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

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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Tags: alexander robinson, armando alonso, berth, boisterous crowd, club pumas, COLUMBUS, columbus crew, Costa Rica, cruz azul, enough space, four minutes, group stage, Hector Gutierrez, kickoff, knockout, last match, New York, Pablo Zeballos, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, quarterfinals, San Jose, saprissa, unbeaten teams, volley, watson, zeballos

Mexican sides again rising to top of CCL

September 19, 2009

While it’s still too early to talk about a second consecutive all-Mexican CONCACAF Champions League final, the region’s best league appears to be on its way to sending all four of its teams to the knockout stage once again.

Mexico accounted for three of last season’s four semifinalists (Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna and Atlante) and Atlante prevailed over Cruz Azul in an all-Mexican final. Midway through the group stage, Mexican teams lead three of the four groups and Pachuca is one point behind Panama’s Arabe Unido in Group A.

The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the quarterfinals.

Pachuca defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-0 Wednesday night at Estadio Hidalgo on goals by Edgar Benitez and Paul Nicholas Aguilar. The Tuzos head to El Salvador to take on winless Metapan on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, Houston, which plays two of its final three games at home, hosts Arabe Unido, which remained in first place after a dramatic 1-0 victory against Metapan with Orlando Rodriguez scoring the stoppage-time winner, his fourth goal of the tournament.

Toluca is the only team to earn maximum points from its first three matches after crushing Marathon 7-0 Thursday night at Nemesio Diaz in Group B. Diego de la Torre and Raul Nava had two goals apiece and Vladimir Marin, Isaac Bruzuela and Carlos Esquivel also struck for Los Diablos, who have a three-point lead on the Honduran squad, which suffered just its second defeat of the season in all competitions.

D.C. United remained alive in Group B after beating San Juan Jabloteh 1-0 at Hasley Crawford Stadium Tuesday night on Christian Gomez’s first-half penalty kick. The Major League Soccer squad is three points behind second-place Marathon with the two teams meeting at RFK Stadium Thursday night. Toluca hosts winless Jabloteh on Wednesday.

Cruz Azul remained atop Group C, but needed to rally from two goals down in a wild 3-3 draw with the Puerto Rico Islanders in a rematch of last year’s semifinals on Tuesday in Bayamon.

Pablo Zeballos had two goals and Alejandro Vela added the equalizer four minutes from full time for Cruz Azul, which have seven points from three matches and is one point in front of the second-place Columbus Crew.

Puerto Rico, which received goals from Nicholas Addlery, Fabrice Noel and Cristian Arrieta, are in fourth after earning their first point.

Columbus celebrated a historic victory in San Jose, Costa Rica Wednesday night becoming the first U.S.-based squad to win at Saprissa thanks to Eddie Gaven’s fifth-minute goal. El Monstruo Morado will head to Bayamon to face the Islanders, while Cruz Azul and Columbus clash at Crew Stadium on the next matchday.

Like Cruz Azul, Pumas needed to rally late to earn a road draw as Paco Palencia scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time to forge a 2-2 draw with W Connection at Manny Ramjohn Stadium Wednesday.

Jonathan Frias struck first for the Savonetta Boys in the 21st minute, a goal that seemed like it would hold up until Victor Rosales equalized in the 87th minute. Renato Pereira converted a corner kick two minutes later and W Connection was on the verge of its first Group Stage victory until the veteran Palencia ensured the visitors of a share of the points.

Ronald Fonseca scored in each half to pace Comunicaciones to a 2-0 win against Real Espana Thursday night in Guatemala City, a victory that kept the hosts on Pumas’ heels. One point behind the leaders, Los Cremas host winless W Connection Wednesday, while Pumas is home for Real Espana, which has three points from three matches and is third in Group D.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: arabe unido, B. Diego, Christian Gomez, concacaf champions league, Cristian Arrieta, cruz azul, D. By, D.C., group stage, guatemala city, home hosts, houston dynamo, Isaac Bruzuela, knockout stage, los diablos, Manny Ramjohn, maximum points, metapan, nemesio, Pablo Zeballos, paul nicholas, plays two, Raul Nava, rfk stadium, san juan jabloteh, santos laguna, soccer squad, stoppage time, victor rosales

Cruz Azul dominates Saprissa, wins 2-0

August 20, 2009

Veteran Christian Riveros and little used Joel Hiqui scored in the first 36 minutes and Cruz Azul easily beat Saprissa 2-0 Wednesday to join the Columbus Crew atop Group C in the CONCACAF Champions League.

