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    San Jose Earthquakes

    San Jose Earthquakes

    Founder members of Major League Soccer, San Jose Earthquakes are looking to rekindle their glory days which twice saw them crowned MLS champions.

    One of the original teams of Major League Soccer, the San Jose Earthquakes have a complicated and unique history. Founded in 1994 as the San Jose Clash, they played in the Californian city from 1996 to 2005 before the owners, Anschutz Entertainment Group, moved the team to Houston for the 2006 season. In 2008, the franchise returned, this time owned by Earthquakes Soccer LLC. The team has been owned by five different groups, including MLS, but the current ownership group has been in place since 2008.

    On the field, they had plenty of success before the move to Houston, with MLS Cup titles in 2001 and 2003, a Supporters' Shield in 2005, and a quarter-final appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2002. Since their return, things have been rockier, with just four play-off appearances in their last 13 seasons and only one top-five finish in the Western Conference.

    The team colours have been blue and black with white highlights through both incarnations. The Clash logo featured a scorpion in red and black with 'Clash' written in white. The rebrand to the Earthquakes in 1999 brought a new badge with an inverted triangular shield. A soccer ball inside the shield resembled a rising sun like the city of San Jose logo. The team rebranded again in 2014 and the new shield, while still in black and blue colours, features the year 1974 to represent the first year of professional soccer in San Jose.

    The team began playing at Spartan Stadium, home of the San Jose State college football team. With a capacity of 31,000, Spartan Stadium was their home from 1996 to 2005. On returning to San Jose, the Earthquakes played at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University from 2008 to 2014. In 2015, they moved into the 18,000-seater soccer-specific Avaya Stadium near San Jose International Airport.
    Chris Wondolowski, who holds the MLS record of 166 goals (162 with San Jose), has played for San Jose since 2005, minus the interruption in Houston. Landon Donovan, who leads the US men's national team in goals scored, began his MLS career with San Jose on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario, Jeff Agoos, John Doyle, Joe Cannon, Bobby Convey, Eric Wynalda, Eddie Lewis, Pat Onstad, Shea Salinas and Ramiro Corrales have also called San Jose home.

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    The Clash become the Earthquakes... and winners

    The return of the Earthquakes and Yallop

    San Jose's struggles post-Yallop

    San Jose Earthquakes' rivals

    San Jose Earthquakes' top players

    San Jose Earthquakes News