The San Jose Earthquakes’ origins date far beyond Major League Soccer, but as it concerns MLS, the franchise’s roots can be traced back to the league’s day one, bookending an era that’s delivered two classic teams: The Dwayne De Rosario-, Landon Donovan-led squads that claimed two titles in the early 2000s; and the Goonies team that surged to a Supporters’ Shield in 2012. Both teams were coached by Frank Yallop, and with a few exceptions, both teams had a distinctly North American feel.
MLS in 2018, however, takes place on a drastically different landscape than it did in 1996.