First Game Played March 20, 1998
Historical Moments:
1998: In front of a national television audience on March 20, the Fusion played their inaugural game as host to DC United and dropped a 2-0 decision. The Fusion picked up Colombian star Carlos Valderrama shortly after that. As the team struggled midway through the season, coach Carlos Cordoba stepped down and was replaced by Ivo Wortmann. Under Wortmann, the Fusion would improve and make the playoffs with a record of 15-17. In the playoffs, the Fusion would easily be swept by DC United.
1999: Similar to their previous year, the Fusion would struggle out of the gate before catching fire in the middle of the summer. In the end, the Fusion would make the playoffs again with a less than impressive 13-19 record. Again, the Fusion would easily be swept by DC United.
2000: In Ivo Wortmann’s final season as coach, the Fusion would do better than the previous year, but miss the playoffs with a record of 12-15-5.
2001: New head coach Ray Hudson would bring a spark to the Fusion as they would dominate the league and sit in first place in the entire league for much of the season. After the September 11 attacks wiped out the final two weeks of the season, the Fusion claimed the Supporter’s Shield with a record of 16-5-5. In the playoffs, the club would dispatch the defending champion Kansas City Wizards in three games, 6 points to 3 for their first playoff series win. The next round would see the Fusion give the San Jose Earthquakes all they could handle before falling to a Troy Dayak overtime goal in a series tiebreaker; Little did anyone realize this would be the Fusion’s final game ever. In December, rumors began to fly that the Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny would become disbanded. That would become a reality on January 8, 2002. After only four years as a team, the Fusion ceased operations because of low attendance and a bad stadium deal.
2020: Nearly two decades after the Miami Fusion folded, the MLS returned to South Florida with Inter Miami CF.
Fusion Fields
Lockhart Stadium 1998-2001 |
Fusion Favorites
Matt Kmosko 1998 | Matt Kmosko 1998 | John Maessner 1998-1999 | Carlos Valderrama 1998-1999 | Wade Webber 1996-1997 |
Edwin Gorter 1999 | Saul Martinez 1999 | Henry Gutierrez 1998-2000 | Nelson Vargas 1998-2000 | Garth Lagerway 1999-2000 |
Welton 1999-2000 | Eric Wynalda 1999-2000 | Ray Lassiter 2000 | Martin Machon 2000 | Francis Okaroh 2000 |
Andy Williams 2000 | Jeff Casser 1998-2001 | Tyrone Marshall 1998-2001 | Pablo Mastroeni 1998-2001 | Diego Serna 1998-2001 |
Jay Heaps 1999-2001 1999 Rookie of the Year | Ivan McKinley 2000-2001 | Nick Rimando 2000-2001 | Jim Rooney 2000-2001 | Ian Bishop 2001 |
Alex Pineda Chacon 2001 2001 Scoring Champion & MLS MVP | Preki 2001 |