Mexico: Tigres end long wait for national title (video)
Tigres are the new champions of Mexico following their 4-1 aggregate victory over Santos Laguna in the Torneo Apertura (Opening Championship) final.
Tigres had finished in third place in the regular season table with a record of seven wins, seven draws and three defeats from seventeen games, before going on to defeat Pachuca CF and Queretaro FC in the play-offs on their way to the final.
The first leg of the final, which was played last Thursday, saw Tigres claim a narrow 1-0 win over hosts Santos Laguna with an early goal from Damián Álvarez separating the two sides. Yesterday saw Tigres fall behind in the return fixture with Oribe Peralta levelling the scores on aggregate. The second half, however, saw Tigres restore the lead through Hector Mancilla and the game would be settled as a contest with Danilinho and Alan Pulido finishing off matters by making the score 3-1 on the night.
The championship win was Tigres’ first domestic title since 1982, a long wait of 29 years, and also secured a place in the 2012 Copa Libertadores.
TIGRES 3-1 SANTOS LAGUNA – APERTURA FINAL, 2ND LEG
FIFA: Kashiwa and Al Sadd through to semis; Barça win El Clásico
Kashiwa Reysol and Al Sadd have booked their semi-final places in the FIFA Club World Cup following hard fought victories over Monterrey CF and Esperance Tunis respectively.
Kashiwa, representing the host nation Japan as the 2011 J-League champions, needed a penalty shoot-out to get past North and Central American champions Monterrey after the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw. Leandro Domingues gave Kashiwa the lead in the 53rd minute only to see Humberto Suazo restore parity just five minutes later and the rest of the game proved frustrating for both sides as neither team could kill off their opponents. In the shoot-out Ryohei Hayashi converted the crucial final kick as Kashiwa went through 4-3 and secured themselves a meeting with South American champions Santos FC in the final four.
Controversy reigned in the other semi-final between African champions Esperance Tunis and Asian Champions League holders Al Sadd. Khalfan Ibrahim and Abdullah Koni had given Al Sadd a two goal lead by the 50th minute but Oussama Darragi pulled one back on the hour mark. However the Tunisians had two goals controversially ruled out for offside, decisions which so enraged one supporter who ran on to the pitch. Al Sadd, who are based in Qatar, now look ahead to a semi-final clash with European champions FC Barcelona who will be in fine mood following a 3-1 win against Real Madrid in last night’s El Clásico.
Real Madrid took the lead after just 22 seconds as Karim Benzema took advantage of some uncharacteristic woeful defending by Barcelona only for the visitors to equalize on the half hour mark through Alexis Sanchez. Further goals in the second half from Xavi and Cesc Fabregas helped secure the three points for Barcelona who can go into the FIFA Club World Cup knowing that their arch rivals are not going to be so far ahead when they come back from Japan. Had Real Madrid won last night they would’ve been six points clear with a game in hand. Following last night’s result, however, Barcelona are now on the same points but Madrid, nonetheless, still have the advantage of an extra game to play.
FIFA: Club World Cup Team Guide – Monterrey CF
Mexican clubs have dominated the CONCACAF Champions League in recent years and Monterrey CF kept up that trend when winning their maiden title this year. Monterrey, therefore, will enjoy their first appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup with a quarter-final tie against the winner of the qualifying play-off between Oceania champions Auckland City and the J-League champions (as yet undecided).
