With club soccer’s grandest competition, the UEFA Champions League, coming to a close, another continental championship is concluding half a world away. The final leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Finals is on the minds of all American soccer fans, as MLS side Real Salt Lake looks to upset Mexican power Monterrey in front of a raucous crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium.
While the CONCACAF Champions League has not historically been considered a top tier competition, the 2010-2011 campaign has been considered one of Real Salt Lake’s top priorities for the 2011 season. A first time competitor in international competition, RSL and fans alike were unsure of what to expect from CONCACAF play. Club manager Jason Kreis made it clear to the media that RSL would field a top club for the Champions League, unlike previous MLS participants who used the competition to feature younger players lacking game experience. RSL kicked off their Champions League journey against Panamanian side Arabe Unido in grand fashion, featuring a starting eleven made up of experienced starters who gave the fans in Sandy a match to remember, with a thrilling 2-1 victory.
A succesful run has seen RSL through to a two-leg final with one of Mexico’s top clubs, Monterey. Winners of the 2009 and 2010 Apertura, as well as the 2010 Interliga, Monterey have been a class above the rest of their competition, demonstrating the quality of a club which took part in the 2010 Copa Libertadores, South American’s premier club competition.
Real Salt Lake headed into the first leg matchup at Estadio Tecnologico coming off a hard fought 1-0 home victory against bitter Rocky Mountain rival, Colorado. The win against Colorado in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium stretched RSL’s home-unbeaten streak against MLS clubs to 27. Real’s dominance at Rio Tinto will factor favorably for the MLS club as they look to maintain their away goal advantage to bring the Champions League title back to the United States for the first time since the L.A. Galaxy’s victory in 2000.
While Fabian Espindola and his RSL teammates enjoyed a weekend free of league competition, Monterrey took part in a hard fought home match against fellow Mexican side Puebla. Los Rayados were without Captain Luis Ernesto Perez, and forward Aldo de Nigris, who scored the opening goal in the first leg against RSL. Speculation continues to swirl around Monterrey coach, Victor Manuel Vucetich, and his decision to relieve Perez and de Nigris twenty minutes into the opening leg against Salt Lake. With a championship at stake, The Mexican media have focused on the issue, and continue to question whether their absence from Saturday’s match against Puebla was a face-saving maneuver on the part of Vucetich after his Champions League gaffe. Although Monterrey will limp into the second leg of the finals after a disappointing weekend draw with mid-table side Puebla, Vucetich remains confident his side will whisk RSL away with little difficulty.
After examining both sides, it’s clear that fans will be offered an entertaining match, punctuated by the style of play that the final leg will bring for both clubs. The attacking style of Monterrey will give reigning MLS Defensive Player of the Year Jamison Olave and the rest of RSL’s stingy back line a rigid test throughout the game as Suazo and his teammates look to pull out a rare victory in Sandy. While Suazo will man the offense for the Mexican side, RSL will feature their own formidable striker in Alvaro Saborio. While Saborio won’t be the fastest or most exciting player on the pitch, his knack for making seamless runs and putting balls into the net will team nicely with fellow forward Fabian Espindola and first leg hero Javier Morales. However, RSL’s passing game will have to compensate for a gaping hole, as RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman will watch the game in street clothes after accumulating his second yellow card in as many games for a rather clean challenge during the second half of the first leg.
Although the CONCACAF Champions League might not offer the star power or prestige held by its UEFA counterpart, the decisive match will showcase the two best sides in North America. Monterrey and Real Salt Lake will put on a show for the soccer world as they vie for a spot in December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. With the fast paced style of Monterrey pitted against the precision passing, team-oriented style of Real Salt Lake, this Champions League final will showcase two of the world’s most unknown and underrated clubs and give soccer fans of any fashion a show well worth their time.
(Editor’s Note: Support American soccer and watch the game tonight, 10 PM Eastern on Fox Soccer Channel. Also, second note, I didn’t think Beckerman’s challenge was all that clean, but different strokes for different folks, I guess.)
