| 2004 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Owner | D.C. United Holdings | ||
| Head coach | Piotr Nowak | ||
| MLS | 4th | ||
| MLS Cup | Champions | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Fourth round | ||
| Atlantic Cup | Winners | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: All: Eskandarian (14) | ||
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The 2004 season was the eighth season for D.C. United. It was highlighted by winning their first MLS Cup championship since 1999.
The season was hallmarked by United winning their fourth Major League Soccer championship, winning MLS Cup 2004 3–2 over Kansas City Wizards. To date, this was the last time in franchise history that the team has won an MLS Cup title. Additionally, by winning the championship, some cite that it marked a "second golden age" in United. Following the 2004 title, United would go on to win two MLS Supporters' Shields, to claim the most in the league, as well as their second U.S. Open Cup title.
In terms of player and manager transactions, the offseason saw English head coach Ray Hudson end his two-season stint with the club, as United management fired him out of dissatisfaction with his results as a manager. United signed retired MLS star Piotr Nowak to the role of head coaching duties. Hitherto, no other head coach had been a former MLS player. The signing of Nowak marked a new trend of first-generation MLS players assuming coaching duties for second generation MLS players.
In 2003, United made national and international headlines by drafting 14-year-old prospect Freddy Adu as the first pick of the MLS SuperDraft. MLS orchestrated a series of negotiations between United and Dallas Burn, who had the first overall selection. A series of agreements between the two sides gave Dallas additional allocation from United so that Adu could play for his local club, as he grew up near Potomac, Maryland.[1]