With much of the match played in rain, heavy at times, the Cementeros dominated possession and chances, even without several of their first-line regulars.

Saprissa has won all three of its games so far in the Costa Rican league, struggled to create anything against the perennial Mexican power.

Alejandra Vela found plenty of space down the left and helped create the first goal in the 14th minute by sprinting clear before sending a cross to Riveros, who leapt unmarked in the middle of area to drive a ball past Saprissa keeper Yader Balladares.

Hiqui, a 26-year-old defender whose only appearances this season were in Cruz Azul’s Preliminary Round matches against Herediano, needed only a touch to double the lead in the 36th. Ramon Nunez swung a free kick from near the far touchline and Hiqui just got the top of his head to the ball, deflecting it in off the underside of the crossbar.

Cruz Azul continued to dominate with Pablo Zeballos getting several chances in the second half. A header from a Vela cross skipped just wide of the far post in the 59th minute, and he was in alone against Balladares in the 75th before pushing a right-footed shot just wide right.

Saprissa gained a little more possession toward the end, but rarely created anything threatening.

The result left the Mexican and U.S. giant atop their group, after Columbus won its opener against the Puerto Rico Islanders 2-0 on Tuesday.

The two will face off on Wednesday, August 26, in Mexico City while Saprissa will try to recover with a home game against the Islanders a day earlier.

MEXICO CITY

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Tags: 59th minute, Christian Riveros, city source, COLUMBUS, concacaf champions league, crossbar, cruz azul, face off, far post, free kick, Joel Hiqui, mexico city, Pablo Zeballos, possession, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, Ramon Nunez, regulars, riveros, saprissa, second half, space down, touchline, U.S., zeballos

Cruz Azul held 0-0, advances easily to Group Stage

August 6, 2009

MEXICO CITY – Cruz Azul easily returned to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, settling for a 0-0 draw with Herediano on Wednesday night and advancing thanks to its dominating first-leg win a week ago.

Last year’s runner-up to Atlante, Cruz Azul had numerous chances as it did in its 6-2 victory in Costa Rica, but were thwarted by shots high, wide and some desperate defending.

Herediano also created chances, but its commitment forward to overturn a four-goal deficit left it vulnerable to counterattacks, which came down both sides.

Cruz Azul will join Group C with the Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and the Puerto Rico Islanders. It will open at home against Saprissa on August 19.

The Azulinos used several of the players from last week’s victory, including Javier Orozco, who had three goals.

While Herediano had several chances in the first half, the second half was almost all Cruz Azul, with Pablo Zeballos missed just wide of the right post on a header in the 51st , three minutes later when he turned and shot just off target again, and once more in the 70th when an unmarked header from the edge of the six-yard box skipped wide of the right post.

Alejandro Vela broke in alone on Herediano keeper Adrian de Lemos in the 41st minute, but Christhian Montero raced back and swept away the ball with a sliding tackle on the left side of the penalty area.

Herediano’s best chance came in the 26th, when Marvin Borbon’s free kick from 25 meters forced Cruz Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez to push it over the bar. Second-half substitute Jose Guity was unable to get his extended right leg to a cross through the six-yard box from Andy Herron in the 69th minute.

De Lemos scrambled most of the night to diffuse dangerous situations, while Guitierez had to make a handful of dramatic leaping saves.

Cruz Azul’s advancement secures a fourth berth in the Group Stage for Mexico for the second straight year.

Tags: adrian de lemos, Alejandro Vela, Andy Herron, berth, borbon, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cruz azul, dangerous situations, free kick, group stage, guity, herediano, Herron, Javier Orozco, Jose, Marvin Borbon, Mexico, mexico city, montero, orozco, Pablo Zeballos, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, three minutes, zeballos

Cruz Azul held 0-0, advances easily to Group Stage

August 6, 2009

Last year’s runner-up to Atlante, Cruz Azul had numerous chances as it did in its 6-2 victory in Costa Rica, but were thwarted by shots high, wide and some desperate defending.

Herediano also created chances, but its commitment forward to overturn a four-goal deficit left it vulnerable to counterattacks, which came down both sides.

