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Miami Fusion

Frank Fleming
Author: 
Frank Fleming
2 mins
October 27th, 2023
Bet With Confidence
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  • 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

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Author

Frank Fleming
Frank Fleming founded the Sports Ecyclopedia in 2001 & is a passionate Devils fan.