2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 28, 2009 – April 27, 2010 |
| Teams | 24 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 78 |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ulises Mendivil (9 goals) |
| All statistics correct as of On October 21, 2009. | |
The 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League is the second edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format. The tournament began on July 28, 2009 will run through April 27, 2010.[1] The winner will gain a berth in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.
Qualification
24 teams from up to 13 nations were expected to participate in the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10 from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. However, after problems in the previous year's tournament, CONCACAF decided that teams may be disqualified and replaced if they don't have a stadium for the tournament that CONCACAF deems suitable.[2]
- Central America: 12 Central American clubs can qualify to the Champions League. If one or more clubs is precluded, it will be supplanted by a club from another Central American federation. The reallocation would be based on results from the Champions League 2008–09.
- Caribbean: If any Caribbean club is precluded, it will supplanted by the "CFU Club Championship 2009" 4th place finisher.
Also, in response to fixture congestion during the previous year's tournament, the Central American representatives that qualify via split seasons will no longer play-off solely to determine which team will gain entry into the Group Stage. In nations that regularly play a playoff to determine a national champion, these will continue as usual. For those that don't, total points over both seasons, followed by other tiebreakers, will determine which team enters the Group Stage without playing extra matches.[3]
Reallocation of bids
It was announced on May 12, 2009 that Belize had lost their lone qualification to Honduras due to the inability of the Belize federation to meet CONCACAF's minimum requirements in regards to stadium facilities.[4] The spot vacated by Belize was awarded to Honduras, increasing their total to three qualified clubs, due to their association's teams' superior performance in the 2008–09 Champions League.
A second bid was reallocated on June 9 when it was determined that Real Estelí of Nicaragua did not have a suitable venue to host a CONCACAF club match.[5] The Nicaraguan bid was initially intended to be given to a third team from Panama, but Panama only had one stadium pass inspection, which under CONCACAF rules, meant that only two Panamanian clubs could host matches. Thus, the bid was awarded to a third team from Costa Rica, Herediano, the highest non-champion from the combined Invierno 2008 and Verano 2009 seasons. Initially, there was a tie between Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala, based upon the results of the 2008–09 Champions League, for the reallocated Nicaraguan bid. Therefore, CONCACAF officials drew on results from previous CONCACAF tournaments in order to break the tie, which proved Costa Rica to historically have the strongest representation.
On July 10, 2009 CONCACAF announced that Luís Ángel Firpo of El Salvador was invited to take the place of Chalatenango due to Chalatengo's failure to sign and return the required participation agreement.[6] Firpo was selected as the team with the second-best cumulative record among the runners-up in the El Salvadoran Apertura and Clausura championships.
1 The Columbus Crew were both the 2008 MLS Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup 2008 winner, so the
Houston Dynamo has claimed USA2 as the 2008 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up.
2 Berth originally awarded to Belize Premier Football League 2009 champion, but Belize failed the
CONCACAF stadium requirements, so the spot vacated by Belize was awarded to Honduras (HON3).
3 Berth originally awarded to Real Estelí of the Primera División de Nicaragua, was rescinded after a
failed stadium inspection by CONCACAF officials. The bid was reallocated to Costa Rica, raising
the total of Costa Rican bids to three.
4 Isidro Metapán won both the Apertura 2008 and Clausura 2009. As a result, the second Salvadoran
bid (SLV2) was awarded to the runner-up in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments with the most points,
Chalatenango. When Chalatenango failed to file the required participation agreement, the runner-up
with the second-most points was invited.
Format
There will be a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. The other eight qualified teams will be seeded directly into the Group Stage. The clubs involved in the Group Stage will be placed into four groups of four with each team playing the others in its group in both home and away matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Championship Round, which will consist of two-legged ties. The Final Round, to be held in late April 2010, will also be two-legged. The away goals rule will be used, but will not apply once a tie enters extra time.
