Motagua vs Saprissa: 2019 Concacaf League Finals Preview

The 2019 Concacaf League final is set, and Motagua (Honduras) and Saprissa (Costa Rica) will meet over two legs to determine the champion of Concacaf's second tier continental tournament. Both clubs have already qualified to the 2020 Champions League, but the series still has plenty of juice; it is a final after all.

Motagua come in as the higher seed and will travel to San José for the first leg on November 7th, then return home for the second match on the 26th. This is the third edition of the Concacaf League, and the third straight final to feature a Honduran team vs a Costa Rican team. Olimpia (HON) defeated Santos de Guapiles (CRC) in the inaugural tournament, while Herediano (CRC) beat Motagua last year for the crown.

Road to the Finals

MOTAGUA entered during the Round of 16 and have remained unbeaten throughout:

2-1 W at Managua
1-1 D vs Managua

2-0 W at Waterhouse
0-0 D vs Waterhouse

1-1 D at Alianza
3-0 W vs Alianza

As you can see, three huge road results have carried Las Aguilas thus far, and they've mostly treaded water at home. Worth noting however, their previous two home matches were played out of town behind closed doors due to the violence at a domestic match two months ago, but the final will be at home in front of a full crowd.

SAPRISSA have had a more conventional run. They had to enter in the preliminary round and played one extra series as a result:

3-1 W at Belmopan Bandits
3-1 W vs Belmopan Bandits

2-0 W vs Aguilá
1-0 L at Aguilá

3-2 W vs CAI
1-0 W at CAI

2-0 L at Olimpia
4-1 W vs Olimpia

Four big wins at home, as you would expect from a team that plays in one of the most feared fortresses in the Americas. They also beat Mexican champion Tigres in the Monster's Cave back in February during the CCL.

Key Players

Saprissa possess the two top scorers in the competition; Johan Venegas with 6 and the youngster Manfred Ugalde with 4. Very different players, but both are a joy to watch. Ugalde is just 17 years old and has a very long future ahead of him for La Sele, while Venegas has matured into a clinical goalscorer that Saprissa can rely on after his stint in MLS.

Midfielder Marvin Angulo has been putting in work in Concacaf play for some time now, and it showed once again when the veteran had two massive goals (and good ones, at that) in the epic comeback against Olimpia in the semifinal.

Motagua have spread the wealth much more in this tournament; defender Juan Montes leads the team with 2. Six other players have contributed once, and they scored once via an own goal.  Even in their domestic league, it's true that they lack a player who scores at the rate of Venegas, but Roberto Moreira is still a capable striker to say the least.

In the midfield Erick Andino is not all that different from Angulo. He's been bossing the midfield for a long time, scores a decent amount of goals, and brings a veteran presence that pays dividends in big games.

History

As two giants of Central America, this isn't the first time these two have met in a competitive series. The most notable clash was the 2007 UNCAF Interclub Cup final, where Motagua emerged victorious 2-1 on aggregate after Jocimar Nascimento's dramatic home winner.

But aside from the famous defeat, El Monstruo Morado has had the upper hand. Saprissa defeated Las Aguilas 2-1 in the group stage of the 2001 edition of the same tournament, and 2-0 in the 1999 group stage. The two sides also drew in the 1997 and 1998 group stages.

In Concacaf play, the two sides haven't met since 1995, when Saprissa won a two legged series 4-0 in the first round of the Concacaf Champions' Cup. Saprissa also won 5-0 on aggregate way back in the first round of the 1971 Champion's Cup, and 5-1 in 1969.

Concacaf League Week 8 Wrap-Up

Wow, what a way to end the semifinals. It'll be Saprissa vs Motagua in the final, but we'll save that discussion for another time. These highlights are serious business.

Motagua 3-0 Alianza (4-1 aggregate)

Alianza knew they were in dire straits after a poor home showing, and Motagua was able to handle business here. A great tournament from the Salvadorans though, who now can focus on the domestic league where they're holding down first place and have a long playoff campaign ahead of them.

Saprissa 4-1 Olimpia (4-3 aggregate)

This was the best game in Concacaf League history. Saprissa needing to turn around a 2-0 deficit at home against the 2017 Champions, and when Olimpia stole an away goal in the 61st minute it felt like the series was over right there. But Marvin Angulo led a dramatic charge, scoring two of El Monstruo's three goals over the final 20 minutes + stoppage time to steal a famous win on Halloween night. David Ramirez's final goal is simply heart-stopping.

