I think the two Costa Rican teams got hosed (luck of the draw) and this also makes life difficult for two of the Liga MX clubs. Vancouver vs. Seattle should be fun (other than the carpets they play on). MLS received very favorable draws. Group A: Saprissa will surprise and beat out Santos Group B: I'm going with UANL, but Herediano can win this. Group C: Could Queretaro have been given an easier group? Group D: Los Angeles shouldn't have problems here. Could even get a top 3 seed for the knockout round. Group E: America runs the table and could possibly score 20 goals in the group phase Group F: This is the group of death, but it finishes: Seattle, Vancouver, Olimpia. Group G: Real Salt Lake received a relatively easy draw Group H: DC United will repeat last year and win the group, should be a top 3 seed. Frankly, there are only six games worth watching: Saprissa vs. Santos (times two), UANL vs. Heredianao (time two) and Vancouver vs. Seattle (times two). Ranking after the group phase: 1. America 2. Los Angeles 3. DC United 4. Queretaro 5. Real Salt Lake 6. UANL 7. Saprissa 8. Seattle Quaterfinals America vs. Seattle Queretaro vs. Real Salt Lake Los Angeles vs. Saprissa DC United vs. UANL Semifinals America vs. Queretaro Los Angeles vs. UANL Final America vs. UANL Champion: America
Let's see here... Group winners, in order of knockout seeding: E: America - pretty clear here D: Los Angeles - also pretty clear C: Queretaro H : DC United - I put Queretaro above them b/c I think DCU is more likely to have trouble in Panama A: Santos B: Herediano - Santos above Herediano b/c I think both A and B finish as 9pt ties, but GD against the 3rd-place teams favors the Mexican team in A F: Vancouver - very close group, but Canada pulls through again G: Municipal - RSL is playing badly this year, I think Municipal squeaks in Then I'd pick QF1: America - still no contest for them QF2: Vancouver - The Galaxy can win MLS itself easily, but they just choke in international competition, even against other MLS teams QF3: Herediano - Just because I like the Costa Rican teams QF4: Santos - Santos doesn't lose to American teams SF1: Santos SF2: Vancouver Final: Santos
If they put the effort and lineup the starters for the key matches, Tigres takes this trophy, only Santos and America can put some opposition. Tigres winning the Libertadores and then the CCL. Tigres King of the Americas, from Canada to Argentina!
My top 3 fondest memories of the ccl era are 1. Seeing America win it, seeing the king of England and Darwin Quintero finally win it after losing 2 times in the final was awesome. 2. Watching the legend Orozco play. You knew he was going to score 1,2,3, or even 4 goals 3. That great comeback by Santos to eliminate Montreal in the quarter finals. Montreal was winning 4-1 on aggregate at halftime of the second leg.....quintero scoring those 2 goals in stoppage time.....awesome! @Paul Calixte and Itscalledfootball, you guys surely agree with my top 3 ccl era memories right? Maybe in a different order, but I'm sure you guys agree.
I agree with you, jared, your football opinions are usually always on point. Here're my top 3... 1)RSL @ Blue Cross. An amazing game that started with intensity from the Royals, with Kyle Beckerman playing hard leading to an early goal for the defending league champs. Then the Cement Machine struck back, and it was on. Both teams went at it hard, then the rains came. An epic downpour amidst the train horns whenever the home team attacked. Guys had to come out with giant squigees to dry the pitch. A delay made the game go over the allotted time, preempting coverage of the Sounders game that followed. And just when RSL was minutes away from the 1st win in Mexico by its league, the home team struck twice to win it, with the Pork Chop adding to his legend at the death. A game for the ages. 2)Impact @ Comarca. As mentioned by jar, the Goal Scientist went HAM, leading an epic comeback that Impact fans had stuck in their craw until the football gods granted them redemption when they pwnt Pachuca in the same way. 3)2013 CCL Final, Leg 2. It had been a minute since any team 3peated in CCC/L. Since then, both NBA and MLB had 3peats, but not CCL. Things were looking grim for the home team as they fell behind with the away goal disadvantage. But then the comeback was on. An epic header by Aldo OfBlacks. Then the Lollipop did his thing, as he always did during that era, to seal the deal. The Tec was literally shaking from the excitement. Few sporting events had crowds go that insane. The final championship game in that storied venue, and the last hurrah for the era of Victor, Humbert and Aldo. Like Phil, Michael and Scottie before them, they ended an epic era with a 3peat. And there are 100s of CONCACAF teams, so being #1 among all of them 3 years in a row is a major accomplishment, one that probably won't be duplicated for a long time, if ever.
