Hi everyone, Concacaf decided to do me a favor this time and spell out the draw details well in advance: Anunciados Procedimientos y Bombos para el Sorteo Oficial de La Liga de Campeones Concacaf Scotiabank 2020 El sorteo de #SCCL2020 se realizará el 9 de Diciembre en la Ciudad de México🗞 >> https://t.co/nSOnGdoc1S pic.twitter.com/ujstT3OFnR— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) November 13, 2019 The draw will be on December 9; and AFAIK the format will be the same as before. To wit: Pot A teams finish at home in R16, odd-numbered series winners finish at home in quarterfinals, and 2nd-leg hosting privileges for the semis and Final will depend on previous record. We also have the updated Concacaf Club Index! On the logical side, the previous points that went to a "Concacaf League winner" berth have been reassigned by country. OTOH, we've now learned that berths do not carry over from the CL: Saprissa are competing currently as CRC3, but only two CRC berths appear in the CCL index. Curiosly, CRC2 is actually closer to making Pot A than MEX4...but CRC2 stands more to lose after the 2014/15 CCL gets removed from consideration next year.
Didn't notice that they gave a detailed explanation of who occupies which berth. Curiously, San Carlos and Saprissa joined the Concacaf League as CRC1 and CRC3, respectively; but by virtue of advancing farther, Saprissa will now be CRC1 for the purposes of the CCL Index.
1194993800310996993 is not a valid tweet id Help me out @EvanJ : did Henry ever participate in the CCL (as a player) when he was with NYRB, or will February mark his debut?
The bracket is set! ¡Definidos los cruces de #SCCL2020! #SorteoChampions pic.twitter.com/PsHTtGtCgD— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) December 10, 2019 Where Champions Are Crowned 🏆#SCCL2020 pic.twitter.com/kJN4F4Q7r4— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) December 10, 2019 A couple of first-time outcomes here: after two straight balanced draws, this one has three Liga MX teams on one half of the draw and three MLS sides on the other. Moreover, anyone hoping to avoid yet another all-Liga MX Final will just need someone to knock off Tigres. As well: after two straight horror draws for Costa Rican sides, they've avoided Liga MX entirely this R16. If anything, you could do a lot worse than make an outside bet on a blockbuster Olimpia/Saprissa rematch in the quarterfinals...
So many flaws with this seeding... Two first-timers are seeded, and if lucky enough, they could have been #1 (and #2). One wasn't lucky with the draw as it got unseeded Mexican team. Pathetic confederation, pathetic competition(s).
That part doesn't really matter - the only benefit is if you're in an odd-numbered R16 series, so that you can finish your quarterfinal at home if you make it that far.
Yes. @dinamo_zagreb the matchup numbers were random, not by rankings. Costa Rican clubs avoided Liga MX, but NYCFC will want to do well in their first Concacaf competition, and if NYCFC does well they could get more NYC media attention in MLS. NYCFC could have an important Quarterfinal second leg at Tigres knowing that the winner won't have to face a Liga MX club in the Semifinals. If Montreal, Seattle, and NYCFC all win in the Round of 16, Tigres will need to beat two MLS clubs to get to the Final. In terms of Semifinal hosts determined by Round of 16 and Quarterfinal parts, Tigres has to play Alianza, who had a 0-0 at home and 1-0 loss at Monterrey in 2019. Montreal was bad in MLS in 2019, so Seattle could have a good first two rounds to host the Semifinal against the quarter of the bracket with San Carlos, NYCFC, Alianza, and Tigres. America could host the second leg of a Semifinal because Cruz Azul (who should have an easy time with Portmore United) will have to face Leon or LAFC in the Quarterfinals.
It's worth noting that a parallel competition will be underway for seeding in the next CCL...and thanks to the 2014-15 results falling out of consideration, there's already a shift to report. First, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how blatantly unfair this system is on the Central American sides that now have to go through the CL just to be here. We were this close to a Central American team making it to Pot A for this time round (if CA Independiente had managed to win their quarterfinal last year)...and now that no Panamanian teams are present, they miss out on the 4 ranking points you get just for showing up. I mean, yes, dropping all the CentAm sides in the CL worked for that tournament (this last edition was easily the best one to date...and no, not just b/c Saprissa won ). But if their top teams are no longer guaranteed to show up in the CCL like their NorthAm counterparts, it would be fairer to simply scrap those 4 participation points altogether and rank the teams based on what they actually accomplished. **steps down from soapbox** So, here is the preliminary ranking for the 2021 Concacaf Champions League - with the 2014-15 points dropped, and 4 points for participation in the 2020 edition added on (sources here): MEX2 100 MEX1 96 MEX3 85 USA3 68 CAN1 60 USA2 53 USA1 51 MEX4 45 --- USA4 44 CRC2 39 PAN1 38 HON1 34 CRC1 34 HON2 31 SLV1 32 GUA1 25 CCC1 25 (PAN1 in red for missing out on the 2020 CCL - and thus, the 4 participation points) So if the US want to enjoy another year with all four teams in Pot A, they'll need Atlanta to make the QFs and for LAFC to drop León; otherwise, MEX4 will officially move back up, and whoever qualifies for 2021 as the US Open Cup champ will face the heretofore Herculean task of winning a series ending in Mexico right off the bat.
https://www.concacafchampionsleague...ampions-league-round-of-16-schedule-announced has the schedule. One notable thing is a game that will start before 8:00 P.M., as NYCFC will host their second leg against AD San Carlos on Wednesday February 26 at 6:00 P.M. Both Leon vs. LAFC games will be at 10:00 P.M. at the same time as another MLS club plays. Seattle vs. Olimpia and LAFC vs. Leon will be the last games at 10:00 P.M. on Thursday February 27.