Concacaf League Week 7 Wrap Up

Down to the semifinals now, which means my job here is much easier. Only two games were played this week, with Olimpia hosting Saprissa and Alianza hosting Motagua. Honduran clubs had a day to celebrate, and it looks like we may be headed for an all-Honduras final. Here's the highlights from the two matches:

Olimpia 2-0 Saprissa

Jorge Benguche's brace meant a great result for Olimpia despite still playing in an empty stadium. Saprissa have the capabilities to turn it around at home, but it won't be easy without an away goal here.

Alianza 1-1 Motagua

Alianza have been relying upon their fantastic home performances to get this far, and now a stumble at Estadio Cuscatlán against their toughest competition yet looks like it will be their undoing. Certainly a lot still to play for next week, but advantage Motagua.

No, the Concacaf Nations League isn't useless, even for the US

As is seemingly always the case, USMNT discourse is exhausting. Today’s topic is the Concacaf Nations League, which the fanbase has overwhelmingly declared a useless competition because they defeated a weakened Cuba side 7-0 at home (There were some Mexico voices saying similar things about Bermuda, but for the most part they were more respectful).

Where to even begin with this. First of all, there are 41 teams in Concacaf, so saying the competition is worthless is just... baffling. If you’re reading this you know my stance on the Nations League for the smaller countries. I’m not going to get into it and will simply say that it is very good. This rant is exclusively talking about the US.

Now what these fans presumably intend to say is that the competition is useless FOR THE US, but those are two entirely different things. The Nations League is of great benefit to literally everyone outside of Mexico, who are *maybe* capable of getting high enough quality friendlies where I could say they’re more valuable than the upcoming competitive games against Panama (and even Bermuda, who are actually a solid team!).

But for the US, forget it. The team that just finished fifth in the Hex and last cycle lost to Trinidad and Guatemala on the road in World Cup qualifying is not in any way “above” the Nations League. I’d love to know how playing at Canada in a decisive game is not better than playing Paraguay’s B team in Charlotte before a crowd of 6,000 people.

But hey let’s even assume friendlies are better. Cool! This tournament doesn’t replace friendlies, it replaces the first group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, which no longer exists. In that stage last cycle the US played St. Vincent and the Grenadines twice, Guatemala twice, and Trinidad twice. In this Nations League they’ll play Cuba twice, Canada twice, and then likely Honduras and Mexico in the knockout round. How is that not a better schedule for the US?

Considering the team’s greatest pitfall has been they can’t win away from home against almost anyone in the region, surely playing competitive games away from home against teams in the region would be the best way to practice that skill?

I don’t even understand what the fanbase wants instead. Do people believe we can just schedule top teams whenever we want? UEFA has their own Nations League now and play less friendlies than ever before. CONMEBOL teams are available sometimes, but the US typically plays those teams at home, which doesn’t really help solve their problems at all.

So like, what is the problem here? Yes this particular Cuba side at home is not a super-useful experience, but the Cuba game only happened the way it did due to extraordinary circumstances. Prior to the recent waves of defections, first at the Gold Cup and then again in Canada last month, the team was playing well in qualifying, finishing ahead of Jamaica and El Salvador who are both currently in League B. But even so, Canada is not worth our time now?

For the record, I am not entirely of the opinion that the US is not good. Much moreso I am of the opinion that lots of Concacaf teams are good. Curaçao took the US to the brink in the Gold Cup because they’re just a good team. Same for Haiti with Mexico.

The idea that the US should be beating every island nation 6-0 just shows a complete lack of knowledge about any of their local opposition. “Games vs Trinidad don’t count” is such a hilarious mindset considering that... nevermind. Just throwing it out there that if the Gold Cup had a rotating host, a LOT of different countries would have won it by now and the perception that the US and Mexico are an untouchable duopoly wouldn't exist.

Please think about the fact that the US regularly loses to almost every team in League A and that if they want to get back to the World Cup they need to stop regularly losing to League A level teams before the next Hex starts up. Perhaps some practice matches against those teams is a good idea?

Concacaf League Week Six Wrap-Up

We're getting down to the nitty gritty now; after this week's fixtures only four teams are left standing in the fight for continental glory. The end of the week six also signaled the end of the Champions League qualifying period, and the following sides have progressed to the region's biggest stage in 2020: Alianza (SLV), Saprissa (CRC), Motagua (HON), Olimpia, (HON), San Carlos (CRC), and Comunicaciones (GUA).

