Joe Public vs New England: Revisiting a CCL Classic

Throughout the history of the Concacaf Champions League there has been no shortage of crazy matches, and at least once per year we see a scoreline that really grabs your attention. Arabe Unido taking out favorites Monterrey not once but twice in the group stage a few years ago, Independiente slaughtering Toronto last year, and the minor league Puerto Rico Islanders taking Cruz Azul to penalties in the semifinals are a few that come to mind.

But there is one series that defies all logic. It is, in a good way, the most Concacafy of all CCL ties. To find it, we must go back to August of 2008, to the very first round in CCL history. Today we revisit what is for my money the most astounding, jaw dropping scoreline we have ever seen and ever will see: New England Revolution 0, Joe Public FC 4.

The 2-1 home victory for Joe Public in the first leg maybe wasn’t the biggest shock in the world, but it was still a surprise to say the least. Later on in the tournament Joe Public would lose all three of their home group matches, including a 4-1 defeat to the then USL based Montreal Impact. Teams from Trinidad and Tobago were not supposed to be beating MLS sides, and in fact in Joe Public’s previous CONCACAF outings they had lost 8-0 to DC United, 2-0 to the Chicago Fire, and a respectable 1-0 to Pachuca, all in the first round. The home leg against New England was Joe Public’s first ever win in CONCACAF’s top competition, period.

But it is the second leg of this series that really deserves attention. What a great game for CONCACAF lore. It was the first round of the Champions League era. Mark Geiger was the 4th official. Gillette Stadium, an NFL venue, was packed with roughly 3,000 fans and 60,000 empty seats. And Joe Public FC, who at the time sat in 6th place in the TT Pro League, demolished the New England Revolution 4-0. It was ugly.

The hero of the day was Guyanese striker Gregory Richardson, who notched a hat trick and added the assist on the other goal to launch himself into the history books. Richardson’s legendary performance in this match eventually earned him a contract with the Colorado Rapids a year later. He would play just 11 minutes in his MLS career, quickly moving to the US lower divisions and then back home to his native Guyana in 2013. Richardson still plays in the Guyanese League at the age of 37, and even got onto the national team roster in 2019 for the Nations League, though he hasn't seen the field for them in a few years.

Now your first thought upon reading all this might be: “Okay, it was 2008, New England probably didn’t care about this competition and played a bunch of 19 year olds.” But if you take a look at the starting XI that day, that simply wasn’t the case. Yes, New England were without their starting forwards including Taylor Twellman, but fill-in Khano Smith started 26 games for the Revs a year prior, and had 18 starts in 2008. He was by no means a reserve player.

Regardless of the situation up top, the back line for the Revs that day, the one responsible for giving up four goals at home, was loaded with talent. Jay Heaps and Christian Tierney played 240 games each for the Revolution and were perennial starters for a decade. Jeff Larentowicz played 111 games with New England and is still a productive MLS player over twelve years later. Gabriel Badilla (Rest in Peace) earned 25 caps for Costa Rica.

Furthermore goalkeeper Matt Reis was the Revs starter for 10 years, and defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who captained New England that day, played over 260 games for the Revolution and was named to the MLS Best XI four times, including during 2008. Along with Twellman, he’s debatably the best player in the club’s history.

There is really not much of a case to be made that Joe Public defeated a phony lineup in Foxborough. A similar squad defeated Atlante in the Superliga just a month prior to the Joe Public series. Atlante, of course, would go on to win the first CONCACAF Champions League while the Revolution were embarrassed.

This upset is so absurd that it doesn't even give me hope for more in the future. It was such a rare occurrence that I cannot fathom ever happening again. There is just one Caribbean team in the 2020 CCL, Jamaica's Portmore United. Most people would be surprised if they keep it within four goals against Cruz Azul; winning by four goals on the road is not even a possibility.  This game is special to look back on because I truly don't think it will EVER happen again.

What Will it Take for Saprissa to Win the CCL?

Every year when the Concacaf Champions Leauge rolls around, the discussion is the same. Liga MX teams are the favorites, but can an MLS side break through and raise the trophy? It's a valid discussion, but also one you can find elsewhere on the internet, so instead I ask a different question. What will it take for a Central American team to win it all?

It may not be as impossible as it sounds. In fact, two Costa Rican teams have won the regional crown more recently than an MLS team, but of course that was all before the tournament was rebranded and reformatted as the Champions League. But even still, a lot of sides from outside the continent's "Big Two" leagues remain dangerous and relevant. In 2015 both Herediano and Alajuelense reached the semis, and for a brief moment it looked as though we were headed for an all-Costa Rican final.

It has become a bit of a Concacaf cliche to dub Saprissa as the best team in Central America before the CCL starts up; though they’re always near the top of the heap, we’ve seen the last few years they haven’t quite been the beast so many of us have made them out to be. In 2020 however, I think El Monstruo will live up to the hype. They come into the tournament with a talented squad including evergreen Concacaf boss Marvin Angulo and proven veteran goalscorer Johan Venegas. They've also got a growing star in Manfred Ugalde, and a favorable draw means they won't have to play a Liga MX team until the semifinals at minimum.

Saprissa just won the 2019 Concacaf League, playing through five grueling rounds of away trips that provide invaluable experience for a CCL run. The Champions League is all about the intangibles, and I cannot stress enough how useful the Concacaf League was for developing this team. Moments like the epic comeback against Olimpia and even having a bit of trouble against the Belmopan Bandits mentally prepare the team for the difficult matches to come and instill the confidence and mentality that they can climb out of those dire situations. And as I’ve said a million times at this point, on the logistical side, the club having just had a dress rehearsal where they booked flights, accommodations, etc. five times will help prevent any off the field nonsense from hurting their chances.