Cruz Azul will join Group C with the Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and the Puerto Rico Islanders. It will open at home against Saprissa on August 19.

The Azulinos used several of the players from last week’s victory, including Javier Orozco, who had three goals.

De Lemos scrambled most of the night to diffuse dangerous situations, while Guitierez had to make a handful of dramatic leaping saves.

Cruz Azul’s advancement secures a fourth berth in the Group Stage for Mexico for the second straight year.

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Tags: adrian de lemos, Alejandro Vela, Andy Herron, berth, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, Costa Rica, cruz azul, dangerous situations, free kick, group stage, guity, herediano, Herron, Javier Orozco, Jose, Marvin Borbon, Mexico, mexico city, montero, orozco, Pablo Zeballos, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, target, three minutes, zeballos

Atlante scores twice in first half, wins 2-0 at Cruz Azul in first leg of Champions League finals

April 23, 2009

MEXICO CITY – Atlante took a major step toward its first CONCACAF club title in 26 years, scoring twice in the first half and beating fellow Mexican side Cruz Azul 2-0 Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League finals.

Rafael Marquez Lugo, whose injury time penalty completed a 3-1 victory over Santos and a 4-3 aggregate win in the semifinals, set up goals by Fernando Navarro and Christian Bermudez in the 17th and 24th minutes.

Atlante, winless in its last five in the Mexican league, will return home to Estadio Quintana Roo in Cancun next Wednesday with hopes of claiming the second confederation crown in its history and first since 1983.

Cruz Azul, which was without the suspended Gerardo Torrado and Cristian Riveros, has gone winless in seven matches in the Mexican league since February 22, a 4-2 victory at Necaxa – its only win away from home in the Clausura championship.

Both teams, which made for a third all-Mexican CONCACAF final in four years, entered the match struggling domestically, with Atlante in 15th place in the 18-team league, one place ahead of Cruz Azul.

“I am very pleased with the first half, but the second half we let Cruz Azul be in our side too much,” Atlante manager Jose Cruz said. “We can not underestimate their potential. We took this tournament very seriously and we are demonstrating it with results.”

Atlante, which like Cruz Azul was without suspended players Luis Venegas and Giancarlo Maldonado, started quickly, creating a pair of chances in the first 12 minutes.

It finally converted in the 17th when Navarro, just outside the top of the area, sent a ball deep to Marquez Lugo, who returned the ball with a flick of the outside of his right heel. Navarro took one touch to close unmarked on Alfonso Blanco, and easily beast the Cruz Azul keeper with a blast from the edge of the six-yard box.

Seven minutes later Marquez Lugo used his speed down the left flank to get clear, then sent a low rolling cross through the area that Luis Rey dummied and Bermudez finished into an open net at the back post.

“Very nice feeling, very happy to be part of this,” Berumudez said. “We lost many opportunities, but at the end the result was in our favor.”

Atlante will have to play the second leg without defender Miguel Martinez, who drew a second yellow card since the start of the knockout quarterfinals and will be suspended for the home match. Martinez was red carded for an injury time melee in the 3-1 victory over Santos, but had his automatic suspension voided when the CONCACAF disciplinary committee ruled that he was trying to help quell the fracas and not adding to it.

Cruz Azul manager Benjamin Galindo moved quickly after Navarro’s goal to thwart Atlante’s control, replacing Edgar Andrade with Hector Gutierrez in the 20th minute.

After falling behind by a second goal, the Azulinos showed some life late in the first half generating a chance from distance by Pablo Zeballos in the 40th and a volley just wide by Alejandro Vela four minutes later.

Cruz Azul had more of the play in the second half, but was unable to capitalize on chances by Cesar Villaluz, Luis Landin and Javier Orozco.

“In the first half they were much better and even though we responded in the second half, we didn’t reach our objective,” Galindo said. “We are going through a rough moment, but we have 90 minutes to try to redeem ourselves.

“We had two key players that could not play, but the ones who replaced them did a good job. We will try to turn the score around in Cancun.”