Monterrey started off their CONCACAF Champions League campaign with a record of five wins and a draw from their six group phase games against Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), CD Marathón (Honduras) and Seattle Sounders (USA). They then had to beat two fellow Mexican clubs in consecutive knockout rounds, a 1-0 win in each leg helping them through the quarter-finals against Toluca whilst the semi-finals against Cruz Azul was won by the odd goal in five. The 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League final against 2009 Major League Soccer champions Real Salt Lake was a tight affair, the Americans gaining the tag of slight favourites to win the trophy following a credible 2-2 draw away from home in the first leg with goals from Monterrey’s Aldo de Nigris and Humberto Suazo cancelled out by strikes for Nat Borchers and Javier Morales. The Mexicans though had enough in the tank to take the game to their hosts in the second leg with Humberto Suazo proving to be the hero, his goal on the edge of half-time proving crucial as Monterrey held on to win the second leg 1-0 and the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Since Monterrey clinched the CONCACAF Champions League back in April they have been defending their title in the 2011-12 edition of the competition. So far Monterrey have kept up their impressive form, topping their group once again, and look forward once more to a quarter-final match-up against a Mexican side, in this case Monarcas Morelia, when the tournament resumes in March 2012. Domestically Monterrey have been struggling somewhat in the 2011-12 Apertura (Opening Championship) tournament; having won the previous two Opening titles Monterrey could only finish in 11th place during the regular season and failed to make the play-offs. Monterrey’s last competitive game came on November 5th so they might prove a little bit rusty going into the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Should the Mexicans win their quarter-final tie they will face off against a Santos team who will be going straight to the tournament on the back of a tough Brazilian league season which finishes on December 4th.
MONTERREY CF v REAL SALT LAKE – FINAL, 1ST LEG
REAL SALT LAKE v MONTERREY CF – FINAL, 2ND LEG
USA: Donovan seals MLS Cup success for Galaxy (+video)
Landon Donovan's goal gave Los Angeles Galaxy their first MLS Cup win since 2005
Los Angeles Galaxy claimed the title of Major League Soccer champions for the third time in their history following Sunday’s 1-0 win over Houston Dynamo in the 2011 MLS Cup final. Although the game featured prominently in the headlines before kick-off due to it being David Beckham’s last game for the club, the headlines were reserved afterwards for a true American hero in Landon Donovan whose goal late in the game gave Galaxy the cup for the first time since 2005.
The game remained scoreless after 71 minutes before Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane played through USA captain Donovan who guided the ball beyond the oncoming Houston keeper Tally Hall to give his side the crucial strike of the final. The 30,000 crowd were treated to one of the league’s better finals in recent years despite the lack of goals and a fitting ending in which the Galaxy proved their worth as the best team in MLS this season.
Their regular season record of 19 wins, 10 draws and 5 defeats saw them pip the Seattle Sounders to the Supporters’ Shield by four points. In the post-season the Galaxy won all four of their knockout games against New York Red Bulls (played over two legs), Real Salt Lake (Western Conference final) and Houston Dynamo to show that they had learnt the hard lessons of 2010 in which they lost out to FC Dallas in the Western Conference final.
Los Angeles Galaxy had already qualified for the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League as a result of winning the Supporters’ Shield and they will be joined in that competition by losing finalists Dynamo, US Open Cup winners Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake, who finished third in the Supporters’ Shield behind the Sounders.
FIFA: Draw made for 2011 Club World Cup
FC Barcelona, FIFA Club World Cup champions in 2009, will face either African champions Esperance Tunis or Asian champions Al-Sadd in the semi-finals of the 2011 edition.
The tournament, which returns to Japan this time following a two year stint in the United Arab Emirates, will open up on December 8th with the Japanese national champions, as yet undecided, facing off against Oceania champions Auckland City with both clubs hoping for a quarter-final meeting with North and Central American winners Monterrey CF three days later.
The winner of that quarter-final will then go on to face South American champions Santos FC who hope to restore some pride to their continent following last year’s shock exit of Internacional of Porto Alegre at the hands of Africans TP Mazembe.
The competition will be completed on Sunday, December 18th in Yokohama.
USA: Sounders win historic third Open Cup triumph (+video)
Seattle Sounders made history by becoming only the third team in American soccer history to win the Lemar Hunt US Open Cup three times in a row. Following wins in 2009 and 2010, this year’s competition was secured with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in front of a healthy 35,615 crowd at the Sounders’ CenturyLink Field Stadium. Goals from Freddy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso secured the historic triumph for the Sounders who became the first club in the Major League Soccer (MLS) era to win the cup three years in a row and follow in the footsteps of Stix, Baer and Fuller Football Club (1933-35) and New York Greek American Club (1967-69) as the only teams to have accomplished this feat.