Only three, really? Damn...ok then, with all due respect to the fantastic Canadian crowds for CCL knockout matches, Cruz Azul-Toluca (let's face it: for once, the soccer gods gave Cruz Azul a break with Pablo Velásquez's last-gasp miss), Cruz Azul pimp-slapping @John Jagou 's Pumas, Monterrey's seven-minute instant comeback against Seattle, Aldo de Nigris giving Omar González an education (as Matt Doyle would put it), Seattle's comeback against Tigres, Santos Laguna's brilliant first leg against Atlante (dimmed by them losing the series), Valencia's inspiring home performance against Cruz Azul, Real Salt Lake playing the Columbus Crew off the field, the long list of MLS and Liga MX scalps at the Loubriel, and Chivas democratizing the tournament by disproving claims of Mexican infallibility ( )... 1. Real Salt Lake 0-1 Monterrey, 2011. IMO, the greatest competitive club game ever to take place on US soil, with the better team triumphing over the most technically skilled MLS side since the late-90s DC United. The day after was the first time I had ever seen ESPN give proper coverage to a CCL game (i.e. full highlights, not just a goal in SportsCenter's Top 10 every now and then). 2. Santos Laguna 5-2 Impact de Montréal, 2009. Two things to add to what you guys already mentioned: first, I have no idea where the Santos Laguna fans found the necessary self-control not to storm the field after Darwin's last goal (I nearly got decapitated by the ceiling fan celebrating, and I was pulling for Montreal). And second, CONCACAF was fortunate that the game ended that way; otherwise, we'd be talking about the greatest robbery in the history of the tournament, with Santos Laguna denied a stone-cold penalty a minute earlier. 3. Marathón 0-1 Puerto Rico Islanders, 2009 - a quintessential CCL match. An INSANE Central American atmosphere, Marathón throwing the kitchen sink at the Islanders the entire game (IIRC they hit the post or crossbar three times), one of Marathón's assistant coaches getting thrown out and attempting a flying kick at someone on the Islanders' staff in the tunnel, and Nicholas Addlery punking the hosts with a late game-winner. The Islanders were criticized for not being all that Puerto Rican, but they had a Caribbean All-Star lineup (with Jamaican, Trini and Haitian NT players on their roster) and they remain the only Caribbean side to reach the CCL knockout round.
Its amazing that the Islanders were a PK shootout away from the final ! Did Cruz Azul play a weakened lineup in those two legs against them?
It was a pretty decent squad. They were horrible though. Atlante beat them in the final without breaking a sweat. Easily the most boring final of the CCL era.
With Super Tigres new signings, Uche, Gignac, Damm, and possibly Aquino. Tigres is taking this tourney for sure.
Yesh Llega Javier Aquino a la Riviera Maya, para integrarse a la pretemporada. pic.twitter.com/xKSChyYnIC— Club Tigres 🐯 (@TigresOficial) June 22, 2015
I prefer Guerron or Damm on the right wing than Aquino, Aquino is too "pecho frio". But I guess he could make an impact in those last 20 minutes coming off the bench.
Would love to see the LA Galaxy play Tigres....and have top 2 cb in concacaf Gonzalez .....be taken to school again by mexican football!! What do you say to that @bballshawn ?