Major League Soccer kicks off its 17th season this weekend. Nineteen teams will compete for the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy over the course of a 34-game regular season.

MLS will return to an unbalanced schedule for the first time in a few years. The Montreal Impact will become the league's 19th team, and LA Galaxy will hope to repeat as champions for the first time in their history. 

The 2012 season will culminate on December 1, making this MLS's longest season to date. For the first time in the cup's history, the final will not be held at a neutral site. Instead, it will be held at the stadium of the finalist with best regular season record.

In preparation for kickoff, I take a look back at the previous 16 MLS Cup champions.

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