Any word from the Big Apple as to why that is the case? As in, was this NYCFC's choice, or were they obligated to take the early time slot? Not that I'm complaining - I'm all for a good Concacaf tripleheader
Ran into this while over there: "first northern Costa Rica team"? I mean, I guess that's true if you consider the old Liberia Mía to be northwestern **shrug**
2020 CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET First Leg Tuesday, February 18 Portmore United (JAM) v. Cruz Azul (MEX) 8:00 pm FC Motagua (HON) v. Atlanta United (USA) 10:00 pm Club Leon (MEX) v. Los Angeles FC (USA) 10:00 pm Wednesday, February 19 D. Saprissa (CRC) v. Montreal Impact (CAN) 8:00 pm Alianza FC (SLV) v. Tigres UANL (MEX) 8:00 pm Comunicaciones (GUA) v. Club America (MEX) 10:00 pm Thursday, February 20 AD San Carlos (CRC) v. New York City FC (USA) 8:00 pm CD Olimpia (HON) v. Seattle Sounders (USA) 10:00 pm Second Leg Tuesday, February 25 Atlanta United (USA) v. FC Motagua (HON) 8:00 pm Cruz Azul (MEX) v. Portmore United (JAM) 10:00 pm Wednesday, February 26 New York City FC (USA) v. AD San Carlos (CRC) 6:00 pm Montreal Impact (CAN) v. D. Saprissa (CRC) 8:00 pm Tigres UANL (MEX) v. Alianza FC (SLV) 8:00 pm Club America (MEX) v. Comunicaciones (GUA) 10:00 pm Thursday, February 27 Seattle Sounders (USA) v. CD Olimpia (HON) 10:00 pm Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Club Leon (MEX) 10:00 pm The Quarterfinals start on March 10.
The tournament regulations are out - and they're exactly the same as last year (other than referencing the 6 Concacaf League qualifiers). Importantly, this means that Concacaf dropped the "games that end on PKs count as 3 pts for the shootout winner and 0 pts for the loser" rule added to the last CL regulations. Good riddance!
Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 venue confirmed.READ ⬇️https://t.co/rQSnzGeLUJ— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 7, 2020
Do any good clubs in Concacaf share stadiums? Will Red Bull Arena be the first venue to host CCL (or CCC) games with different clubs hosting?
Not exactly sharing but there have been CCL/CCC games held in other teams stadiums especially in Central America and the Caribbean. Just last year the Guastatoya-Houston Dynamo game was held in the stadium of the Guatemalan team Comunicaciones FC. From other past Houston games I know that the Panamanian teams often play tournament games in other team's stadiums. There are other examples. I just noticed the "good clubs" qualifier in your question. Most of these would probably not count.
A lot of the smaller clubs play in stadiums that aren't up to Concacaf standards, and play these games in their national stadium. I'm sure the Cuscatlan and the Estadio Flores have hosted a bunch of different clubs in CCL.
Updated with US TV info for the first week: 2020 CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET First Leg Tuesday, February 18 Portmore United (JAM) v. Cruz Azul (MEX) 8:00 pm FS2/TUDN FC Motagua (HON) v. Atlanta United (USA) 10:00 pm FS+/TUDNx Club Leon (MEX) v. Los Angeles FC (USA) 10:00 pm FS2/TUDN Wednesday, February 19 D. Saprissa (CRC) v. Montreal Impact (CAN) 8:00 pm FS2/TUDNx Alianza FC (SLV) v. Tigres UANL (MEX) 8:00 pm FS+/TUDN Comunicaciones (GUA) v. Club America (MEX) 10:00 pm FS2/TUDN Thursday, February 20 AD San Carlos (CRC) v. New York City FC (USA) 8:00 pm FS2/TUDN CD Olimpia (HON) v. Seattle Sounders (USA) 10:00 pm FS2/TUDN Second Leg Tuesday, February 25 Atlanta United (USA) v. FC Motagua (HON) 8:00 pm Cruz Azul (MEX) v. Portmore United (JAM) 10:00 pm Wednesday, February 26 New York City FC (USA) v. AD San Carlos (CRC) 6:00 pm Montreal Impact (CAN) v. D. Saprissa (CRC) 8:00 pm Tigres UANL (MEX) v. Alianza FC (SLV) 8:00 pm Club America (MEX) v. Comunicaciones (GUA) 10:00 pm Thursday, February 27 Seattle Sounders (USA) v. CD Olimpia (HON) 10:00 pm Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Club Leon (MEX) 10:00 pm The Quarterfinals start on March 10.