Five-year-old Brujas joins Champions League field

December 30, 2009

Brujas FC has won its first Costa Rican league title in its five-year existence and will join the CONCACAF Champions League field next season.

It prevailed over Puntarenas on penalties 5-4 after a 1-1 draw in Monday’s second leg of the Costa Rican Invierno finals, becoming the 11th team in the 24-club field and guaranteeing itself a place in the Preliminary Round.

Brujas, which replaced the folded Guanacasteca in the Costa Rican first division 2004, has qualified for the domestic league playoffs in eight of the 11 seasons since its founding, and every season since the playoffs were expanded to eight teams.

After a 0-0 draw in the first leg on Wednesday, Puntarenas went ahead Tuesday with a 14th-minute goal by Luis Lara. Daniel Jimenez equalized in the opening minute of the second half, a goal which eventually forced extra time and penalties.

The qualification of Brujas fills nearly half of the field for the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League, joining Real Salt Lake, the Columbus Crew, Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders from the United States’ Major League Soccer, Monterey and Cruz Azul from Mexico, FAS of El Salvador, Municipal of Guatemala, Marathon from Honduras and Arabe Unido of Panama.

Walter Ferreti put itself in position to claim Nicaragua’s lone berth by beating Real Esteli 4-1 on Sunday and claiming the Central American league’s Apertura title 4-2 on aggregate. The team with the best overall record between the Apertura and Clausura champion will earn Nicaragua’s place in the Preliminary Round.

The 2009-2010 CONCACAF Champions League resumes with the first leg of the quarterfinals on March 9 when the Crew hosts Toluca.

NEW YORK

Concacaf

Tags: aggregate, apertura, Arabe, arabe unido, berth, Central American, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, cruz azul, Daniel Jimenez, extra time, Galaxy, Guatemala, Honduras, league playoffs, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Luis Lara, Major League Soccer, Mexico, minute goal, monterey, New York, Nicaragua, Panama, puntarenas, quarterfinals, real esteli, real salt lake, Seattle, seattle sounders, Toluca, United States, Walter Ferreti

Monterrey seizes place in Champions League Group Stage

December 15, 2009

Monterrey will be the seventh different team from Mexico to play in the CONCACAF Champions League next season, earning a berth in the Group Stage with its third Mexican league crown.

Monterrey captured the spot with a 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul in Mexico City on Sunday in the second leg of the Apertura finals, completing a 6-4 aggregate win that gave the club its first title since 2002-2003 Clausura season.

By virtue of its runner-up finish, Cruz Azul will return for a third straight season, assured of at least a Preliminary Round berth. The Mexico City side has easily advanced past the early knockout stage of the competition each season so far, outscoring its two opponents, Hankook Verdes and Herediano 18-2 in four matches.

Chilean forward Humberto Suazo sealed Monterrey’s title Sunday with a 90^th-minute goal, giving him three in the two-leg finals and second time in four days he scored late to lead his side to victory. Suazo scored twice in Thursday’s 4-3 win at home, including the dramatic clincher in the 88^th minute.

Monterrey finished fifth in the Apertura regular season standings, eliminating America and Toluca in the Liguilla playoffs to reach the finals.

Monterrey and Cruz Azul become the sixth and seventh teams to guarantee themselves places in next season’s Champions League, joining American Major League Soccer clubs the Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders as well as Honduran side Marathon.

MEXICO CITY

Concacaf

Tags: berth, champions league group, clincher, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, cruz azul, group stage, herediano, knockout stage, league crown, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, marathon mexico, mexico city, minute goal, Monterrey, real salt lake, soccer clubs, straight season, th minute

Marathon returns to Champions League for third straight time

November 27, 2009

Two-time quarterfinalist Marathon will return to the CONCACAF Champions League for a third straight year next season, clinching at least a Preliminary Round berth with a 2-0 victory over Olimpia to win the Honduran Apertura title.

Pando Ramirez scored in the fifth minute and Jerry Palacios added a second-half goal for Marathon, whose victory Wednesday night overturned a first-leg deficit for a 2-1 aggregate triumph and gave the club its eight domestic title and third straight Apertura crown.

