When Major League Soccer opened its doors in 1996, it was seen by many as the last roll of the dice to establish the world’s game in the United States. A professional domestic league had been a condition in awarding the country the 1994 World Cup and the thinking at the time was that it needed to tightly mirror the centralised structure of American sports leagues to be a success.

Thus, there were play-offs, a draft, a salary cap and because draws were un-American, penalty shoot-outs to determine winners (not traditional spot-kicks, mind you, but a player starting with the ball 35 yards out with five seconds to beat the keeper).

Reaction from Columbus Crew fans has been angry at the idea of the franchise moving to Texas JOHN MINCHILLO/AP

The league attracted a number of international stars, such as Carlos Valderrama, Roberto Donadoni