HexagonalBlog

2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League: The Knockout Stage

Below are collated results for the knockout stage of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League.  Ties are two-leg series, aggregate goals, away goals rule in effect unless the tie goes to extra time in the second leg.  Winners of each round are highlighted in bold red lettering.  First leg host is listed first, and first leg host's score is given first for both legs.

QUARTERFINALS (5-7 March 2013 / 12-14 March 2013)

QF1: Xelajú vs Monterrey
QF2: Houston Dynamo vs Santos Laguna
QF3: UANL vs Seattle Sounders
QF4: Herediano vs Los Angeles Galaxy

SEMIFINALS (2-4 April 2013 / 9-11 April 2013)

SF1: QF4 vs QF1
SF2: QF3 vs QF2

FINALS (24 April 2013 / 1 May 2013)

SF2 vs SF1

Xelajú batters through the Mexican fortress

Guatemala's Xelajú MC became the first non-Mexican side to knock a Mexican club out of the CONCACAF Champions League.  The 1-0 win over Guadalajara on 21 August gave them an opening, but Chivas' 1-1 draw to W Connection in Trinidad & Tobago did the most damage to their prospects.  In the end, an Allan Alemán header ten minutes from time on Thursday gave Xelajú the away goal that they needed to advance to the quarterfinals.

CONCACAF's new Champions League setup has given more of an opportunity for American and Mexican clubs to advance to the knockout stages.  Yes, they do have to win the group, but it's a group composed of representatives of relatively weaker leagues than their own. But there's a big catch -- they still have to win the group!  It's been a tough first half of the season for Chivas as they've struggled with injuries and inconsistent play in the league, and the result was an opening that Xelajú charged through.

A new season of CONCACAF Champions League action

The fourth edition of the CONCACAF Champions League kicks off tonight with a significantly altered competition over last season's.  Gone is the Preliminary Round that fed into the Group Stage; now all 24 participants are guaranteed a minimum of four matches in eight three-team groups.  Only the winners advance to the knockout round, and there is no longer a second draw for the Championship Round.  Instead the records of the group winners will determine the seedings in the second stage.  A very different format, and less work for the CONCACAF front office.

When the draw came out in June, I felt that the main questions for the competition would be the following:

• Will all the Mexican representatives advance?
• Will all of the American MLS representatives advance?
• How many of the top four seeds will be occupied by Mexican clubs?

I believe the answer to Question 1 is yes.  There are no American sides that Mexican teams have to play against in the group stage, and with four matches -- all of which are important -- Liga MX teams will be obliged to play their strongest squads.  (At least in theory that should be true.)  Alajuelense will be the strongest side a Mexican team will face in this stage, and I don't see them overcoming UANL Tigres.  The other Mexican clubs should win their respective groups somewhat comfortably.

I will have to answer 'No' to Question 2.  Major League Soccer teams will always enter this competition at a disadvantage -- the group stage starts when they are in mid-season form yet beginning to feel the effects of fixture congestion, and the knockout rounds start when teams are in pre-season mode in the New Year.  There is the cherry of the FIFA Club World Cup, but the Champions League has little of the financial windfall that rewards participants of the other continental club tournaments, so it's easy to see why some MLS sides can't be bothered.  On the field, I believe that American MLS clubs are better on average than their non-Mexican competitors, but the difference in class is not as great as there exists between Mexican teams and everyone else, so upsets are a possibility.  I believe chances for a surprise result are greatest in Groups 2 (Herediano and RSL) and 5 (LA Galaxy and Puerto Rico Islanders), Herediano were the best team in Costa Rica and USL teams are exceptionally motivated against MLS counterparts.

As for Question 3, I would answer "Three". With four matches in the group stage, the group winners advancing, and their records determining their knockout draw, no team can afford to take any match lightly.  I think most of the Mexican representatives will qualify for the knockout stage with a match to spare, but that final group match will determine where in the draw they land.  Maybe the Sounders and/or Houston Dynamo can be the team that breaks the Mexican dominance in the top four -- RSL can do it as well if they defeat Herediano in Costa Rica -- but away matches will be more uncertain for them.