Earlier in the week I noted one of Tigres’ biggest advantages this year is a draw that sees them isolated from the rest of the Liga MX sides; Saprissa (and Honduran side Olimpia, who have the 2nd best odds from Central America this year) have that same benefit.

Saprissa have the Montreal Impact in the first round in a series where they are just straight up the favorites. The Impact have a CCL pedigree, having made the final back in 2015 and gotten awfully close to winning it, but they also were the 18th best team in MLS a year ago and are now without Ignacio Piatti. Saprissa will be in form and are a better team right now. Montreal is by no means a walk-over and the Canadians will also be looking at the bracket and licking their lips at a very makeable passage to the final, but I like Saprissa’s chances.

Now of course, to win the whole tournament you need more than an easy first round draw. Saprissa can’t expect to not have to upset a few teams along the way, but let’s look at the bigger picture here. Saprissa’s home record is outrageous. In fact, all Costa Rican clubs have an outrageous home record in the CCL (the last five MLS teams to travel to Costa Rica have all lost by at least 2 goals), but Saprissa even moreso.

El Monstruo Morado was a perfect 5 wins in 5 home matches in the Concacaf League title run. They even defeated Tigres 1-0 at home last year, though they came out flat in the second leg and went down without much of a fight. Even if they are the underdogs against Seattle, Tigres, or whoever comes after that, they’re almost always going to get a good result at home, reducing the 2nd leg to a very manageable game.

Let’s play the hypothetical game for a moment to visualize the odds: Montreal they should beat, then they have roughly a 25% chance of getting Olimpia (who they should also beat), or more likely an encounter with Seattle where I’d have them as underdogs by the slimmest of margins. Perfectly doable so far. Independiente a year ago had a very similar road and nearly qualified to the semifinals.

The final four is where it gets tricky. Most likely you’re getting Tigres, who did manhandle Saprissa a year ago at El Volcan. But as I said they did win the home leg a year ago, and their Liga FPD rivals Herediano gave Tigres a tough time three years in a row before that. If they get all the way to the final they’d again have another difficult series with most likely a Liga MX team, but at that point the momentum would be through the roof and I think you’d see a very inspired Saprissa side in that series.

Maybe you read that and said, “you know, that is reasonable.” Or maybe you read it and said “that’s exactly why they’ll never win.” And I think it’s fine to believe either way; it’s all a matter of perspective. If you firmly believe this is a Liga MX tournament, I’m not going to argue with you and neither are the results. But if you think this is a tournament that MLS teams can conceivably win (as I do), then I think you need to recognize Saprissa’s chances as well.

The hypothetical odds game sounds like a convoluted mess (and it is), but I can assure you that every MLS team’s hypothetical is equally convoluted. All LAFC has to do is beat 4 Liga MX teams in a row. NYCFC cannot play their matches at Yankee Stadium and has to deal with Tigres. Atlanta is getting thrown against the best team on the continent in the second round. These teams winning is *also* unlikely, and I think it’s important to shake off any biases you may have against the smaller leagues of the region and recognize that the best Central American teams, Saprissa this year, Independiente a year ago, Herediano and Alajuelense in 2015, have as good a chance as anyone outside Liga MX.

CCL 2020: Tigres' Last Chance?

It is almost time again for the most wonderful and blessed of all tournaments, the Concacaf Champions League. The 2020 edition kicks off later this month and should bring all of the magic and drama that we've come to expect over the years.

As a fan of the sport, the CCL is my favorite club competition in the world, hands down. But as a fan of Tigres, it has proved itself a point of frustration for many years. Tigres have entered the tournament as one of the favorites every year for half a decade now, and have exactly zero titles to show for it.

With 2020 being the last Club World Cup in the current format, and with the end of Los Felinos' dominant stretch looming on the horizon, the 2020 Champions League is of the utmost importance. Tigres did not reach the final of the Apertura. At the time of writing this, they certainly don't look likely to make the final of the Clausura.

It is more likely than not that they won't be in the 2021 CCL, and as the veteran core that has led the team to 4 Liga MX titles in the Gignac era continues to age, who knows when they will be back again. And for legendary manager Tuca Ferretti, a lack of continental success has proved to be the solitary blemish on his otherwise outstanding resume.

All of this means that 2020 is the year for Tigres to finally get the job done. The talent level is still very high. They've still got Gignac (Though they don't have Leo Fernandez for...some reason). And perhaps most importantly this time around, they have a good draw. After so many years of squaring off with the toughest Costa Rican competition around in the opening stage, Tigres have a relative breather against Alianza this year. No such thing as an easy win of course, and Alianza did give Rayados quite a scare just last year, but it's certainly a better draw than Saprissa.

Even better than that, though, is the fact that Tigres are the only Mexican club on their half of the bracket, meaning they will not see another Liga MX opponent until the final, if at all. This is an unbelievable advantage and one they cannot afford to squander. A second round matchup with San Carlos or the temporarily homeless NYCFC is again, about as good as you could hope for.

I don't want to say in years past Tuca has not cared about the Champions League. I think that would be a bit disingenuous, but I do think it's fair to say he has prioritized Liga MX throughout his tenure. The cycle has been reasonably consistent for the past four years; Tigres are lights out in the Apertura, then struggle in January/February prompting Tuca to save the best players for the playoff push rather than use them in the Champions League. They are struggling out the gate once again, but I have a feeling that maybe, just maybe, Tuca will change his philosophy this time around.

I don't think Tigres are going to fall off a cliff next year. Maybe they won't be the best team in the league every season, but I think the club's status has been permanently elevated to always expecting to at least be in the mix. But the CCL is not an easy tournament to qualify for, and it's even harder to win, as Tigres fans have learned all too well. With the way the cards are dealt right now, I think it's fair to say this is the best chance Tigres will EVER get at winning it, and they need to take advantage of it.