buyout of the Quakes by Mexican powerhouse Club América in January 2004, Earthquakes general manager Johnny Moore resigned prior to the 2004 season and was replaced by former U.S. and Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas. Under Lalas, 2004 ended up being a down year for the Quakes as it barely made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. Both San Jose and Los Angeles were eliminated from the playoffs by Kansas City. Afterward, when Earthquakes star player Landon Donovan briefly returned to German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen after his loan agreement with San Jose expired, Lalas traded away his return rights, after which Donovan returned to play for the Galaxy.

Following the departure of Lalas to become the general manager of the MetroStars early in 2005, San Jose returned to form and captured the MLS Supporters' Shield, awarded to the league's best team during the regular season. The two clubs met again in the playoffs, with Los Angeles finally winning a playoff series against San Jose thanks largely to the play of Donovan on its way to defeating New England in MLS Cup 2005.

The Earthquakes took a two-year hiatus from the league in 2006 and 2007 due to stadium and ownership issues. During that period, the Quakes' players and head coach were relocated to Houston, Texas, where they won two additional MLS Cup titles as the Houston Dynamo. Meanwhile, shortly after Lalas’ brief stint with the MetroStars, he moved on to become the general manager of the Galaxy. Since then, the Galaxy has failed to make the playoffs during both years of San Jose's hiatus from the league.

The San Jose Earthquakes franchise was revived by Lewis Wolff and Earthquakes Soccer, LLC, restarting the rivalry in 2008.^[5]^[6] The team's current head coach is Frank Yallop, who had coached the Galaxy the previous two seasons after having coached the Earthquakes to its two MLS Cup titles and serving a stint as the Canadian men's national team head coach.

[edit] Winners By Year

Year	Winner	Score
2007	On hiatus	n/a
2006	On hiatus	n/a
2005	Earthquakes	9:3
2004	Galaxy	7:4
2003	Galaxy	5:5 (5-3)
2002	Galaxy	9:3
2001	Earthquakes	6:0
2000	Galaxy	8:2
1999	Galaxy	7:1
1998	Galaxy	5:3
1997	Earthquakes	6:4
1996	Galaxy	10:0

Points based on: Regulation Wins (3), Ties (1), Shoot-out Wins (1), Shoot-out Losses (0), & Regulation Losses (0)
Tiebreakers: 1) Goal differential, 2) Goals for, 3) Previous year winner