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Tags: Alejandro Vela, Alfonso Blanco, atlante, bermud, Cancun, cesar villaluz, christian bermudez, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, confederation, cristian riveros, february 22, Fernando Navarro, flick, gerardo torrado, giancarlo maldonado, Hector Gutierrez, injury time, Javier Orozco, jose cruz, left flank, luis landin, Luis Rey, Maldonado, mexico city, miguel martinez, navarro, Pablo Zeballos, quintana roo, rafael marquez, rafael marquez lugo, Santos, speed down, time penalty

Puerto Rico continues Champions League run, beats Cruz Azul 2-0 first leg of semifinals

March 18, 2009

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico – Nicholas Addlery scored his third goal in as many games to help the Puerto Rico Islanders beat eight-time Mexican league champion Cruz Azul 2-0 Tuesday night in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.

Puerto Rico, entering its sixth year in the United Soccer Leagues’ First Division – the second tier of North American soccer, is the first Caribbean team in 14 years to reach the final four of CONCACAF’s premier club competition and is trying to become the first to win the title since Trinidad’s Defense Force in 1985.

Addlery, a 27-year-old Jamaican forward who had played with D.C. United in Major League Soccer in 2007, was acquired by Puerto Rico in February. He scored in both legs of the Islanders’ 3-1 aggregate victory over CD Marathon of Honduras, and tallied for a third consecutive game in the 36th minute before a standing-room only crowd of 13,700 at Estadio Juan Roman Loubriel.

Sandy Gbandi, who scored the first goal in the fourth minute, drove a 45-meter free kick into the penalty area, and Addlery extended his right foot to deflect the ball with his toe past goalkeeper Alfonso Blanco from the edge of the goal box.

Gbandi gave Pueto Rico the lead, converting after the work done by Joshua Hansen at the top of the penalty area. After Addlery created a chance for the Islanders 43 seconds after the opening kickoff, Hansen worked the ball to the top of the area before drawing Gerardo Torrado and Julio Cesar Dominguez toward him. He split the two with a ball off to the right and Gbandi drove a right-footed shot inside the far post from 15 meters.

Cruz Azul, which eliminated Mexico City rival Pumas UNAM in the quarterfinals with a pair of 1-0 victories, has won only once in its last eight games in the Mexican Clausura, falling to 12th in the 18-team league.

The Cementeros lost striker Pablo Zeballos in the 27th minute, leaving the game holding his left side and replaced by Julio Cesar Pardini. Facing a team which is still more than a month before the start of its league season, Cruz Azul enjoyed sustained periods of possession and earned five corners in the first half but were denied on several good occasions by Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill Gaudette.

Gaudette, who was given a large amount of the credit for enabling the Islanders to reach the knockout phase, again produced several good saves, including a pair of acrobatic efforts in the 71st minute to frustrate Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul, which has won four of five matches at home in the Champions League and drawn the other, will host the second leg April 7 in Estadio Azul in Mexico City.

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Tags: aggregate victory, Alfonso Blanco, american soccer, BAYAMON, bayamon puerto rico, Bill Gaudette, Caribbean, caribbean team, cesar dominguez, champions league semifinals, club competition, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, cruz azul, D.C., gerardo torrado, Honduras, Joshua Hansen, Juan, juan roman, Julio Cesar Dominguez, Julio Cesar Pardini, league champion, Major League Soccer, mexican clausura, mexico city, nicholas addlery, North American, Pablo Zeballos, premier club, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, pueto rico, pumas unam, Rico, Sandy Gbandi, Trinidad, united soccer leagues

Puerto Rico Islanders brace for another Champions League showdown against latest Goliath

March 17, 2009

His team is the feel-good story of the CONCACAF Champions League, the minnow from a second-tier North American league in a pool with three sharks from the Mexican Primera Division.

And while Puerto Rico Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette appreciates his team’s magical run to the semifinals, now is not the time to rest.

“We’ve got this far and we don’t want to be happy with that,” he said. “We’ve got a great opportunity to advance, but we have a big club in our way in Cruz Azul. We know it’s going to be a tremendously hard game, both here and in Mexico City, but we’re here to get a result.”

While Cruz Azul is one of the most decorated clubs in Mexico, Puerto Rico has confidence ahead of Tuesday’s first leg in Bayamon.

“We’re one of four teams that have a chance,” Puerto Rico coach Colin Clarke said. “We respect Cruz Azul. They’re a great team and I’ve watched them a number of times. It’s going to be a very difficult game, but we believe we can beat anyone in our own stadium. That first game is going to be very important for us.”