We'll know where everyone really stands in the Champions League by the end of this week. Yes, the matches are that important now.

Group Stage draw for 2012-13 CCL announced

The draw for the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League was announced at confederation headquarters in New York City today.  There are significant changes to the Champions League for next season, as not only are the groups composed of eight three-team groups, but the knockout round will be seeded by the records of the group-winning clubs.  It will be important for a team to not just win their group, but dominate it so that they can get a better path to the final and retain second-leg advantage in the knockout stage.  No more reserve teams in group stage matches.

Here are the groups:

Group 1: Santos Laguna, Toronto FC, Águila

Group 2: Herediano, Real Salt Lake, Tauro

Group 3: Olimpia, Houston Dynamo, FAS

Group 4: Seattle Sounders, Marathón, Caledonia AIA

Group 5: Los Angeles Galaxy, Isidro Metapán, Puerto Rico Islanders

Group 6: UANL, Alajuelense, Real Estelí

Group 7: Chorrillo, Monterrey, Municipal

Group 8: Xelajú, Guadalajara, W Connection

I'm pretty sure that the Mexican teams will advance (poor, poor Toronto FC), but it remains to be seen whether all four American MLS representatives will go through or Mexican teams take up the top four seedings in the knockout stage.

MLS' competitiveness in CONCACAF Champions League

After Real Salt Lake's run to the CONCACAF Champions League final last season, and the first-ever wins by MLS  teams in Mexico this season, there was a lot of misplaced optimism about the chances of Major League Soccer teams to contend for the CCL.  That optimism was swiftly dispatched by Mexican clubs in the knockout stages.  Jeff Carlisle wrote a column on ESPN Soccernet inquiring if MLS clubs were doomed to second-tier status against Mexican sides in the competition.  I don't believe that they are, but it takes a special team with a combination of depth, maturity, and good fortune to be competitive in the competition.

Monterrey chases history, Santos chases confirmation

The final is coming up in about 40 minutes, so I better hurry...

So after a Champions League final last year between the top Mexican side and the most competitive MLS representative CONCACAF had ever seen, and a Champions League season in which Mexican sides lost home matches for the first time, the final reverts back to a familiar type.  The two finalists aren't unbeaten, like Monterrey was last season, but they have demonstrated that they are the best teams in the competition.  Los Angeles might have been able to challenge that, but they never woke up against Toronto FC in the HDC, so we'll never know.

Monterrey are chasing history over the next two weeks -- no team has won the Champions League in its current format in successive seasons, and no club has won CONCACAF's highest competition two years in a row since the all-conquering Pachuca sides in 2007 and 2008.  The attacking core remains intact between Humberto Suazo and Aldo de Nigris, as well as José Basanta in central defense and Ricardo Osorio at right back, but their midfield has changed significantly from the one that took the field in Utah last year.  The Rayados didn't have a good Apertura, but they are playing much more strongly in the current short tournament (4th place on 28 points).

Santos are seeking confirmation of their dominance in Mexico over the last 9 months.  They have been the dominant team in Mexico this season, and they finished runner-up to UANL in the Apertura final, but in CONCACAF they have never advanced this far before.  Montreal Impact fans will remember the epic comeback in injury time during the 2008-09 season, but that team fell to Atlante in the semifinal round.  Some of the midfield from that season are still in the lineup for Santos, such as Daniel Ludeña and Carlos Quintero.  But the impact player from this season has been Hérculez Gómez.  After scoring seven goals for Estudiantes Tecos in the first half of the season, he joined Santos in January and has since scored twelve goals over all competitions.  Even after playing just knockout round matches in the Champions League, he is now tied for top goalscorer.  If Santos goes on to win the Champions League, and if Gómez scores a goal over the two legs, he will be given strong consideration for best player in the competition.

The first leg starts in Monterrey, and the Rayados will seek the same kind of first-leg knockout that they earned in the previous rounds.  It won't happen tonight, but both matches will be closely fought.  In the end it will be the goalscorers who have the final say.

