CONCACAF Champions League
Mexican dominance set to continue with three semi-finalists from LigaMX
It seemed that maybe this time, it was going to be different. But in the end, history repeated itself once more. For the past 15 years, Mexican clubs have dominated the CONCACAF Champions League. Since Saprissa of Costa Rica won it in 2005, nobody has been able to challenge the supremacy of the Aztec sides.
Nevertheless, Major League Soccer teams have gone close on several occasions, and the 2021 edition seemed a good opportunity to finally break the cycle – although more because of the problems of Mexican clubs than because of their own strength. In this tournament, Mexico had four teams, and they all had reason to doubt their title credentials.
Santiago Banos, football director of the giants Club America, pointed out before the first game that the tournament “doesn’t give Mexican sides any benefit in general”. Cruz Azul were completely focused on the local league, which had resisted them for 24 years, Monterrey had experienced a recent managerial change, with the return of veteran Javier Aguirre to Mexican shores after 19 years abroad, in the place of Antonio Mohamed, while Leon, the previous Mexican champions, have a peculiar habit of underperforming in international competitions.
And the round of 16 seemed to confirm the apparent Aztec weakness. Leon, true to form, were eliminated at the first exchange by a Toronto FC side full of subs and plagued with injuries. Cruz Azul used their reserve side in their tie against the Haitians of Arcahaie, and could barely salvage a 0-0 draw in
the first leg, played on neutral grounds in the Dominican Republic, although in the end they advanced with an emphatic 8-0 win in the return leg in the Azteca Stadium.
America did even worse, losing 1-0 at home to Honduras’ Olimpia in a terrible game, full of fouls, but advanced anyway thanks to their 2-1 win in Tegucigalpa a week earlier. Only Monterrey had a field day in their tie, albeit against the modest Dominican Republic team Atletico Pantoja.
For their part, all of the remaining MLS teams advanced smoothly. Portland Timbers, Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union thrashed their Central American rivals, while Atlanta United suffered a bit more in a 2-0 aggregate win against Alajuelense, but managed to advance nonetheless.
With five representatives against three of their arch-rivals, the United States’ fans could feel optimistic about the quarter-finals, but it was then when Mexican teams decided to take the competition seriously, and the waters returned to the course of the past.
Cruz Azul, using all their starters, all but decided their tie against Toronto in the first leg, winning 3-1 in Canada.
Monterrey suffered a little more in their match in Columbus, rescuing a 2-2 draw in the last minute, before winning the second leg 3-0. America were similarly dominant against Portland, with a 4-2 aggregate victory. Only Philadelphia made it through, beating another MLS team, Atlanta.
Despite the three-month hiatus between the quarter-finals and semifinals (due to commence in August), it seems unlikely that the trend of Mexican dominance will be reversed. Cruz Azul finally broke their national title drought and, with a squad full of Mexican and South American internationals, will now focus on continental glory. Monterrey repatriated Mexican international Hector Moreno to shore up their defence, and America, although not making notable changes to their squad, possess one of the most expensive and powerful teams on the continent.
Philadelphia Union got off to a good start to the MLS season, but it only takes a glance at their squad to see that they are not on the same level as their semi-final rivals, America, who boast names like legendary Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and South American internationals Pedro Aquino (Peru), Richard Sanchez (Paraguay), Roger Martinez and Nicolas Benedetti (Colombia).
In past editions, MLS clubs always cited the calendar as one of the reasons for their poor results. The tournament used to be played in the first half of the year, with the LigaMX season well advanced and MLS’ just beginning. This time it will be the complete opposite, so Philadelphia will at least have that going for them, but it doesn’t seem like enough of an advantage against the quality difference over its rivals.
So no one should be surprised if, in a few months, history will repeat itself and a Mexican side lifts the trophy for the 16th consecutive time.
Since Saprissa of Costa Rica won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2005, nobody has been able to challenge the supremacy of the Aztec sides