The semifinals will be in late October. Here are the highlights from the quarterfinal second legs:

Motagua 0-0 Waterhouse (2-0 aggregate)

A scoreless draw was enough for Motagua to advance to the next round, but Waterhouse have to be pleased with their run this year. Knocked off the mighty Herediano and nearly made it to the Champions League.

Independiente 0-1 Saprissa (2-4 aggregate)

Independiente couldn't make anything of their two away goals from the first leg while Johan Venegas snagged his sixth tally of the competition. A disappointing tournament for CAI after the great CCL run, while Saprissa continue to do what Saprissa do.

San Carlos 1-0 Alianza (1-2 aggregate)

Great defending from Alianza saw them hold on late to defeat the Costa Rican champions and qualify to the Concacaf Champions League yet again. They've now got three straight series wins to go along with their stellar domestic campaign.

Comunicaciones 0-0 Olimpia (0-2 aggregate)

Comunicaciones fall to a really strong Olimpia side without scoring a goal, but they did enough to qualify for the CCL, not bad considering they started in the preliminary round.

CONCACAF League Week 5 Wrap-Up

Halfway through the quarterfinals now, meaning we are just one more round of matches away from knowing the bulk of the 2020 CCL participants. Montreal just punched their ticket by winning the Canadian Championship this past week, most of the MLS berths have been decided, and Liga MX is finalized.

Anyway, here's all the highlights from the quarterfinal first legs, which unfortunately did not set up too well for compelling endings next week.

Saprissa 3-2 Independiente

This is one match that did set up an intriguing second leg, with Saprissa blowing a 2-0 lead in the second half only to snatch victory in stoppage time. Independiente got a goal from Omar Browne who is back in town from Montreal, and the two away goals may prove very valuable next week.

Waterhouse 0-2 Motagua

This looks like the end of Waterhouse's cinderella run, barring an all-time comeback next week in Honduras.

Alianza 2-0 San Carlos

Alianza continue to dominate at home in this competition and are in great shape heading to Costa Rica; San Carlos have not yet scored in this tournament but will need at least two goals at home.

CD Olimpia 2-0 Comunicaciones

Olimpia scored twice in the opening five minutes and it looked like things could get very out of hand, but couldn't slam the door shut and ultimately the Guatemalans still have a chance in the 2nd leg.

Scheduling is a serious obstacle to Liga MX/MLS partnership

 
The news came out today that Liga MX and MLS are interested in growing their partnership that started last year with the Campeones Cup and continued this year with the Leagues Cup. You can read the proposal for yourself for all of what has been discussed, but I just wanted to do a thought dump on the whole idea here.

Like many Liga MX (and MLS) fans I’m very reluctant to the idea of a combined Super League, but I don’t necessarily think all the ideas here are bad. However after spending much of today drawing up plans on how this could work their was one consistent problem: the schedule.

The league schedules create innumerable problems that I’m not sure how to fix. The Leagues Cup expanding to 32 and being a home-and-away tournament sounds cool, but where exactly are we getting room for 10 extra matches from? You can cut out the Copa MX and leave the US Open Cup for the minor league teams, but this seems somewhat unlikely.

Interleague play during the regular season is a cool idea, too. Let’s say every Liga MX team gets 3 regular season matches per tournament against MLS competition. It would be pretty neat, but again, where do we put these games? The Liga MX schedule is about to balloon to 19 games per season, meaning interleague play would push it over 20 or some Mexican teams would not meet every season, which I don’t like at all. With the addition of the lengthy Leagues Cup, too, you have to wonder when exactly these games could be played. You simply can’t have a 22 game regular season (44 games total) plus two sets of playoffs, 8 CCL matches, and 10 Leagues Cup matches, especially with how intense the travel between the two countries would be.  The top teams would be overwhelmed and would end up fielding B teams in the Leagues Cup, defeating the whole purpose.

The Campeones Cup has the potential to be a really dope showcase event as the sort of “interleague champion” though of course both it and the Leagues Cup pale in comparison to the CCL, but again we must ask: When? The current timing makes no sense, because Atlanta and América aren’t even the same teams that won their titles way back in 2018. I also think that while Liga MX teams are likely to take the game serious, the qualification route is the Campeon de Campeones, which teams do not always take seriously.

I think the most logical way to do this would be to do it between the Apertura champion and MLS champion in December, right after the seasons conclude as a sort of end of the year party. But this raises the question of weather. What if Chicago is representing MLS? Well, then a two-legged series is out of the question I suppose. I think this game could become a neutral site match that rotates between Mexico and the Southern US (or indoor stadiums in the North). This combined with the timing of it being between fresh champions could give the game a real Super Bowl feel to it, and makes it much more epic than being on a random August Wednesday.