CONCACAF Champions League 2011-12: The Knockout Stage

[This post will get bumped to the top on CCL matchdays.]

Below are collated results for the knockout stage of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.  Ties are two-leg series, aggregate goals, away goals rule in effect unless the tie goes to extra time in the second leg.  Winners of each round are highlighted in bold red lettering.  First leg host is listed first, and first leg host's score is given first for both legs.

QUARTERFINALS

QF1: Morelia 2-7 Monterrey (1:3, 1:4)
QF2: Toronto FC 4-3 Los Angeles Galaxy (2:2, 2:1)
QF3: Seattle Sounders 3-7 Santos Laguna (2:1, 1:6)
QF4: Isidro Metapán 2-9 UNAM (2:1, 0:8)

SEMIFINALS (28 Mar/4 Apr 2012)

SF1: Monterrey 4-1 UNAM (3:0, 1:1)
SF2: Toronto FC 3-7 Santos Laguna (1:1, 2:6)

FINALS (18/25 Apr 2012)

Monterrey 3-2 Santos Laguna (2:0, 1:2)

CF Monterrey 2011-12 CONCACAF Club Champions

Massive changes coming to the Champions League

Next year's CONCACAF Champions League competition will look significantly different from current and previous versions.  Ted Howard, CONCACAF's acting general secretary, announced today that the preliminary round would be eliminated from the competition, and all 24 qualifying clubs will proceed directly to a group stage containing eight groups of three teams each.  All sides will play a minimum of four group matches.

Champions League knockout stage revealed

Major League Soccer will be guaranteed at least one team in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, but from which country will it be?  Today's CONCACAF Champions League knockout round draw set up two inter-league ties: the all-MLS one and the all-Mexican League series between Morelia and Monterrey.  Pumas will be a strong favorite against the surprise team of the Champions League in Isidro Metapán, while Seattle Sounders could be competitive against Santos Laguna but only if they leave Seattle in a winning position. 

If Seattle do get past Santos, the second leg of the Champions League final will be in a MLS city.

Remember that in the brief history of the Champions League, no Mexican side has lost a knockout series to a non-Mexican team.  If you include the Champions' Cup, no Mexican side has lost such a series since Saprissa defeated Atlante in the quarterfinal of the 2008 tournament.

The knockout draw (first-leg host written first):

QUARTERFINALS (6-8/13-15 Mar 2012)

QF1: Morelia vs Monterrey
QF2: Toronto FC vs Los Angeles Galaxy
QF3: Seattle Sounders vs Santos Laguna
QF4: Isidro Metapán vs UNAM

SEMIFINALS (27-29 Mar/3-5 Apr 2012)

SF1: QF1 vs QF4
SF2: QF2 vs QF3

FINALS (17-19/24-26 Apr 2012)

SF1 vs SF2

2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League: Group A

Below are the updated table and collated results for Group A of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League group stage.  Teams are ranked by points, then head-to-head points, head-to-head away goals, then overall matches (goal difference, goals scored, away goals).  Home teams are listed first.

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
LA Galaxy	6	4	0	2	8	4	+4	12
Morelia	6	4	0	2	11	5	+6	12
Alajuelense	6	4	0	2	8	6	+2	12
Motagua	6	0	0	6	2	14	-12	0

Results:

2011-08-16: LA Galaxy 2-0 Motagua
2011-08-16: Alajuelense 1-0 Morelia
2011-08-25: LA Galaxy 2-0 Alajuelense
2011-08-25: Morelia 4-0 Motagua
2011-09-13: Morelia 2-1 LA Galaxy
2011-09-15: Motagua 2-4 Alajuelense
2011-09-21: Alajuelense 1-0 LA Galaxy
2011-09-22: Motagua 0-2 Morelia
2011-09-28: LA Galaxy 2-1 Morelia
2011-09-29: Alajuelense 1-0 Motagua
2011-10-18: Morelia 2-1 Alajuelense
2011-10-20: Motagua 0-1 LA Galaxy