A positive result at home is important in any international club competition, but when the second leg is played at altitude in Mexico City, those points are absolutely vital.

“They’re the best team we’ve played so far, but we feel having got through CD Marathon, our fitness is getting there, and we’re getting sharper every day,” said Clarke, whose team won’t open its United Soccer Leagues season until April 18. “We hope to give a good account of ourselves. And then from there, if we get the positive result, who know what happens in three weeks time after that?”

Puerto Rico will face a Cruz Azul team that lost 3-1 at home to America on Saturday in Estadio Azul. America, which extended its unbeaten streak against Cruz Azul to 14 games dating back to 2003, scored three first-half goals to sink La Maquina at halftime.

Cruz Azul, which dropped to 12th in the overall Clausura table, played better in the second half and took the game to America, but could only muster a 79th-minute penalty kick by Pablo Zeballos.

“Unfortunately we haven’t been strong on the attack and we have given up lots of goals,” Cruz Azul manager Benjamin Galindo said. “We need to keep moving forward. We can’t disappoint ourselves. It’s a painful game, but we can’t hang our heads because we have a game coming up on Tuesday.”

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Tags: altitude, America, Benjamin Galindo, Bill Gaudette, Clarke, colin clarke, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, confidence, cruz azul, estadio azul, first game, gaudette, Goalkeeper, international club competition, marathon, Mexico, mexico city, minnow, North American, Pablo Zeballos, pool, Primera Division, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, rsquo, sharks, unbeaten streak, united soccer leagues

Bolstered by Landin, Cruz Azul looks for more CONCACAF glory

February 13, 2009

Cruz Azul just missed a ninth Mexican title in December. A sixth CONCACAF title would be a nice replacement.

La Maquina finished third in the Mexican Primera Division before losing to Toluca on penalty kicks in the Apertura title series, its second consecutive final. It now returns to the CONCACAF Champions League with a quarterfinal against cross-town rival Pumas.

Cruz Azul was in 10th place in the Clausura campaign heading into the fifth round, fourth in Group 2, three points behind leader Chivas. The two played to a wild 3-3 draw on January 17 at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara to open the season.

A week later, Cruz Azul thrashed Atlas, 4-0, at Estadio Azul with Edgar Lugo scoring a three and Luis Angel Landin adding the final goal. Its lone loss of the new season came January 30, 1-0 at Tecos and but it recovered a week later to with an early goal by Christian Riveros for a 1-1 draw against Tigres.

Cruz Azul’s big off-season signing was Landin, a striker from Morelia. The 23-year-old began his career with Pachuca, scoring 19 goals in 81 appearances. He had seven goals in 48 games with Morelia.

The club was almost dealt a devastating blow when star Gerardo Torrado reportedly was considering signing with Espanyol of the Primera Liga last month. But Cruz Azul convinced the 29-year-old captain to stay on for the remainder of his contract.

“It is convenient for both parties as it means that in six months he would be able to make his dream of playing in Spain come true,” Cruz Azul president Guillermo Alvarez said last month. “Torrado’s wish is understandable and the club will try to back him so in six months he could play in a better team. He will have to think that at the end of June he will be able to sign for any club he wants.”

Cruz Azul was the lone Mexican team to not win its group in the Champions League, finishing three points behind Honduras’ Marathon in Group A and reaching the knockout stage by edging out Costa Rica’s Saprissa on goal difference in their head-to-head meetings.

Javier Orozco, who played only four games for Cruz Azul in the Apertura season and none so far this season, leads all scorers in the Champions League with six goals. The 21-year-old forward has been unable to find time behind Landin and Pablo Zeballos, who has three goals in the Champions League. Cruz Azul has already qualified for the 2009 Champions League by advancing to last season’s Apertura final against Toluca.

By Dylan Butler

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Tags: atlas 4, Christian Riveros, clausura, concacaf, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Costa Rica, cross town, cruz azul, Edgar Lugo, Espanyol, Estadio, gerardo torrado, Guadalajara, Guillermo Alvarez, Honduras, Jalisco, Javier Orozco, knockout stage, la maquina, loss, luis angel, Luis Angel Landin, Maquina, Mexican, Morelia, old captain, Pablo Zeballos, pachuca, penalty kicks, primera liga, quarterfinal, replacement, riveros, rsquo, saprissa, Spain, star, striker, tecos, tigres

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