2008-2009 Champions League Bracket For Rest Of Tournament

[EvanJ]

http://concacaf.com/competitions/match_champsleauge.aspx?id=36&year=2009 has the bracket and http://concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4565 is an article.

[L.D.11]

no funny video this time of the draw?

[IASocFan]

Host of first leg on TOP!

Puerto Rico Islanders
CD Marathon

Cruz Azul
Pumas UNAM


Impact de Montreal
Santos Laguna

Houston Dynamo
Atlante FC

[Moises]

Host of first leg on TOP!

Puerto Rico Islanders
CD Marathon

Cruz Azul
Pumas UNAM


Impact de Montreal
Santos Laguna

Houston Dynamo
Atlante FC
looks like an away win for all the visiting teams :D

[DaSage]

YOu got to be kidding me! Santos is gonna find it tough winning in Montreal with the snow and mud on the field... also add the wind and temp. Those players are used to HIGH temperatures not LOW...

Islande record against Central American temas is still the UNCAF Cemetery... even though Municipal won, they got eliminated in our cemetery...

Pumas is doubtfully going to win on el Azteca, and tlante got beat by dynamo on the Superliga...

So where do oyu base yourself that the visitors will have it easy?

[Nazzer]

YOu got to be kidding me! Santos is gonna find it tough winning in Montreal with the snow and mud on the field... also add the wind and temp. Those players are used to HIGH temperatures not LOW...

Islande record against Central American temas is still the UNCAF Cemetery... even though Municipal won, they got eliminated in our cemetery...

Pumas is doubtfully going to win on el Azteca, and tlante got beat by dynamo on the Superliga...

So where do oyu base yourself that the visitors will have it easy?

The montreal game will likely be indoors at the domed olympic stadium on artificial turf. So weather won't we an issue.

[Moises]

YOu got to be kidding me! Santos is gonna find it tough winning in Montreal with the snow and mud on the field... also add the wind and temp. Those players are used to HIGH temperatures not LOW...

Islande record against Central American temas is still the UNCAF Cemetery... even though Municipal won, they got eliminated in our cemetery...

Pumas is doubtfully going to win on el Azteca, and tlante got beat by dynamo on the Superliga...

So where do oyu base yourself that the visitors will have it easy?
what nazzer said:D

[Moises]

Islande record against Central American temas is still the UNCAF Cemetery... even though Municipal won, they got eliminated in our cemetery...

MARATHON plays a WAY MORE BEAUTIFUL Football then ur islanders. btw i saw the final against Whitecaps and you guys arent any threat.:D

[DaSage]

Even still being indoors... the cold factor will still be a issue. what from 10 degrees F, it'll raise up to 30?

Give me break! I was in DC back in 2006 in february and the temperatures dropped below 20 with snow... I was freezing, and inside the hotel I was glad I had to use a suit an tie and be all covered up because it was cold as heck. THese guys are not used to COLD, they live in a desert, so yeah it will be a factor before and during the game.

[DaSage]

Dude...

1. that final was supposed to be played in Puerto Rico, FSC decided it wanted to broadcast from Vancouver.

2. Try playing a final after you've travelled to a desert, and then had to travel more than 1500 miles north to cold, to play in a stadium that you do not want to play in, because everytme they played in that stadium they've only been able to accumulate one winn and various ties.

3. Add to that the low morales after a defeat at Torreon, and the fact that the championship match was stolen by a news media corporation, and the USL championship system bytes...

Vancouver had more rest than Islanders, and had more time to prepare. Evne if you dont want to admit it, all that I just said were small factors that seperately might not make sucha difference but together they made a whole bunch of a difference. The human body has limitations, and even when football players are sometimes seen as these all mighty gods running on the pit, they still get jet lag, and get exhausted. Islanders had one heck of a season.

Oh... and I almost forgot to mention, we are hopefully acquiring some Argentinian talent to replace some of the talent that is leaving us this season. Most of the team is going to remain intact but we have player like Fabrice Noel, Johnny Steel, that re going to be leaving. Noel is probably heading to the Impact and Steel is going back home to Europe.

So please dont give me that nonse that Islanders can't play decently and have hopes of beating Marathon. When you underestimate a team, nd base your analisis on a couple of games, specially one where they were being affected by exhaustion, then you get biased analisis like the ones you're trying o spoon feed the readers of this forum.

Had the situation been on reverse, Whitecaps hving to play in Torreon and then playng in Bayamon, Islanders would have beaten them easily.

