CONCACAF Champions League’s Previews: Central Americans Square Off Thursday

In an odd sequence of events, this year’s CONCACAF Champions League knockout round will kick off in insular fashion. The Mexican giants have all been drawn against each other, as have the two remaining MLS clubs. That leaves CCL regulars CD Olimpia of Honduras and Costa Rican powerhouse Deportivo Saprissa to face each other in the “other” quarterfinal tie.

The lack of hype surrounding this pairing should not give fans a reason to overlook either side, however. Olimpia won their group over Deportivo Toluca, who justifiably entered the tournament as one of the favorites. Saprissa, meanwhile, has the best recent pedigree in CONCACAF of any non-Mexican club; they are both the last non-Mexican finalist (2008) and the last non-Mexican club to win the tournament (2005). In other words, these are two proud clubs that will approach this round and the semifinals - against the winner of the all-MLS tie - with no fear.

With all due respect to Monterrey and Real Salt Lake, Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna are the two most talented teams on the North American continent. When either team is on form and playing a first choice XI, they can beat any other team in CONCACAF. However, this doesn’t mean that either side is the clear favorite in CONCACAF Champions League. Both teams are very streaky, and neither team is guaranteed to field a first-choice lineup in their CCL tie.

Neither Cruz Azul nor Santos has managed to win the Primera in recent years, but they’ve both been runners-up on multiple occasions. Thanks to some epic chokes, including an awful penalty shootout performance from Santos in the final of the Bicentenario, the talent from these two teams has never produced a champion.

Although their paths starting taking divergent paths around September, both ultimately ended up in the same place: Just two more teams without a single trophy in 2010. The CCL quarterfinals, in a sense, are the final opportunity to make sure their efforts in 2010 are not entirely wasted.

The Crew, as you may remember, watched their season crumble around them as the strain of the crowded schedule seemed to get the best of them. After being just a few points short of the Supporters’ Shield as late as August, the Crew finished the season by claiming six points in their final seven regular-season matches before crashing out of the playoffs in the first round and losing the Open Cup final along the way.

The CONCACAF Champions League has long been dominated by Mexican clubs and recently that dominance has been even more pronounced. Since 2002, Mexican clubs have claimed seven of the nine tournaments. The last two tournaments, the only two that have been played in the league format as opposed to the previous cup format, have both seen a Mexican club defeating another Mexican club in the final.

In this edition of the tournament that will not be the case because while four of the eight remaining teams are Mexican clubs they are all on the same side of the bracket and only one will be able to make it to the final. One of the two all-Mexican quarterfinals matches Monterrey and Toluca and begins on Wednesday when Diablos Rojos play host to La Pandilla at Estadio Nemesio Diez.

Whether it was a purposeful decision or just an amazing luck of the draw, this year’s CONCACAF Champions League will have a much more inclusive feel than in years past. Since the tournament adopted its current format in 2008-09, no more than two non-Mexican Primera teams have made it to the semifinals. This year, by virtue of one half of the bracket being entirely populated by Mexican teams and the other half by non-Mexican teams, that will finally change.

The Mexican side of the bracket will be populated by a virtual who’s who of recent Primera success. Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna will play their first leg on Tuesday. Toluca and Monterrey, meanwhile will start their matchup on Wednesday.