| Group Stage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pot A | Deportivo Toluca
|
UNAM
|
 Columbus Crew
|
Houston Dynamo
|
| Pot B |  Saprissa
|
 Marathón
|
 Comunicaciones
|
 Isidro Metapán
|
| Preliminary Round | ||||
| Pot A | Cruz Azul
|
Pachuca
|
New York Red Bulls
|
D.C. United
|
| Liberia Mía
|
Olimpia
|
 San Francisco
|
 Toronto FC
| |
| Pot B | Real España
|
Luis Ángel Firpo
|
Jalapa
|
Árabe Unido
|
| Herediano
|
 W Connection
|
 Puerto Rico Islanders
|
San Juan Jabloteh
| |
Preliminary Round
The draw for the Preliminary Round was held on June 11, 2009, at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City.[7][8] The first leg of the Preliminary Round was held the week of July 28, 2009, with the second leg the week of August 4, 2009; this is a month earlier than the previous season.[1] The Preliminary Round schedule was announced on June 16, five days after the draw.[9]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco
|
2–3 | San Juan Jabloteh
|
2–0 | 0–3 |
| Pachuca
|
10–1 | Jalapa
|
3–0 | 7–1 |
| W Connection
|
4–3 | New York Red Bulls
|
2–2 | 2–1 |
| Olimpia
|
2–2 (a) | Árabe Unido
|
2–1 | 0–1 |
| Herediano
|
2–6 | Cruz Azul
|
2–6 | 0–0 |
| D.C. United
|
2–2 (5–4 p) | Luis Ángel Firpo
|
1–1 | 1–1 (aet) |
| Liberia Mía
|
3–6 | Real España
|
3–0 | 0–6 |
| Toronto FC
|
0–1 | Puerto Rico Islanders
|
0–1 | 0–0 |
Group Stage
The Group Stage will be played in 6 rounds during August–October 2009. The rounds are August 18–20, August 25–27, September 15–17, September 22–24, September 29–October 1, and October 20–22.[10]
| Key to colors in group tables |
|---|
| Teams that progressed to the knock-out stage |
| Teams eliminated in the group stage |
Group A
|
|
Group B
|
|
Group C
|
|
Group D
|
|
Championship Round
Bracket
Each of the Championship rounds will be played over two legs.[1]
Quarterfinals
The first legs of the Quarterfinals will be played the week of March 9, 2010, while the second legs will be played the week of March 16, 2010.[1]
Semifinals
The first legs of the Semifinals will be played from March 30 to April 1, 2010, while the second legs will be played from April 6 to April 8, 2010.[10]
Final
The first leg of the Final will be played the week of April 20, 2010, while the second leg will be played the week of April 27, 2010.[1]
Top Goalscorers
Bold indicates a player whose club is still active in the competition.
| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulises Mendivil
|
Pachuca
|
9 |
| 2 | Orlando Rodríguez
|
Árabe Unido
|
8 |
| 3 |  Jonathan Fana Frias
|
W Connection
|
5 |
 Pablo Zeballos
|
Cruz Azul
|
5 | |
| 5 | Edgar Benítez
|
Pachuca
|
4 |
| Carlos Pavón
|
Real España
|
4 | |
| 7 | Paúl Aguilar
|
Pachuca
|
3 |
| Rolando Fonseca
|
Comunicaciones
|
3 | |
| Dante López
|
UNAM
|
3 | |
| Javier Orozco
|
Cruz Azul
|
3 | |
| Alejandro Vela
|
Cruz Azul
|
3 | |
 Douglas Matosso
|
Real España
|
3 | |
| Raúl Nava
|
Toluca
|
3 | |
| Luciano Emilio
|
D.C. United
|
3 | |
 Christian Gómez
|
D.C. United
|
3 | |
| Walter Martínez
|
Marathón
|
3 |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Next season's CONCACAF Champions League to begin last week of July" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ CONCACAF Executive Committee tightens stadium standards for next year’s Champions League, New York: CONCACAF, 2008-11-07, retrieved 2008-11-13
- ^ Champions League qualifying simplified for Central America, New York: CONCACAF, 2008-12-02, retrieved 2008-12-03
- ^ "Honduras gets 3rd CONCACAF team; Belize out". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ Costa Rica awarded third berth in Champions League, given Nicaragua’s place in 24-team field, New York: CONCACAF, 2009-06-09, retrieved 2009-06-09
- ^ Firpo invited to replace fellow Salvadoran club Chalatenango in CONCACAF Champions League, New York: CONCACAF, 2009-07-10, retrieved 2009-07-10
- ^ Bell, Jack (2009-06-01). "M.L.S. Recap: Chicago's Streak Ends". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ Champions League draw set for June 11, New York City: CONCACAF, 2009-05-28, retrieved 2009-06-02
- ^ written at Miami, D.C. United-Chalatenango to open 2009-2010 CONCACAF Champions League, New York City: CONCACAF, 2009-06-16, retrieved 2009-06-17
- ^ a b "2009-2010 Schedule". CONCACAF. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
| Global |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| North, Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| Oceania | ||
| South America | ||
See also: International women's club football | ||