The cup victory also ensures that the Seattle Sounders will gain a berth in the qualifying rounds of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS 2-0 CHICAGO FIRE
USA: Seattle to face Chicago in US Open Cup final
Seattle Sounders have qualified for their third straight US Open Cup final having defeated FC Dallas in Tuesday’s all-MLS clash. They will meet Chicago Fire in October’s showpiece match in America’s knockout competition who beat lower league Richmond Kickers by the odd goal in three.
Seattle Sounders have been victorious in the last two US Open Cup competitions defeating Columbus Crew and DC United in 2010 & 2009 respectively. Tuesday’s semi-final was played in front of a noisy crowd at the Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, as opposed to their usual home at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, and the change of venue didn’t deter the Sounders from reaching their third consecutive final. Freddy Montero’s 40th minute strike proved the difference between the Sounders and FC Dallas who were hoping to reach their first final since 2007 but whose title drought remains having won this competition for the only time in 1997. As for the Sounders they are hoping to become the third team to win the US Open Cup three years running and follow in the footsteps of the elaborately named New York Greek American, who won the cup from 1967-69, and the long forgotten Stix, Baer and Fuller Football Club who were the first team to accomplish this feat from 1933-35.
If Seattle Sounders are to make history then they will have to beat Chicago Fire in the final on October 4th but the Sounders will have the advantage of playing at their home stadium. Chicago Fire had a tough semi-final match against Richmond Kickers, a team from the third-tier USL Professional League, eventually coming out 2-1 winners. The Fire took a two goal lead thanks to goals from Sebastián Grazzini (32nd minute) and Dominic Oduro (61st minute) but the Kickers, who had knocked out MLS clubs Sporting Kansas City and Columbus Crew in the previous two rounds, pulled one back in the 68th minute through Yomby William. Sadly for the Kickers they were unable to get a crucial equalizer and Chicago, who have won more US Open Cups than any other MLS team with four victories, will hope to clinch a fifth title in their first final since 2006.
The winners of the cup will gain a place in the preliminary rounds of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League.
CONCACAF: Monterrey hope to defend Champions title in 2011-12
North and Central American champions Monterrey CF will begin their defence of the CONCACAF Champions League this week and it is difficult to look beyond them or any of their compatriots from Mexico claiming the crown yet again. Since the tournament was re-branded from the old CONCACAF Champions Cup three years ago Mexican clubs have claimed the title every year and it is difficult to see who can stop that trend from continuing this time around
Monterrey CF have had a successful couple of years having been Mexican champions in the last two Apertura championships and they complimented domestic success with the big continental prize earlier this year by defeating American side Real Salt Lake 3-2 on aggregate in the 2010-11 final. The defending champions should easily progress from Group D in this year’s competition as they face Guatemalan champions CSD Comunicaciones, American Open Cup champions Seattle Sounders and Costa Rican outsiders CS Herediano. The latter two teams sealed their places in the group stage by defeating San Francisco (Panama) and Alpha United (Guyana) respectively in the qualifying round.
The other Mexican teams in the competition should also encounter few problems in the group phase of the competition. Two of them, Santos Laguna and Monarcas Morelia, had to feature in the qualifying rounds before they were assured of CONCACAF Champions League football this year but aggregate wins over Olimpia (Honduras) and Tempête FC (Haiti) saw them through and with neither of these clubs ever having won this tournament they are both keen to break their duck this year. Monarcas’ two clashes against Los Angeles Galaxy in Group A will be amongst the most anticipated clashes in the group stage especially as the American side are desperate to end the Mexican stranglehold on the competition and seem the most likely non-Mexican team to have a major chance of emerging victorious this season. UNAM Pumas have been continental champions on three occasions but have endured 22 years of hurt since their last win in 1989. They will face MLS side FC Dallas, Canadian champions Toronto FC and Panamanian Tauro FC in Group C and should at least make it to second place in the group.
GROUP A: Alajuelense (Costa Rica), Los Angeles Galaxy (USA), Monarcas Morelia (Mexico), Motagua (Honduras)
GROUP B: Colorado Rapids (USA), Isidro Metapán (El Salvador), Real España (Honduras), Santos Laguna (Mexico)
GROUP C: FC Dallas (USA), Tauro FC (Panama), Toronto FC (Canada), UNAM Pumas (Mexico)
GROUP D: CSD Comunicaciones (Guatemala), Herediano (Costa Rica), Monterrey (Mexico), Seattle Sounders (USA)
Mexico: Can Monterrey win third straight Apertura?
The Mexican football season kicks off this weekend with eighteen teams hoping to claim the Apertura (Opening) Championship. UNAM Pumas are the most recent Mexican champions following their 2010-11 Clausura (Closing) Championship success but Monterrey will hope to repeat their 2010-11 Apertura title triumph.
The new season will see a slightly different format in the first stage of each championship. Instead of the eighteen teams being split into three different groups there will now be just one championship table which will clearly decipher who the best eight teams of the regular season are and will, thus, decide the post-season play-off fixtures which ultimately decide each championship. Monterrey are looking for a third straight Apertura championship having won the 2009 & 2010 editions but will also have to pay attention to their CONCACAF Champions League campaign which they enter this season as title holders following their 3-2 aggregate win over American side Real Salt Lake in last season’s final.
UNAM Pumas have been largely inactive in the transfer window and have added no further players to their squad thus far. The champions, who won a 7th domestic crown last season, will also be participating in the CONCACAF Champions League along with the two best non-champion teams of the 2010-11 campaign Monarcas Morelia and Santos Laguna. Club America, traditionally the biggest club in Mexico, haven’t won a domestic title for six years but after signing last season’s Apertura top scorer Christian Benitez from Santos Laguna hopes are high that they can challenge for a title this time around.
The situation regarding relegation in Mexico is similar to that in Argentina in which each team’s points average over three seasons (six championships) will determine who goes down into the second tier Liga de Ascenso next season. Tijuana, from the north west of the country on the Mexico-US border, will naturally start with zero points in the averages table having been promoted last season at the expense of Necaxa. They will be hoping to have a good season so that they can climb above the likes of Estudiantes Tecos (1.0441 average), Queretaro (1.0882), Jaguares (1.1324) and Atlas (1.1471) who lie immediately above them at the commencement of the new campaign.
Estudiantes Tecos will begin the new season on Friday, 22 July with a home match against Toluca. Four matches take place on Saturday, the biggest of them being Pachuca v Santos Laguna, whilst Sunday will also see four games played with defending champions UNAM Pumas at home to San Luis while last season’s Apertura champions Monterrey face a potentially tricky away tie at Jaguares.
Canada: Toronto make it three on the spin
Toronto FC won their third consecutive Canadian title on Saturday
Toronto FC secured their third consecutive Nutrilite Canadian Championship title on Saturday. With the first leg tied at 1-1, the champions had to come from behind in their second leg 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps in order to win the Voyageur’s Cup yet again.
The second leg was initially scheduled on May 25th but the game was abandoned due to treacherous weather conditions. With these two teams having met in a Major League Soccer fixture just three days earlier (Toronto emerged victorious with a slender 1-0 win) this game took on more importance as the national title and a place in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League were at stake. The visiting Whitecaps team took the lead after 21 minutes thanks to a Camilo Sanvezzo free-kick and that goal was all that separated the two teams at the half-time break.
Toronto came back early in the second half with Joao Plata restoring parity from the penalty spot after he’d been tripped in the box. Plata needed two attempts to level the scores after his first effort was saved by Vancouver keeper Joe Cannon who had come off his line too early, thus requiring a re-take. The crucial winning goal of the game came in the 61st minute when Mikael Yourassowsky was set up by Plata to score his first goal for the club during a spell in which Toronto looked the more likely of the two teams to score.
Toronto’s reward for winning their third Nutrilite Canadian Championship title is another tilt at the CONCACAF Champions League in which they will feature in the preliminary round stage against Real Estelí of Nicaragua.
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