http://www.concacaf.com/page/CL/NewsDetail/0,,12813~2575174,00.html No more preliminary round. 8 groups of three with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. Number of spots per country remain the same Pot 1: USA 1 & 2, Mexico 1 & 2, Honduras 1, Costa Rica 1, Panama 1, Guatemala 1 Pot 2: USA 3 & 4, Mexico 3 & 4, Canada 1, El Salvador 1, Costa Rica 2, Honduras 2 Pot 3: Caribbean 1, 2, 3, El Salvador 2, Panama 2, Guatemala 2, Belize 1, Nicaragua 1 No group can have more than 1 team from the same country unless it comes from a forfeited bid, i.e. Panama taking Belize bid then Panama 3 could be in group with Panama 1 or 2 Each group will have either a Mexican team or US team PERSONAL OPINION: I like these changes as it guarantees a certain amount of games for each club and reduces and unnecessary round of the tournament.
So, with the U.S./Mexico rules, four of the groups will look like this: MEX1,2/USA1,2 CAN/SLV1/CRC2/HON2 CFU1,2,3/BLZ/NCA/SLV2/GUA2/PAN2 And four of the groups will look like this: CRC1/GUA1/HON1/PAN1 MEX3,4/USA3,4 CFU1,2,3/BLZ/NCA/SLV2/GUA2/PAN2
I disagree. Under the old format, a Canadian side had to be in the top 2 of a group that had a Mexican and an American squad in it. Now they have to win a group that has a Mexican or an American squad in it. Either way, to make the quarters, a Canadian team has to finish above a Mexican or American squad. And they should have to do that, because they aren't champions of a league. Toronto FC made the CCL despite finishing 16th in MLS last year. To make the quarters, I'm glad they had to prove it on the field in a tough group. I suppose one issue is that Canada is in pot 2 instead of in pot 1, so they'll have to play a seeded American/Mexican team. I consider this more unfair to the American/Mexican team than to the Canadian squad. If Canadian teams continue to play well in CCL, then yeah, I think they should move into pot 1. But I'd also like to see more teams competing for the Canadian Championship and for Canadian teams to make the MLS playoffs before I think they're deserving of it.
It looks like everyone but the USA got screwed. Every team gets drawn with a Mexican or USA team there is a big difference for the teams that draw a Mexican team and the teams that draw the USA team. It looks like all the USA teams will avoid the Mexican teams in the group phase why doesn't CONCACAF just go all the way and have 2 separate tournaments for Mexico and the USA so they only potentially meet in a final this is getting ridiculous.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012–13_CONCACAF_Champions_League#Teams the following clubs have qualified along with what pot are pots they could be in: Tigres UANL (Pot A) Santos Laguna (Pot A if they win the 2012 Clausura, otherwise Pot B) Los Angeles Galaxy (Pot A) Seattle Sounders (Pot A) Houston Dynamo (Pot B) Real Salt Lake (Pot B) Alajuelense (Pot A or Pot B) Olimpia (Pot A or Pot B) Municipal (Pot A or Pot C) Chorrillo (Pot A or Pot C) Isidro Metapan (Pot B or Pot C) That's 11 clubs and 5 of them know what pot they will be in.
So the number of matches needed for any team to reach the knockout stage will be reduced by two, and, in some cases, by four, correct? I'm not sure I like it, I think it might a little away from the pedigree of the competition in general.
I don't see how Mexican teams get screwed either. They still have to beat out two non-US teams, like before. Plus, they have two less matches in the group stage. Three team groups can be problematic however, and I'd miss the MLS/LMF group stage matches, which are fun...
Yeah Mexican teams aren't screwed either but since no Mexican team has been eliminated in the group phase of the CCL I don't think any change would screw them over. Unless CONCACAF made it so 2 Mexican teams had to be in the same group but I don't see that happening.
We have to prove that we deserve a #1 seed or another slot. Toronto beating LA would be a major step in that regard. Either that or more consistent play in MLS by all our teams. Give it some time. I believe that eventually we will earn it and that is the key thing, earning it. B
As stated in the MLS forum They should have thrown out pots, IMO and just made sure no two teams from the same country were in a group. Apparently, the preliminary round is a money and time waster, because trimming the preliminary round to 4 matchups and having 4 groups of 5 would have been a much better format.
I don't like 4 groups of 5. The idea behind this move is pretty obviously to make there be fewer games and less travel.
4 groups of 5 would do both better than this format, though. As done before, 4 games played on 5 matchdays is better than 4 games played on 6 matchdays.
I guess I should have stated UEFA Cup-style to clear confusion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Cup_2008-09#Group_stage Having 1 team out of 5 sitting on the last matchday is also better than having 1 out of 3 sitting out on the last matchday.
Yes, that's the other thing I don't like. Teams going into the last matchday knowing a draw is good enough to qualify, etc.
While you may in fact be correct, it was also an unfair situation for those teams having to play in the competition in the middle of their domestic season. A Canadian side (for example) plays four matches in the Canadian Championships followed by a two match preliminary series followed by six matches in the group stage. Toronto FC had to play an additional 12 matches in the midst of the MLS season which harmed not only their level of play in the league but also their level of play in the CCL. That's not exactly good for the pedigree of the CCL either.
It isn't like that didn't happen in the last format. The last round was often played on the different days and different times.
The Groups of 5 idea is not a double round robin format. I am sure there would be some formula to decide who plays who where. At least in the groups of 4 you had two qualifying for the next round. I haven't looked that closely at it but I don't think you can get a situation where you can have one team eliminated already but playing against a team that needs to win to advance on that final match day. You could have placement issues. And you can at least fix the problem by playing both the final games at the exact same time. Here is my post from the MLS forums
I don't like the idea of having the competition not be home and home. While having 1 out of 3 teams sit out on the last match day might not seem like a good idea, it's not a big deal since each group has only 1 winner. It's zero-sum. It's not like two teams can conspire to both advance. A good idea would be to make the last game be a game between top 2 seeded teams, so it's more likely to be meaningful for both squads.
Whole things seems rigged to me to try and guarantee that 4 US and 4 Mexican sides make the quarter-finals. Seems particular unfair for Canada 1 and El Salvador 1 in Pot B. They can ONLY be matched with USA 1, USA 2, Mexico 1, or Mexico 2 from pot A. They can't be matched with Costa Rica 1, Honduras 1, Guatemala 1, or Panama 1. On the bright side ... the Canadian team will only have into Central America once, rather than thrice. That should cut down on travel. Sounds like a good idea. Last day Pot A/B vs Pot B/A Not sure why the went for the month break between game day 5 and 6 ...