CONCACAF Champions League Preview: Assessing MLS’s Chances

Colorado’s good fortune may not have carried over into the 2011 season judging from their never-ending cycle of injured forwards, but it did at least make a brief return for the CONCACAF Champions League draw. Placed as the top seed in Group B, the Rapids should have little trouble advancing from what is the CCL’s softest group.

Joining Colorado as a direct qualifier to Group B is Real Espana, winners of the Honduran Apertura in 2010. Espana last made the CCL in 2009, where they spectacularly overturned a 3-0 first leg loss to Costa Rican side Liberia Mia by winning 6-0 at home. That was the end of the fun times for them; Espana eventually finished an embarrassing 4th in their group.

Their reward for last season’s stellar campaign is a spot in what will be the CONCACAF Champions League’s group of death. LA will almost certainly not avoid Mexican opposition, the other qualifier for the group will be among Central America’s giants, and Costa Rican champions Liga Deportiva Alajuelense is the group’s weakest team. In any other group LDA would be optimistic about advancing; here, they’re arguably the easy game.

Alajuelense is seeded into the group with LA, so we’ll start with them. Unlike Deportivo Saprissa, who normally end up representing Costa Rica in the CCL, LDA doesn’t have a litany of national team players suiting up in their red and black stripes. However, young defender Jose Salvatierra turned heads for Costa Rica in the recent Gold Cup (as well as the Copa America), while his teammate for club and country Jhonny Acosta was also first-choice in central defense. Going forward, the danger will come from creative forward Alejandro Alpizar and shifty striker Minor Diaz.

In the group stage itself, Dallas will face competition from Pumas UNAM for first place. Pumas has a long commitment to very attack-minded play; this is a club that has no qualms about getting into a 4-3 shootout. In the past, Pumas has shown a tendency to mix in plenty of youth team players, yet they still tend to get results home and away in the CCL. It is also quite likely that Pizza Hut Park will see a rare big crowd when Pumas travels north, which could end up being a crucial factor in the race to win Group C.

Tauro FC fills out Group C for Dallas. The Panamanians may be the rare team that can approach the level of speed and strength possessed by Dallas, but the similarities more or less end there. Dallas will do well to keep their heads against Tauro, who have some hot-headed players; staying calm amidst provocation could easily see Dallas playing up a man. In Tauro’s previous CCL matches, they’ve also shown a tendency to tire rather easily, so keeping the ball and forcing them to chase would likely work in FCD’s favor.

Despite all that, Toronto has a chance to give themselves some positive momentum in the CCL. The draw for the qualifying round gave them arguably the easiest path to the group stage of anyone. Considering the fact that they could have drawn Honduran powerhouse Olimpia, Guatemala’s Municipal, or the giant-killing Puerto Rico Islanders, drawing Real Esteli of Nicaragua was a tremendous let-off for a club that is usually unlucky.

This is not an attempt to disrespect Esteli, but Nicaraguan soccer is not exactly known for producing talent. Amongst Central American nations, their national team is generally only better than Belize. Even by CONCACAF standards, their club sides are minnows.

This time around the group is easier, but the path is just as long. Seattle is back in the qualifying round after earning a second consecutive US Open Cup trophy, and they’ll again be facing Central American opposition. This time around, the opponent is San Francisco FC of Panama, a team that the CCL has treated particularly harshly. The La Chorrera-based club has seen all of the bad outcomes the tournament can offer. They’ve finished dead last in a group (losing five and drawing once), and in qualifying they’ve been both upset by a tiny Caribbean club and utterly humiliated by a Mexican side. Still, they’re one of the only clubs to participate in every CCL tournament, which underlines their status as one of Panamanian soccer’s top dogs.

There are promising talents like Rolando Algandona and Luis Olivardia, but it’s still a raw group that Seattle should be able to get the better of by playing quick combinations and moving intelligently off the ball. In other words, the Sounders already play the style of soccer that is most likely to cause San Francisco problems.

In this stream, you’ll find write-ups on all five MLS teams and what challenges await them.

In the meantime, here’s a schedule of their games: