Mexico again leads way into Champions League quarters

October 24, 2009

The Mexican clubs are back. So is one team from U.S. Major League Soccer. But there will be no teams from the Caribbean in this season’s CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Mexican teams won each of the four groups, further proving the Mexican Primera Division is the strongest league in the region.

Cruz Azul was the only team to complete the group stage undefeated following a 2-1 win against Saprissa in Costa Rica Tuesday. Ramon Nunez and Pablo Zeballos struck for second half goals for La Maquina, which finished 5-1-0 in Group C. A year ago, Cruz Azul lost to Atlante in the two-leg finals.

“I saw a determined Saprissa squad, with a strong will, but they never dominated the match,” Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza said.

The victory, though, wasn’t without cost as Alejandro Vela fractured his fibula early in the match and will be lost for the remainder of the season.

Led by Ulises Mendivil, who leads all scorers in the Champions League with nine goals, Pachuca also won five of six matches to cruise to the quarterfinals as the Group A winner.

Pumas’ bid to go through undefeated was ruined Thursday night when Comunicaciones struck twice in the opening half for a 2-1 win in Guatemala City. But Pumas still finished atop Group D with 13 points to advance to the quarterfinals for a second straight year. That was the same total for Toluca, Group B winners, which finished the group stage with a 1-1 draw against D.C. United.

A year after just one Central American team advanced out of the group stage, the region sent three squads to the quarterfinals this time. Marathon returned to the knockout stage, clinching its berth on the final matchday. The Honduran side defeated San Juan Jabloteh 4-2 in Port-of-Spain on Thursday, ending D.C. United’s hopes of advancement.

It is joined by Arabe Unido, which finished second in Group A, also clinching its berth on the final day of the group stage. The Panamanians lost to Pachuca 2-0, but were aided by Metapan, which stopped the Houston Dynamo from a second straight quarterfinal bid with its first group stage victory.

The third Central American squad to qualify for the knockout stage is Comunicaciones, which needed a win against Pumas on Thursday night to advance.

Major League Soccer sends one team to the quarterfinals for a second straight year as the Columbus Crew claimed the second berth out of Group C with a 1-1 draw against the Puerto Rico Islanders Tuesday night in Bayamon.

“The Champions League is very important,” Columbus coach Robert Warzycha told MLSnet.com. “We are pleased that we are playing in the competition, but we’re happy all the games are out of the way and we can concentrate on the league. We accomplished our goal, which is to get to the next round.”

The quarterfinalists will learn their knockout round opponents on November 17 when the draw at the confederation’s New York headquarters will set the pairings for the final eight.

The group winners will be drawn against one of the four teams that finished in second place, with no team playing another that it faced in the Group Stage in the two-leg series.

The teams that finished second will host the first leg of the quarterfinals the week of March 9-11, with the group winners hosting the second leg the week of March 16-18.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: Alejandro Vela, C. A, Caribbean, Central American, champions league quarterfinals, COLUMBUS, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cruz azul, d c united, D.C., Dylan Butler, Enrique Meza, fibula, group stage, guatemala city, Houston, knockout stage, la maquina, Major League Soccer, matchday, mendivil, metapan, Mexico, New York, Pablo Zeballos, panamanians, port of spain, Primera Division, Puerto Rico, Ramon Nunez, robert warzycha, san juan, san juan jabloteh, Ulises Mendivil, zeballos

CCL quarterfinal berth would complete triple for Crew

October 20, 2009

The Columbus Crew already has clinched a berth in the Major League Soccer playoffs and could lock up a second consecutive Supporters Shield.

A berth in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals would make a nice triple.

That’s why the squad wasn’t that upset following a 1-0 loss to D.C. United at RFK Stadium Saturday night.

“We can clinch the second round of the Champions League and that is a very important game for the guys and also for the club,” coach Robert Warzycha said. “We can bounce back from this game. We have a game against New England at home. The game against Puerto Rico is very important.”

Columbus has seven points from five matches and is two points in front of Deportivo Saprissa for second place in Group C. A win or a draw at Puerto Rico sends the Crew through to the Champions League knockout stage.

Saprissa must travel to Mexico City to play already qualified Cruz Azul, needing a least a victory to have any chance of advancing.

With Tuesday’s game against Puerto Rico on his mind, Warzycha sat Brian Carroll and Gino Padula, while Argentine veteran Guillermo Barros Schelotto played less than an hour on Saturday.

“We have another very important game against Puerto Rico, so I was trying to rest some guys basically for that game against Puerto Rico and obviously give some minutes to the other guys,” Warzycha said.

Puerto Rico, a semifinalist last season, already has been eliminated from contention. And with the United Soccer Leagues season over, the Islanders are looking to play the part of spoiler in Bayamon.

“If you look at the bigger picture, we need to get some type of result in Puerto Rico, which isn’t going to be easy,” Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers said. “It may be raining down there and the field is going to be bad as well.”

Cruz Azul already has clinched its berth in the Champions League quarterfinals, but La Maquina will look to bounce back from what coach Enrique Meza viewed a disappointing 3-1 win against Estudiantes Saturday at Estadio Azul.

Los Azulinos needed goals by Javier Oroczco and Emanuel Villa in the final 10 minutes to defeat 10-man Estudiantes. Rogelio Martinez also scored in the 46th minute for La Maquina, which has 21 points in Group 3 of the Mexican Apertura.

“We did not do anything right, but a victory under those circumstances I find extremely valuable,” Meza said. “We had no conjunction, we lacked mobility and we took risks, but they did not capitalize.”

Columbus won in Costa Rica and drew with Saprissa in its home leg to assure itself of winning any tiebreaker against the Central American club. Now it still needs a draw to assure MLS of at least one team in the knockout stage.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: Argentine, BAYAMON, berth, Brian Carroll, C. A, Central American, champions league quarterfinals, club coach, coach robert, COLUMBUS, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, d c united, D.C., Emanuel Villa, Enrique Meza, estadio azul, gino padula, Guillermo Barros, guillermo barros schelotto, la maquina, Major League Soccer, mexico city, New England, Puerto Rico, rfk stadium, Robbie Rogers, robert warzycha, Rogelio Martinez, saprissa, seven points, united soccer leagues

Crew eager to reach CCL quarters

September 29, 2009

Cruz Azul has qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The Columbus Crew seem very eager to join it this week.

The Crew became the first Major League Soccer club to clinch a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Saturday night. And they did it with first-year coach Robert Warzycha resting several starters ahead of Tuesday’s critical Group C match against Deportivo Saprissa at Crew Stadium.

“We have a very important game Tuesday against Saprissa,” Warzycha said. “That was the plan not to leave too much out there today.”

Eddie Gaven’s goal in the 33rd minute and a second-half insurance tally by Steven Lenhart led the Crew, which could claim a spot in the knockout phase of the Champions League with another victory against Saprissa.

Saprissa coach Jeaustin Campos also rested several regulars in his team’s 3-0 loss to bitter rival Alajuelense Saturday at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto. Argenis Fernandez, Pablo Gabas and Cristian Oviedo struck for Alajuelense, which extended Saprissa’s winless streak to four consecutive games.

The two teams met two weeks ago with Columbus managing a 1-0 victory at the Monster’s Cave.

Cruz Azul, which lost 2-1 on Saturday to Toluca at Estadio Azul, remain at home Tuesday to take on a Puerto Rico Islanders squad desperate for a victory to retrain any chance of returning to the knockout phase. The Islanders are coming off an aggregate victory in the first round of the United Soccer Leagues First Division playoffs, but not without some challenges.

It lost the opening leg 2-1 to Rochester Thursday night at Marina Auto Stadium, a game in which Cristian Arrieta was sent off in the seventh minute for an elbow to John Ball. A pair of second-half goals by Kenny Bertz and Ball put the Rhinos ahead but the Islanders received a huge away goal in the 72nd minute later by Nicholas Adderly.

The scene shifted to Bayamon for the second leg Sunday with the Islanders pulling out a dramatic 4-1 victory and advancing 4-3.

Cruz Azul clinched a berth last week in the Champions League quarterfinals, but it still is looking to assure its place atop the group to guarantee a seeding for the next stage. It will have to recover from a disappointing home loss to Toluca on the weekend that snapped a seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.

“We deserved to lose,” Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza said. “We let them live after the first goal … everybody wanted to score his own goal.”