The Other Champions League
- Dan Egner
With club soccer’s grandest competition, the UEFA Champions League, coming to a close, another continental championship is concluding half a world away. The final leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Finals is on the minds of all American soccer fans, as MLS side Real Salt Lake looks to upset Mexican power Monterrey in front of a raucous crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium.
While the CONCACAF Champions League has not historically been considered a top tier competition, the 2010-2011 campaign has been considered one of Real Salt Lake’s top priorities for the 2011 season. A first time competitor in international competition, RSL and fans alike were unsure of what to expect from CONCACAF play. Club manager Jason Kreis made it clear to the media that RSL would field a top club for the Champions League, unlike previous MLS participants who used the competition to feature younger players lacking game experience. RSL kicked off their Champions League journey against Panamanian side Arabe Unido in grand fashion, featuring a starting eleven made up of experienced starters who gave the fans in Sandy a match to remember, with a thrilling 2-1 victory.
A succesful run has seen RSL through to a two-leg final with one of Mexico’s top clubs, Monterey. Winners of the 2009 and 2010 Apertura, as well as the 2010 Interliga, Monterey have been a class above the rest of their competition, demonstrating the quality of a club which took part in the 2010 Copa Libertadores, South American’s premier club competition.
Real Salt Lake headed into the first leg matchup at Estadio Tecnologico coming off a hard fought 1-0 home victory against bitter Rocky Mountain rival, Colorado. The win against Colorado in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium stretched RSL’s home-unbeaten streak against MLS clubs to 27. Real’s dominance at Rio Tinto will factor favorably for the MLS club as they look to maintain their away goal advantage to bring the Champions League title back to the United States for the first time since the L.A. Galaxy’s victory in 2000.
While Fabian Espindola and his RSL teammates enjoyed a weekend free of league competition, Monterrey took part in a hard fought home match against fellow Mexican side Puebla. Los Rayados were without Captain Luis Ernesto Perez, and forward Aldo de Nigris, who scored the opening goal in the first leg against RSL. Speculation continues to swirl around Monterrey coach, Victor Manuel Vucetich, and his decision to relieve Perez and de Nigris twenty minutes into the opening leg against Salt Lake. With a championship at stake, The Mexican media have focused on the issue, and continue to question whether their absence from Saturday’s match against Puebla was a face-saving maneuver on the part of Vucetich after his Champions League gaffe. Although Monterrey will limp into the second leg of the finals after a disappointing weekend draw with mid-table side Puebla, Vucetich remains confident his side will whisk RSL away with little difficulty.
After examining both sides, it’s clear that fans will be offered an entertaining match, punctuated by the style of play that the final leg will bring for both clubs. The attacking style of Monterrey will give reigning MLS Defensive Player of the Year Jamison Olave and the rest of RSL’s stingy back line a rigid test throughout the game as Suazo and his teammates look to pull out a rare victory in Sandy. While Suazo will man the offense for the Mexican side, RSL will feature their own formidable striker in Alvaro Saborio. While Saborio won’t be the fastest or most exciting player on the pitch, his knack for making seamless runs and putting balls into the net will team nicely with fellow forward Fabian Espindola and first leg hero Javier Morales. However, RSL’s passing game will have to compensate for a gaping hole, as RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman will watch the game in street clothes after accumulating his second yellow card in as many games for a rather clean challenge during the second half of the first leg.
Although the CONCACAF Champions League might not offer the star power or prestige held by its UEFA counterpart, the decisive match will showcase the two best sides in North America. Monterrey and Real Salt Lake will put on a show for the soccer world as they vie for a spot in December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. With the fast paced style of Monterrey pitted against the precision passing, team-oriented style of Real Salt Lake, this Champions League final will showcase two of the world’s most unknown and underrated clubs and give soccer fans of any fashion a show well worth their time.
(Editor’s Note: Support American soccer and watch the game tonight, 10 PM Eastern on Fox Soccer Channel. Also, second note, I didn’t think Beckerman’s challenge was all that clean, but different strokes for different folks, I guess.)