The CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals start tonight: New York Red Bulls (USA) - Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) FC Dallas (USA) - Arabe Unido (Panama) Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) - CF Pachuca (Mexico) Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Pumas UNAM (Mexico) @Paul Calixte this is your baby. Has MLS completely raided Saprissa and did Arabe Unido also lose many players over the break?
Rosters (the direct link doesn't work so you have to click on "Rosters" on each page): http://www.concacaf.com/team/tred-bulls http://www.concacaf.com/team/fc-dallas http://www.concacaf.com/team/tvancouver-whitecaps http://www.concacaf.com/team/ttigres-uanl http://www.concacaf.com/team/tsaprissa http://www.concacaf.com/team/pumas-unam http://www.concacaf.com/team/tpachuca http://www.concacaf.com/team/tarabe-unido CONCACAF says Vancouver got Yordy Reyna from Red Bull Salzburg of Austria and Arabe Unido got Blas Perez from Vancouver. Perez has scored 41 goals in 111 or 112 games for the Panamanian national team. That ranks him third in caps and second in goals. The Wikipedia page for Panama has him with 112 caps. The Wikipedia page for players with at least 100 caps has him with 111 caps, which is tied for 219th among all players and tied for 44th among active players.
Arabe Unido lost two of their group-stage goalscorers, but they struck gold with Enrico Small (picking him from the 2nd division last summer and riding him to the Apertura title) and should cope just fine. However, Blas Pérez played one game and then got a deal he couldn't refuse from Blooming in Bolivia; mind you, he was cap-tied and wouldn't have been able to help them in the CCL. As for Saprissa, they have "de-Panamized" : they sold Adolfo Machado to Houston and loaned out Ronaldo Blackburn to Sporting Cristal here in Peru. They also lost defender Francisco Calvo to Minnesota. Domestically, Árabe Unido are four points from the last playoff spot a third of the way into the Clausura regular season, while Saprissa are the last in a five-team logjam at the top of the Torneo de Verano's first round (only two points separating 1st from 5th).
Saprissa-Pachuca 0:0 What a cracker Manchester City - Monaco was last night (5:3) Just tuned into Guangzhou Evergrande - Eastern Sports Club and the Hong Kong side is coached by a women. Don't see that every day. [Edit] Turns out Chan Yuen-ting is the first ever female to guide a professional men's team to a top-flight championship. The Japanese teams have had a good start. I have this gut feeling that we may see our first Japanese winner since 2009 this year. The Aussie teams not so much. 2014 winners Western Sydney Wanderers got smashed at home 4:0 by Urawa Reds and Adelaide United also lost at home 3:0 to Gamba Osaka. I like that starting this year ACL games are sometimes played on Monday in the West. Makes sense since our working week is Sunday to Thursday.
But that + two Esteghlal teams in the tournament threw me off when I went looking for highlights yesterday.
CONCACAF Quarterfinals - First Leg New York Red Bulls (USA) - Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) 1:1 FC Dallas (USA) - Arabe Unido (Panama) 4:0 Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) - CF Pachuca (Mexico) 0:0 Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Pumas UNAM (Mexico) 1:1 Impressive victory by Dallas. Looks like they will be the main non-Mexican challengers. That also means no "Arab clash" between Arabe Unido (founded by Arab immigrants) and actual Arab clubs at the CWC. What a goal by neo-Tigre Eduardo Vargas. Tigres' squad keeps getting stronger and stronger. They are overdue for their first confederation title. Coming up short once again would be highly disappointing.
But they don't look as impressive on the field as expected. Dallas looks great, though, and it is still their preseason mode. Oceania's tourney starts tomorrow morning (7:00 CET) - both A and B groups will be played in New Caledonia through next eight days then groups C and D will be played March 11-18 in New Zealand and Tahiti. Group winners will qualify for knock-out stage (semis, final, played home-away). I love this new format, more teams get chance to host CL game (minimum of four - if all group hosts win their groups; maximum of eight if no hosts win their groups), surely gives more excitement than centralized tournament played at empty stadiums and overused pitches in Fiji.
The 2017 Libertadores Group Stage is set and Brazil will have a record eight teams in it. Including of course the team that was awarded the 2016 Copa Sudamericana - Chapecoense. Eliminated already are Olimpia, Colo Colo and Millonarios.
OCL, group A, matchday 1 Madang Fox (PNG) - Central Sport (TAH) 3-7 Lupe Ole Soaga (SAM) - Magenta (NCL) 1-2 Nice contingent of Chileans playing for Tahitian side. Francophone teams play each other Tuesday, winner wins the group.
Wow, did the AFC Champions League have a high-scoring start today or what? Urawa Reds - FC Seoul 5:2 Ulsan Hyundai - Brisbane Roar 6:0 Shanghai SIPG - Western Sydney Wanderers 5:1 Nineteen goals in the first three matches! FC Seoul, semi-finalists last year, were down already 5:1 at halftime. The A-League is having a very humbling year. I believe Brisbane's mauling in Ulsan is tied for worst ever defeat of an Australian club side in official international play. I guess their only contribution to the competition this year is depriving audiences of Carlos Tevez. Today's results prompted former Manchester United keeper Mark Bosnich to go on quite a rant. Hulk, Oscar and Elkeson are starting to gel. Former winners WSW are looking terrible. So much for Group F being the "Group of Death". But wait, there is more. Kashima Antlers, the team many of us admired against Real Madrid last year, travelled to Thailand to face Muangthong and returned with a loss! Didn't see that one coming: Up next, Pachuca - Saprissa. @jared9999 - you still going?
Pachuca win the return leg against Saprissa 4:0 and are the first club in the CONCACAF semis: To my annoyance it seems Abu Dhabi Sports no longer have the CCL this year. Between BeIn (UEFA, AFC, CAF) and Abu Dhabi Sports (CONMEBOL, CONCACAF) I was getting five of the six continental competitions. That is correct. Tied for worst ever. The other also coming at the hands of K-League opposition: 2009: Pohang Steelers - Newcastle Jets 6:0 (Round-of-16) The interesting thing about Ulsan is that all their foreigners are Europeans. Two Croatians and one Austrian. Not the usual "South American strategy" employed by East Asian clubs. Let's see how Adelaide do today. The first two group stage match-days are when the A-League teams should be taking advantage, being the only league in mid-season form. Instead we have one point in five matches so far.
Can you rank the Champions Leagues from most watched to least watched in the UAE? If you surveyed fans at UAE league games, what percent of them would know what country Pachuca and Saprissa are in?
I'm guessing the same percent of Pachuca or Saprissa fans who could tell you where Esteghlal or Bunyodkor are from.
By gut-feeling? - 'cause that's all I have: 1. UEFA 2. AFC 3. CAF 4. CONMEBOL 5. CONCACAF 6. OFC In fact, given the large number of Egyptians here I wouldn't be surprised if Al Ahly and Zamalek games get higher ratings than AFC matches sometimes. Only 10 percent of the UAE's population are Emirati. The rest are all expats from the Arab world, Asia and some Westerners. The two tournaments in the Americas suffer from poor kick-off times. Either in the middle of the night or in a best case scenario 7:00 am (like Pachuca-Saprissa). Pika-chuca? Well, Pachuca did play in UAE 2010 so some Al Wahda fans might remember how they let 5th place slip away in the 89th minute. That would have tarnished Mexico's otherwise spotless 5th place game record! Of course I'm sure some Pachuca fans equally cringe when they hear "Étoile Sportive du Sahel" and "TP Mazembe". Hey @jared9999 - can you dress up as a TP Mazembe fan for Pachuca vs. Dallas and see if you get any reactions?
Adelaide United put up a better fight today but still lost 2:1 to Jiangsu Suning. After six games in the group stage the A-League teams have exactly one point and a goal ratio of 2:20. Given the embarrassment at hand it appears the A-League has finally agreed to be more flexible with the domestic games schedule in order to increase recovery time between travel for ACL participants. The feel-good story of the day was Hong Kong's Eastern SC earning a draw at home against Kawasaki Frontale after the 7:0 shellacking they took away at Guangzhou Evergrande: In the Japan-Korea rivalry Jeonbuk Motors replacement Jeju United restored some pride for the K-League after Seoul's 5:2 loss to Urawa Reds. Jeju beat Gamba Osaka 4:1 away at the Suita City Football Stadium - the secondary venue of last year's CWC.
CONCACAF Quarterfinals - After Second Leg New York Red Bulls (USA) - Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) 1:1 (2nd leg TBD) FC Dallas (USA) - Arabe Unido (Panama) 5:2 on aggregate Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) - CF Pachuca (Mexico) 0:4 on aggregate Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Pumas UNAM (Mexico) 4:1 on aggregate Not exactly close scorelines. Maybe the match tomorrow will have a bit more suspense. Pleased to see Tigres advance in the clash of Mexican universities. That's one team I wouldn't mind seeing in person in December. Several quality players in there.
Pachuca won, not Saprissa. FC Dallas led 1:0 (5:0 aggregate) until late. Arabe Unido had 11 shots on target, but didn't score until the 90th minute and 90+2nd minute. The Red Bulls play at 10:00 P.M. my time, so I'm going to watch that game tomorrow. The Bet365 odds are almost even, with Vancouver slightly more likely to win. But is the AFC Champions League on TV in Mexico and Costa Rica?
At least they had the consolation of pulling off a late comeback against a US team...to least soothe a bit of their trauma from 2013. Nope.
Yes, of course. Typo. The CONCACAF semis are set: FC Dallas (USA) - CF Pachuca (Mexico) Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada)
Magenta of New Caledonia and Team Wellington of New Zealand are first two Oceanic semifinalists. NZL champion trashed Fijian biggest Ba 8-0 in what was group final (Welly 6 pts, Ba 4 prior game). Remaining groups, including amazing Auckland City, start next weekend in Auckland and Pirae, Tahiti.
Last night Barcelona probably achieved the greatest comeback ever in UCL history. Down 4:0 from the first leg Barca took a 3:0 lead only for PSG to get one back. At that point Barca had to win 6:1......and they did. The final three goals came in the 88th, 91st and 95th minute. Unbelievable. @unclesox - how's your heart? Elsewhere Bayern Munich completely outclassed Arsenal 10:2 on aggregate. I believe it is one of the worst if not worst aggregate defeat for an English side ever.
The draw is done one round at a time. If they both reach in the Semifinals and don't play each other, obviously they will meet in the Final if both of them reach it. If at least one of them is eliminated in the Quarterfinals without playing the other one, there's no way of knowing if they would have been drawn against each other in the Semifinals if both of them had advanced.