[Moises]

Dude...

So please dont give me that nonse that Islanders can't play decently and have hopes of beating Marathon. When you underestimate a team, nd base your analisis on a couple of games, specially one where they were being affected by exhaustion, then you get biased analisis like the ones you're trying o spoon feed the readers of this forum.

HAHAHAHAHA your league doesnt start TIL APRIL homey! the quarters are in FEB 11.! you guys are in a 4 month vacation ! LOL im sure the players wil have to cut short there vacation! but who is going to play islanders?? when every other league except MLS is already in there 5 rounds? so islanders will warm up against what team in preseason?? and please dnt put islanders a MARATHON lvl. of Football.:D

[Deathdealer]

Lets keep this on Subject. I see Montreal and Islanders good spell ending here. The only one that I see having a better chance will be Montreal. In any case it will be tough for all teams.

[Chef Medeski]

Well I think Montreal got the best draw it could possibly get. Its playing Santos, a team that actually had fewer points in the Group Stages than it even though they are seeded higher. The team with the worst away record, only tied one game away, is coupled with the team with the best away record, 2 wins and a loss. Even if the game is indoors, the players will certainly not be helped by the weather since they will still have to get around for a couple of days and you'd be surprised how cold it can get that time of year so that could still affect them come game day. Also the team will be starting in less than a month to train full time, 6 days a week. Then they will leave for 2 weeks in February to Italy to play 5 exhibition matches against third and second tiered teams. They will return 10 days before the match so they should be all ready to go.

They of course need a win at home to advance, it is imperative. If its played at the Olympic Stadium, 20k should be around. That will make for a nice atmosphere. It may be a longshot, but I just got a bit of hope with the draw. Can't wait til February.

[Intru]

I must be nice to have a owner with money on the field side of thing, cause I know how much crap the fans have to take from de FO up there.

[DaSage]

wel moises to answer that Islanders will probably be playing against Toronto FC, DC United and hopefully some other teams before the game.

Plus... islanders is going to start trianing a whole month before the game... so I think they will be in shape.

[Nazzer]

Also, won't the Islanders be playing in the CFU Club championship sometime between December and the quarterfinals. So they will also have played competitively before they played Marathon.

[DaSage]

No the CFU was not held this year... it probably be after the Quarterfinals... sometime between March-June.

[Dr. Know]

Oh... and I almost forgot to mention, we are hopefully acquiring some Argentinian talent to replace some of the talent that is leaving us this season. Most of the team is going to remain intact but we have player like Fabrice Noel, Johnny Steel, that re going to be leaving. Noel is probably heading to the Impact and Steel is going back home to Europe.


Well I'm not as optimistic as you. Just because we get some young Argentines doesn't mean they'll an immediate impact. We're losing Noel, Steele, and Gaudette. Three of our best players and most important players right there.

Lets keep this on Subject. I see Montreal and Islanders good spell ending here. The only one that I see having a better chance will be Montreal. In any case it will be tough for all teams.

Sadly I agree. Like I said the Islanders are losing Fabrice Noel (the team's best striker), Jonathan Steele (MVP of the league last season), and Bill Gaudette (keeper of the year last season). Those are the only one we know about so far, who knows if even more players are leaving. The squad will not be the same one that's played so far in the CL, it will be much weaker.

[Intru]

Actually according to a new report that just came out Fabrice is just shown interest in playing for Montreal and has not really signed with them, PR has executed their right over all their player except four who went free agent this year and are renegotiating with the team, Gaudette (which is priority number 1), Henry (don't really now if he will be signed back), Noah (most likely coming back and just want a juicer contract) and Miranda (which is also probably signing on for 09). The article also say that basically Steele and Fabrice are both, up until now, on board for 09 unless a worth wail offer is presented to the Islanders for their transfer.

http://www.elnuevodia.com/diario/noticia/otrosdeportes/deportes/no_cambiaran_la_formula/504209

The point is that of these 6 players two are sure thing to come back and the other four there's a nice probability that at least 2 will signed on. SO the team is basically intact for 09, and the player they mention that they are trying to get could replace the lost of at least Noel and Graham for me is a much better CB than Henry.

[Dr. Know]

I really hope Fabrice doesn't leave. Technically he's the best player the Islanders have. He's probably also the fastest. It was great watching him take on and beat defenders 1 on 1. It was crazy that Clarke constantly preferred Taiwo over him.