2019 CONCACAF Champions League Thread

I'm surprised people aren't making more noise about the Supporters Shield slot.

I believe NYCFC are 2 points behind Atlanta with a game in hand.

 

I think that's right. Shame they don't play each other again.

 

CONCAGoalkeeping at 1:43:55...

 

Winning the Supporters Shield doesn't grant you a spot at CCL. Winning the aggregate total points for 2017 and 2018 seasons does. And NYCFC still falls 2 points behind Atlanta with a game less in that scenario.

Is MLS going to change by 2020 the way it grants its spots to CCL or are they still keeping the same format?

 

In general the Supporters' Shield winner qualifies. 2019 is an exception.

 

First, MLS does not determine the spots. The USSF does that.
This year was a one-time switch to get the selections into phase with the new Spring format of the CCL.

Second, the stated plan is to return to the normal criteria for the 2020 spots:

1. 2019 MLS Cup winner
2. 2019 MLS Supporter Shield winner
3. 2019 Best record in the other MLS conference
4. 2019 U.S. Open Cup winner

Any duplication or non-US winners will then slide down the Supporter Shield table to fill spots.

 

Santa Tecla out on away goals, this game is cruel.

 

Panameñian teams are getting pretty good.

Tauro has done well in the CCL.

 

Herediano the only Costa Rican team to advance, with Santos going out on penalties against Portmore United and Perez Zeledon losing to FAS on an injury time own goal when they were ahead on away goals.

 

Do they still use the same hilarious time wasting tactics as before?

 

I knew I sensed this video being requested somewhere out there:

 

2018 CONCACAF League
Round of 16
Home team first, times are CDT

First Leg results:
Tuesday, July 31
Arabe Unido (PAN) 3-0 Arnett Gardens (JAM)
Motagua (HON) 2-0 Belmopan Bandits (BLZ)
FAS (SLV) 2-1 Pérez Zeledón (CRC)

Wednesday, August 1
Santos de Guápiles (CRC) 1-2 Portmore United (JAM)
Diriangén (NCA) 0-4 UD Universitario (PAN) @ Heredia, CRC
Club Franciscain (MTQ) 1-0 Walter Ferretti (NCA)

Thursday, August 2
Tauro (PAN) 1-0 Real España (HON)
Herediano (CRC) 1-0 Santa Tecla (SLV)

Second Leg results:
Tuesday, August 7
Belmopan Bandits (BLZ) 0-1 Motagua (HON)
Motagua advances on aggregate, 3-0.
UD Universitario (PAN) 3-1 Diriangén (NCA)
Universitario advances on aggregate, 7-1
Pérez Zeledón (CRC) 1-1 FAS (SLV)
FAS advances on aggregate, 3-2.

Wednesday, August 8
Walter Ferretti (NCA) 1-0 Club Franciscain (MTQ)
1-1 on aggregate and even on away goals.
Walter Ferretti advances on penalties, 4-1
Santa Tecla (SLV) 2-1 Herediano (CRC)
2-2 on aggregate. Herediano advances on away goals, 1-0

Thursday, August 9
Arnett Gardens (JAM) 2-1 Arabe Unido (PAN)
Arabe Unido advances on aggregate, 4-2.
Portmore United (JAM) 1-2 Santos de Guápiles (CRC)
3-3 on aggregate and even on away goals.
Portmore United advances on penalties, 7-6
Real España (HON) 1-1 Tauro (PAN)
Tauro advances on aggregate, 2-1.

The Quarterfinals start on August 21.

 

So, if I'm reading this right then the following hypothetical scenario could happen?:

Top two regular season records in 2019 are in the Western Conference.
A team from the Eastern Conference wins MLS Cup and gets into CCL.
The top team from the West gets into CCL.
The next top team from the East, even though they've got a worse record than the 2nd best team from the West, gets into CCL meaning that team with the 2nd best record in the league would have to win the Open Cup to get into CCL.

That can't be right, can it?

 

Any word on who is going to stream games now that go90 is dead and buried? Will it just be the CCL site?

 

No. I think you have a mistake in there. The step-down spots are based on the overall Supporters Shield Table.

In your scenario the only team from the East that would get in would be the MLS Cup winner. The Shield winner (from the West) would automatically get in. The regular season winner from the East would occupy two spots once they won the MLS Cup. So the 2nd place team in the Shield standings would get in. That's the team from the West.

Any time a team occupies two slots (or is ineligible due to being Canadian) then the overall Shield standings are used. The next best team in those standings that is eligible gets in. The "next best" within a conference is not a criteria.

Last year is a good example even though it has different details. If we had been on the normal system the qualifying would have looked like this:

1. MLS Cup winner - Toronto - replaced by NYCFC, #2 on Shield table
2. Supporter Shield winner - Toronto - replaced by Chicago, #3 on Shield table
3. Best in the other conference - Portland
4. U.S. Open Cup winner - Kansas City

Those top two would have been the #2 and #3 on the Shield table no matter their conference.