Marathon, which lost to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season, has been drawn to face Pumas of Mexico in March.

It is guaranteed at least a berth in the Preliminary Round, but could garner a place in the Group Stage if it wins the Clausura crown or finishes both seasons with the best overall record.

Marathon becomes the fifth team to clinch a place in the 2010-2011 Champions League, joining fellow quarterfinalist the Columbus Crew and fellow U.S. clubs Real Salt Lake, the MLS Cup champion, the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy.

NEW YORK

Concacaf

Tags: berth, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, fellow, group stage, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Mexico, MLS, mls cup champion, New York, olimpia, palacios, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, pumas, quarterfinals, real salt lake, record marathon, seattle sounders, Sounders, straight time, triumph, U.S, victory, wednesday night

Real Salt Lake claims CCL Group Stage berth

November 24, 2009

Real Salt Lake will join the Columbus Crew in the Group Stage of next season’s CONCACAF Champions League, earning the second spot in the main phase of the continental club championship with its victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup final.

Sunday’s 5-4 victory on penalties after a 1-1 draw marked the first time in the 14-year history of Major League Soccer that a team with a losing record in the MLS regular season has won the title. The Galaxy will play in the Preliminary Round along with the Seattle Sounders, which clinched its berth in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory September 2 against D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup.

Columbus, which will face Toluca in the quarterfinals of the this season’s Champions League in March, claimed its spot in next year’s Group Stage by finishing with the best record in the MLS regular season.

Twenty berths remain to be decided for the 2010-2011 Champions League, six in the Group Stage. Mexico will determine its first two entrants with the conclusion of the Apertura Liguilla in December.

The winners of the autumn tournaments in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama will be assured of at least Preliminary Round berths with the remainder of the spots to be chosen early next year.

Real Salt Lake, in its fifth year of existence, is only the second expansion team to win the MLS Cup and will be the ninth different team from the U.S. league to play in the Champions League since its inception.

SEATTLE

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Tags: autumn, berth, CCL, COLUMBUS, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, continental club, Costa Rica, d c united, D.C., existence, expansion team, group stage, Guatemala, Honduras, inception, liguilla, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, Mexico, mls cup, Panama, quarterfinals, real salt lake, remainder, Seattle, seattle sounders, U.S. Open, victory

Mexican, U.S. regular season champs to square off in Champions League quarterfinals

November 18, 2009

Mexican regular season champion Toluca will face U.S. counterpart the Columbus Crew in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, paired together Tuesday in the tournament’s Championship Round draw.

Pachuca will face Comunicaciones of Guatemala, Pumas will take on Honduras’ Marathon and Cruz Azul will play Panama’s Arabe Unido in the other quarterfinals, with the Mexican sides all hosting the second legs of their respective series.

CONCACAF Deputy General Secretary Italo Zanzi conducted the draw with the assistance of Mary Lynn Blanks in the television studios of the confederation’s New York headquarters.

To watch a video of the draw, click here.

Columbus, Comunicaciones, Marathon and Arabe Unido all will be home for the first leg the week of March 9-11 and then travel to Mexico for the second legs March 16-18.

The exact dates and kickoff times were not expected to be known until later this week.

The winner between Pumas and Marathon will advance to play the winner of Cruz Azul and Arabe Unido in Semifinal 1, with either Pumas or Marathon hosting the first leg the week of March 30-April 1.

The victor between Columbus and Toluca will host the survivor of the Pachuca-Comunicaciones quarterfinal in the first leg of Semifinal 2. The second leg of the semifinals will be played April 6-8.

The finals will be played April 20-22 and April 27-29 with the winner of Semifinal 1 playing the first leg at home.

QUARTERFINALS
First Leg – March 9-11
Second Leg – March 16-18
QF1: *Comunicaciones vs. Pachuca
QF2: *Columbus vs. Toluca
QF3: *Marathon vs. Pumas
QF4 :*Arabe Unido vs. Cruz Azul

SEMIFINALS
First Leg – March 30-April 1
Second Leg – April 6-8
SF1: *QF3 winner (Marathon-Pumas) vs. QF4 winner (Arabe Unido-Cruz Azul)
SF2: *QF2 winner (Columbus-Toluca) vs. QF1 winner (Comunicaciones-Pachuca)

FINALS
First Leg – April 20-22
Second Leg – April 27-29
*SF1 winner vs. SF2 winner

NEW YORK

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Tags: arabe unido, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, confederation, counterpart, cruz azul, deputy general, exact dates, general secretary, kickoff, pachuca, pumas, quarterfinal, quarterfinals, season champion, season champs, sf2, television studios, Toluca, york headquarters

Beckham left off MLS all-star team

November 17, 2009

David Beckham may have led the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MLS championship game but he has been left off the league’s all-star squad.

While Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan and Swedish star Freddie Ljunberg made the squad there was no room for Beckham.

Beckham’s Galaxy will face Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup game in Seattle on Sunday.

Donovan and Ljunberg were two of the five midfielders on the 11-man all-star team which also comprised one goalkeeper, three defenders and two forwards.

Chivas USA’s Zach Thornton was picked as a goalkeeper while the defence featured Columbus Crew centre back Chad Marshall, Houston Dynamo’s Geoff Cameron and the Chicago Fire’s Wilman Conde.

The league’s top two goal-scorers from the regular season, FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham and Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey earned the forward honours.

LOS ANGELES (AFP)

Tags: chicago fire, chivas usa, colorado rapids, columbus crew, conor casey, David Beckham, freddie ljunberg, goal scorers, houston dynamo, jeff cunningham, landon donovan, los angeles galaxy, midfielders, mls championship, mls cup, real salt lake, wilman conde, zach thornton

Comunicaciones completes CCL quarterfinal field with 2-1 win over Pumas

October 23, 2009

Comunicaciones completed the quarterfinal field for the CONCACAF Champions League Thursday night, using a pair of first-half goals to hand Pumas its first loss of the competition 2-1 and give Central America a third team in the final eight.

Comunicaciones joined Marathon of Honduras, which earned its place earlier Thursday, and Arabe Unido of Panama as well as Pachuca, Toluca, Cruz Azul and Pumas of Mexico and the Columbus Crew of U.S. Major League Soccer.

The match finished the Group Stage and showed a marked improvement for Central America, which last season advanced only one of 12 teams that qualified for inaugural Champions League into the knockout rounds.

An own-goal by Pumas’ Humberto Gonzalez and a second goal of the tournament by Transito Montepeque was enough to give the Guatemalan side the victory and edge it past Trinidad’s W Connection for the second and last berth from Group D.

Pumas, which has won only one of its last six Mexican league games and is 17th in the 18-team Apertura championship, still finished atop the group with 13 points, four better than Comunicaciones.

Comunicaciones, winless in its last five including four losses, has fallen to seventh in the Guatemalan league, but pushed from the opening against Pumas.

It went ahead in the fifth minute when a throw-in was deflected to the top of the area and Fredy Thompson struck a right-footed shot toward the left post. But midway through the box, it clipped Gonzalez, changed direction and rolled inside the right post past fallen goalkeeper Odin Patino.

Montepeque, who leads Comunicaciones with 11 goals in the Guatemalan Apertura, doubled the lead in the 23rd. A seemingly harmless header out of midfield was inadvertently flicked on by Diego de Buen and Montepeque raced on to it, taking two touches before bending a right-footed shot around Patino from just outside the 18.

Gonzalez atoned for his gaffe to pull Pumas within a goal in the 36th, extending his right foot to poke Luis Fuentes corner kick – which had been flicked on – past hapless goalkeeper Juan Jose Paredes.

GUATEMALA CITY

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Tags: arabe unido, atoned, Central America, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, corner kick, cruz azul, D. Pumas, Diego de Buen, fredy thompson, gaffe, Gonzalez, group stage, guatemala city, guatemalan, Honduras, humberto gonzalez, Juan Jose Paredes, knockout, league games, luis fuentes, Major League Soccer, Mexico, Odin Patino, pachuca toluca, Panama, pumas, right foot, S. Major, thursday night, Trinidad, W. Connection

Crew claims place in quarterfinals with 1-1 draw

October 21, 2009

The Columbus Crew became the first team from U.S. Major League Soccer to reach the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, getting a 74th-minute goal by second-half substitute Emilio Renteria to earn a 1-1 draw with the Puerto Rico Islanders on Tuesday.

The draw gave Columbus eight points in Group C, three better than Costa Rica’s Saprissa, which played Cruz Azul later Tuesday. But the Crew beat Saprissa in Costa Rica and drew with it at home to advance on head-to-head results.

Renteria, who entered the game two minutes earlier for Emmanuel Ekpo, capitalized on the work of Steven Lenhart, who replaced Frankie Hejduk in the 61st minute. Lenhart won a ball outside the area and closed on Puerto Rico goalkeeper Justin Myers, who raced off his line to give the Columbus forward a smaller target.

Myers blocked Lenhart’s initial shot, but the rebound bounced back to Renteria, who shot over the out-of-position keeper.

The Islanders, who advanced to the semifinals of last season’s inaugural competition, finished this year’s tournament without a win in the Group Stage and only two points. Tuesday’s match was their first since October 4 against Montreal, a 2-1 loss that eliminated it from the United Soccer League First Division playoff semifinals.

Neither side looked particularly dangerous in the first half, but and Puerto Rico took the lead on a seemingly innocuous play.

Noah Delgado headed a wayward ball back toward goal and teammate Cristian Arrieta attempted a twisting side volley at the edge of the six-yard box. But Arrieta missed, and the ball bounced in front of goalkeeper Will Hesmer, who appeared to be bracing for Arrieta’s shot but instead let the ball go underneath and between his legs.

Knowing a draw would clinch a place in the quarterfinals, Columbus manager Robert Warzycha inserted Adam Moffat for Kevin Burns to start the second half. Moffat had two chances in the first two minutes, a shot from distance high and a soft header into Myers hands, and Brian Carroll also went just wide from distance in the third minute.

Columbus, the defending MLS champion which has the best record in this year’s U.S. league play, joined Mexican sides Pumas, Pachuca, Cruz Azul and Toluca in the knockout round and will learn its quarterfinal opponent in the November 17 draw at CONCACAF’s New York headquarters.

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico

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Tags: Adam Moffat, Brian Carroll, COLUMBUS, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cristian, Cristian Arrieta, cruz azul, Emilio Renteria, Emmanuel, Emmanuel Ekpo, frankie hejduk, Goalkeeper, group stage, inaugural competition, Justin Myers, kevin burns, lenhart, Major League Soccer, moffat, Montreal, New York, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, quarterfinals, robert warzycha, saprissa, Steven Lenhart, target, U.S, united soccer league, volley

Toluca earns fourth Mexican spot in CCL quarters

October 21, 2009

A second-half penalty kick by Israel Lopez forged a 1-1 draw for Toluca against D.C. United on Tuesday and clinched the Mexican squad’s berth in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals at Estadio Nemesio Diez.

Los Diablos join fellow Mexican sides Cruz Azul, Pachuca and Pumas in the knockout stage, as well as the Columbus Crew. Meanwhile, D.C. United, which became the second Major League Soccer team to earn a point on Mexican soil, will have to wait for Thursday’s Group B finale between Marathon and San Juan Jabloteh in Trinidad to know if it will advance.

Marathon needs a victory to advance, or D.C. will claim the second berth from Group B.

D.C. United jumped in front six minutes after the opening kickoff on Chris Pontius’ second goal of the Group Stage. Luciano Emilio latched onto a long punt from goalkeeper Steve Cronin and, after one bounce, headed back to Pontius. The rookie took the ball off his chest and unleashed a blast inside the near post.

For a while it appeared Los Diablos wouldn’t solve D.C. goalkeeper Steve Cronin, who was pressed into action early and often.
In the 37th minute, the recently acquired keeper dived to his right to snare Issac Brizuela’s low, hard shot from distance and in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Raul Nava headed Brizuela’s cross off the crossbar.

Toluca equalizeD in the 62nd minute after Trinidadian referee Geoffrey Hospedales pointed to the spot for a clumsy challenge by Lawson Vaughn that sent Lopez tumbling to the ground near the end line.

Lopez, who came on for Vladimir Marin just three minutes earlier, put a low shot past Cronin, who dived to his left in vain.
Two minutes later, the visitors had their best chance to regain the lead, but Devon McTavish’s diving header from 10 meters was wide of the net.

Toluca was safe to advance with a draw, but the hosts still pressed for the winning goal. Diego De La Torre’s bouncing shot in the 66th minute was wide to Cronin’s left and then Cronin came up with a diving save at the edge of the six-yard box on Nava in the 73rd minute.

Toluca completed the group stage with a 4-1-1 record atop Group B with 13 points. D.C. United was next with 10 points, one better than Marathon. But while Toluca is through, D.C. United must wait until Thursday to learn its fate.

TOLUCA, Mexico

Tags: B. D.C. United, brizuela, champions league quarterfinals, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, cruz azul pachuca, Devon, devon mctavish, Diego De La, diego de la torre, estadio nemesio diez, Geoffrey Hospedales, israel, knockout stage, Lawson Vaughn, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, marathon, Mexico, nemesio, Nemesio Diez, penalty kick, Raul Nava, san juan, san juan jabloteh, steve cronin, stoppage time, Toluca, Trinidad, Vladimir Marin

Nunez, Zeballos keep Cruz Azul unbeaten, send to quarterfinals with 2-1 win

October 21, 2009

Ramon Nunez and Pablo Zeballos scored second-half goals to rally Cruz Azul to a 2-1 victory over Saprissa on Tuesday, sending it to the quarterfinals as at least one of possibly two unbeaten teams.

Cruz Azul already had clinched its place in the knockout round and heads to the final eight with a 5-1-0 record, atop Group C with 16 points. Fellow Mexican club Pumas has a chance also to finish the Group Stage unbeaten, needing a win or draw Thursday in its last match against Comunicaciones.

Saprissa entered the day with a chance to advance, but was eliminated before kickoff when the Columbus Crew scored a second-half goal and drew 1-1 at the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Columbus finished with eight points, eight behind Cruz Azul and three ahead of Saprissa in third place. Even if Saprissa had won, it had lost at home to Columbus and drew its away leg, surrendering the tiebreaker advantage.

It was the second straight year Saprissa failed to advance past the Group Stage. Last season, Saprissa won only one of its last three matches to be edged out by Cruz Azul for a berth.

Anticipating a chance at the quarterfinals, a boisterous crowd at Estadio Saprissa greeted both teams, which struggled to created chances in the first half.

Saprissa took the lead four minutes before halftime when Armando Alonso created enough space along the right to launch a cross between two defenders and feed Kendall Watson, who stuck a side-footed volley at the corner of the six-yard box to beat Cruz Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez.

Gutierrez had to punch away another chance four minutes into the second half, keeping Cruz Azul within a goal and giving Nunez his opportunity to equalize.

Hector Gutierrez stipped the ball just outside the area and quickly fed Zeballos in the middle of the box. With his back to goal, Zeballos was able to hold off defender Alexander Robinson before dropping a ball into the path of Nunez, who ran on to the roller and volleyed a right-footed blast from the top of the 18 for his second goal of the tournament.

Zeballos then added the winner in the 82nd, running unmarked at the back post onto a low, rolling cross from Nunez and easily finishing for his fifth goal in the Champions League. Zeballos finished with four goals in last year’s championship.

Cruz Azul, which advanced all the way to last season’s finals before falling to fellow Mexican side Atlante, will learn its quarterfinal opponent on November 17, when CONCACAF conducts its Championship Round draw at its New York headquarters.

Costa Rica – SAN JOSE

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