By Dylan Butler

Tags: adderly, aggregate victory, Alejandro Morera, argenis fernandez, bertz, bitter rival, coach robert, concacaf champions league, crew stadium, Cristian Arrieta, Cristian Oviedo, cruz azul, division playoffs, eddie gaven, Enrique Meza, gabas, galaxy 2, John Ball, Kenny Bertz, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, Marina Auto, Nicholas Adderly, Pablo Gabas, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, robert warzycha, Rochester, saprissa, Steven Lenhart, united soccer leagues

Cruz Azul leads way into CCL quarterfinals

September 26, 2009

Cruz Azul is in the quarterfinals. And its fellow Mexican clubs are not far behind.

La Maquina, which played in last year’s final, became the first team to book its spot into the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage with a 2-0 win against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday at Crew Stadium.

Toluca and Pumas are a point away from the final eight and Pachuca is sitting atop its group.

Pablo Zeballos and Alejandro Vela struck for Cruz Azul, which sit atop Group C with 10 points from four matches.

“We did enough to merit the win,” Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza said. “They did a lot offensively, but we did enough defensively. We defended well despite the offensive intensity they were coming with and the domination they had at the end. Our defense and our goalkeeper did very well. We lost the ball, but a lot of it was due to the pressure they had. But we were able to withstand that.”

Despite seeing its unbeaten streak at Crew Stadium snapped at 24 games, Columbus remains alone in second place, two points clear of Saprissa ahead of next week’s clash against the Costa Rican side in Columbus. With two points from four matches, the Puerto Rico Islanders, which tied Saprissa 1-1 in Bayamon Tuesday, are still alive. The United Soccer League First Division squad will play at Estadio Azul next week.

After beating San Juan Jabloteh, 3-0, at Nemesio Diaz Wednesday night, Toluca just needed a Marathon win or draw against D.C. United to join Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals.

But the Major League Soccer club stayed alive in Group B with a convincing 3-0 victory against Marathon on Thursday at RFK Stadium thanks to a pair of goals by Luciano Emilio and one by veteran Jaime Moreno, who was sent off late. D.C. United is now level with Marathon with six points from four matches, but D.C., which had a rare nine-day stretch without a game, currently has the edge in goal difference.

“We had a little while to prepare. It almost felt like a month compared to what we’ve been going through,” D.C. United coach Tommy Soehn said. “You can feel that there was a little more energy from our guys. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was more of a complete performance than we’ve had in a while.”

With Honduran airports closed amid political strife, Marathon’s long journey to Washington included a six-hour bus ride to Guatemala, a flight to Miami and a connection to Reagan National Airport, where the exhausted team arrived at 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

“Without taking anything away from D.C. United, Marathon only played 45 minutes,” Marathon coach Manuel Keosseian said through an interpreter. “The other 45 minutes were a valiant effort, but we really didn’t have much energy…We felt the wear and tear of the travel.”

Marathon is scheduled to host Toluca in San Pedro Sula on October 1, while D.C. United hosts Jabloteh — which has been eliminated from contention — a day earlier.

Pachuca still leads Group A, but the Mexican squad is just two points clear of the Houston Dynamo and Arabe Unido with two games left in the Group Stage. CONCACAF Champions League scoring leader Ulises Mendivil tallied twice for Pachuca in a 4-0 win against Metapan, which dashed the quarterfinal hopes of the El Salvadoran Clausura champion.

Houston is in second on goal difference after thrashing Arabe Unido 5-1, the Panamanian’s first loss of the Group Stage. Second-half substitute Stuart Holden struck twice, Eddie Robinson, Cam Weaver and Corey Ashe also scored for the Dynamo, who host Pachuca on Wednesday at Robertson Stadium. Arabe Unido will meet winless Metapan at home a day earlier.

In Group D, Pumas crushed Real Espana 4-0 at home Thursday night. Pumas, which has only one victory in the Mexican Apertura and is 16th in the 18-team league, can claim its place with a draw at home on Wednesday against W Connection.

Thanks to a Jonathan Frias second-half hat trick, the Trinidad & Tobago club defeated Comunicaciones 3-0 in Guatemala City Wednesday night to move into third place with four points, three behind group leader Pumas and two behind Comunicaciones.

Pumas hosts W Connection Wednesday, while Real Espana, which has three points from four matches, is home against Comunicaciones.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: columbus crew, concacaf champions league, crew stadium, cruz azul, d c united, Enrique Meza, goal difference, jaime moreno, knockout stage, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, pachuca, puerto rico islanders, rfk stadium, san juan jabloteh, saprissa, soccer club, united soccer league

Pachuca set to make Champions League debut

July 28, 2009

Pachuca is set to make its CONCACAF Champions League debut Tuesday night in the first leg of a Preliminary Round series against Guatemalan side Jalapa at Estadio Hidalgo.

It’s not as if the Tuzos are strangers to regional or domestic success.

Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2002, 2007 and 2008 and captured the Copa Sudamericana title in 2006 becoming the first team to win a continental club title outside of its confederation.

In the Mexican Primera Division, Pachuca won the Clausura title 2007 and fell in the 2009 Clausura final to Pumas, 3-2 on aggregate in May.

One day later, manager Enrique Meza left the club after a hugely successful stint.

“I am saying goodbye to my friends, of a great club that gave me the opportunity to work, where I had many wonderful moments,” Meza told reporters last month. “Thanks to everyone, to everyone that supported me, to the squad an exceptional group of players that defined a playing style which brought much satisfaction as well as headaches.”

Meza moved on to Cruz Azul for his fourth stint with the club, while Pachuca hired Argentine Guillermo Rivarola, who spent eight months in charge of Pachuca’s youth ranks, as its head coach.

“As a coach, I like to win everything from the midweek scrimmages to a league final or Copa Sudamericana,” Rivarola told reporters. “That is the message I will give the players. That is the mentality and commitment I want.”

The Rivarola era opened with a 3-2 win against Estudiantes Tecos in the opening of the Apertura campaign on Friday. Christian Gimenez scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 65th minute. Juan Carlos Cacho, in on loan from Pumas UNAM, and Damian Alvarez also scored for Pachuca.

While clearly the favorite in the opening leg at home, Pachuca face a dangerous Jalapa squad that defeated Municipal in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Clausura final last month.

It was Jalapa’s second title after Hector Trujillo’s squad captured the 2007 Apertura championship, the first national title in the club’s history.

“We are going excited and hoping to play well. This team could be assembled only recently, and with it we will try to put Guatemala’s name in goo standing,” coach Héctor Julián Trujillo said. “We are going well, we are forcus on the fact that we have to go and play well to show that we can play in an international tournament. We have worked very hard just to go, and not get a good result.”

By Dylan Butler

Tags: apertura, Argentine, christian gimenez, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, continental club, cruz azul, Damian Alvarez, Dylan Butler, Enrique Meza, Estadio, goodbye to my friends, Guatemala, guatemalan, head coach, Hector Trujillo, jalapa, Juan Carlos Cacho, league debut, liga nacional, Nacional, Primera Division, pumas unam, rivarola, scrimmages, stint, target, tecos, youth ranks

Pachuca loses 1:0 to Gamba Osaka, finishes fourth at Club World Cup

December 22, 2008

TOKYO – Pachuca surrendered a first-half goal for the third straight time and lost 1:0 to Gamba Osaka on Sunday, settling for fourth place at the Club World Cup.

Masato Yamazaki scored in the 29th minute to give the Asian club champion the only goal it needed, despite finishing with 10 men after Takahiro Futagawa was sent off in the third minute of second-half injury time for a foul on Paul Aguilar.

“We’re not happy about finishing fourth but that’s what we deserved in the end,” Pachuca manager Enrique Meza said. “We didn’t get the kind of results we were looking for but I think we played pretty well overall.”

Manchester United defeated Ecuador’s Liga de Quito 1:0 in the championship game to give Europe its second straight world club title.

Pachuca’s fourth-place finish improves from its early elimination in 2007. It defeated Al Ahly of Egypt in the quarterfinals a week ago, overcoming a two-goal deficit with a pair of second-half goals and two more in extra time for a 4:2 victory.

It again allowed two first-half goals against Liga de Quito in the semifinals but was unable to must another rally. On Sunday, it again fell behind early, and despite creating enough chances, failed to finish them.

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