 

That's what I'm saying though, step 3 makes no sense. Why would the best team in the other conference get in automatically instead of the next best record overall regardless of conference?

 

Ah. That's not what you said though. You were talking about the "next top team from the East" which doesn't happen.

As far as why both conferences automatically get a spot, I think that is based on two factors. One, the unbalanced schedule. Teams in the different conferences play very different schedules. Two, the top team in the opposite conference is seen to have "won" something. It is supposed to be the "Champions" league after all. Originally that spot went to the team that lost in the MLS Cup based on the fact that they had won their conference to get to the Cup. It was then changed to the current system to reward regular season performance as opposed to just in the playoffs.

 

I'd much prefer the two teams that make MLS cup, the next best record for regular season regardless of conference, and the Open Cup winner.

 

The easiest way to think about it from the 2019 MLS season on is: MLS Cup winner, Eastern Conference regular season winner, Western Conference regular season winner, US Open Cup winner, with pass-down slots handed out through the overall table.

The phrasing "best record in the conference that didn't have the Supporters Shield winner" is a mouthful.

The truly nonsensical thing, like I noted before, is that USA2 (so, going forward, the Supporters Shield winner), is currently a worse seed in the tournament than USA3 (other conference winner), despite the SS being the result of performing better than everyone else.

IIRC, the two MLS Cup finalists got berths for the first few years of the tournament, but USSF decided to allocate a berth to the regular season conference champion instead because the MLS Cup runners-up performed so poorly.

 

That's how it was originally. The Shield winner, the two MLS Cup finalists, and the USOC winner, with any duplicate spots going down the overall table to the highest non-Canadian team that hadn't qualified. Then there was a run of MLS Cup losers who were seen as weak teams that got hot in the playoffs but weren't the best MLS teams that year so that changed to the two regular season conference winners along with the MLS Cup and USOC winner.

Either way, there's a chance a "better" team (in terms of regular season points) gets left out and a weaker team gets in. In the earlier case it happened if the "better" team lost before MLS Cup. Now it only happens if two teams from one conference are "better" than the best team in the other conference and they both fail to win MLS Cup. That's probably less likely than the earlier format.

 

2018 CONCACAF League
Quarterfinals
Home team first, times are EDT

First Leg :
Tuesday, August 21
FAS (SLV) v. Arabe Unido (PAN) 8:00 pm

Wednesday, August 22
Herediano (CRC) v. UD Universitario (PAN) 10:00 pm

Thursday, August 23
Motagua (HON) v. Portmore United (JAM) 8:00 pm
Tauro (PAN) v. Walter Ferretti (NCA) 10:00 pm

Second Leg:
Tuesday, August 28
Arabe Unido (PAN) v. FAS (SLV) 10:00 pm

Wednesday, August 29
UD Universitario (PAN) v. Herediano (CRC) 10:00 pm

Thursday, August 30
Walter Ferretti (NCA) v. Tauro (PAN) @ Heredia, CRC 8:00 pm
Portmore United (PAN) v. Motagua (HON) 10:00 pm

The Semifinals start on September 18.

 

Herediano
Arabe Unido
Tauro
Motagua

My predictions. Herediano - Universitario should be fun. The other three ties less so.

 

I think that's right. The 2nd team in the Eastern Conference would get in. But you're assuming that the Conferences are even in strength.

This would be interesting:

Western Conference standings
1. Seattle win to enter CCL
2. Portland finish second with 58 points
3. Dallas get 57 points

Eastern Conference standings
1. Atlanta win Open Cup
2. Toronto qualify through Canadian Championship
3. NYCFC get 4th CCL spot with 56 points.

 

As I said in reply earlier I believe that is incorrect. Spots go down the overall Supporter Shield table, not the conference tables.

It is hard to tell what would happen with your scenario since you don't have the Supporter Shield table nor do you say who wins the MLS Cup. Conference standings are not used except for 1st in the opposite conference from the Shield winner. But based on the points that you do list, NYCFC would not get in over Portland or Dallas since NYCFC would automatically be lower on the Shield table.

Atlanta winning the Open Cup and having the best record in the conference would mean that the Shield table would come into play but the Eastern Conference standings are not relevant.

 

They should just get rid of the Conferences all together. All the teams play each other twice so no point in having them. This way only the best teams go to the playoffs and don't have where one conference is weaker than the other one. IMO, the two MLS Cup finalist along with the two teams who finished with the best points over all should go to CCL. Giving a spot to the OSOC winner only guarantees that a weak team slips in to CCL, as it will be in this USOC. USOC is the equivalent of Copa MX in Mexico. Basically a tournament that one really puts effort in it, yet we grant a ticket to CCL.