Obviously another issue with these proposals is that they are keeping Liga MX out of the Copa Libertadores for the foreseeable future, which fans are not happy about. I can’t blame them; even if the Leagues Cup flourishes its hard to imagine it ever being as big as South America’s premier competition.

In all, I’m worried about the plausibility of many aspects of the MLS/Liga MX relationship, but I don’t think they’re inherently bad. Seriously though, put the Campeones Cup at the Rose Bowl right after the two champions are crowned. It would be super fire. A 32 team single legged random draw Leagues Cup that replaces Copa MX/USOC would also be cool.

CONCACAF League Week 4 Wrap-Up

The round of 16 second legs produced a lot of fantastic matches including an all time upset and timeless classic. Eight teams remain, but only six of them will advance to the Champions League next year. But this post is not about the juicy quarterfinal match ups, it is about the great games we just had this past week. You know the drill by now, here's the highlights:


Independiente 2-1 Robinhood (3-2 aggregate)

Robinhood fought hard and even managed an away goal against the newly coronated continental powers, but ultimately fell 3-2 on aggregate.

Motagua 1-1 Managua (3-2 aggregate)

Managua will regret conceding that second goal in the first leg, as they did well and took the lead in Honduras but were unable to hold on.

San Carlos 0-0 Santa Tecla (0-0 aggregate)

Another scoreless draw in the series sent this one to penalties, where ultimately San Carlos narrowly escaped with a victory.

Guastatoya 0-0 Comunicaciones (1-2 aggregate)

Los Cremas held on to advance on away goals in this all Guatemalan affair; they are now the last surviving Guatemalan team in the tournament.

CD Aguila 1-0 Saprissa (1-2 aggregate)

Aguila did very well to win a game over the giants, and it certainly made for a tense final 15 minutes or so but ultimately Saprissa got the job done and continue as favorites to take the title home.

Tauro 1-0 Alianza (1-2 aggregate)

Much like Aguila, Tauro were able to win at home but it wasn't enough to overcome a 2-0 road defeat. Alianza have been stellar in this tournament and after conceding in the opening moments the defense stabilized and locked down the Panamanian side.

Olimpia 4-1 Forge (4-2 aggregate)

Forge had an amazing debut for the CPL in continental play, and their win at home over Olimpia was excellent, but Los Leones were too much for them in Honduras, comfortably winning and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Herediano 1-1 Waterhouse (2-2 aggregate)

The match of the tournament so far and the biggest upset in the history of the competition, Waterhouse did the unthinkable by getting a result and the away goal in Heredia, and ultimately emerged victorious after a penalty shootout that lasted nine frames and saw both goalies take kicks. It is incredibly difficult to get any kind of result in Costa Rica; ask Tigres and Atlanta how they fared in the most recent Champions League. A historic performance for Waterhouse.

 


 

CONCACAF League Week 3 Wrap-Up

The round of 16 kicked off this week, meaning we've now seen the entire field of teams in action at least once. There were a lot of tantalizing first legs played, and after the dust settled it's fair to say all 16 teams are still alive, with the largest margin of victory being just two goals. A great example of the increasing parity in the region.

Santa Tecla 0-0 San Carlos

This was not the prettiest of matches, with honestly the only real good chance of the match coming in the 3rd minute for Santa Tecla, but credit should be given to the hosts for not conceding an away goal and putting them in good position for the second leg.

Robinhood 1-1 Independiente

Robinhood fell behind late in the game and it looked to be a loss that would kill their chances of advancing, but a dramatic stoppage time goal from Shaquille Cairo sent the fans into hysteria and kept the Surinamese side alive.

 Highlights Here

Managua 1-2 Motagua

In their first game since the horrible attacks over the weekend, Motagua escaped with a 2-1 victory thanks to a couple of mistakes from the home side. Remember that the Motagua home leg will be played behind closed doors, so Managua are still very much in it, especially if they can correct the mistakes they made in this game.

Comunicaciones 2-1 Guastatoya

In an all Guatemalan affair that will guarantee the country a place in the quarterfinals and more likely than not a return to the CONCACAF Champions League, Comunicaciones emerged the victors after a wild match. The hosts rallied from behind to claim a 2-1 win and leave the series hanging in the balance heading into next week.

Saprissa 2-0 Águila

Saprissa looked better here than they did in the first round against Belmopan, but Águila produced a lot of really good chances and on another day may have picked up an away goal or two. As it stands, Saprissa are in control but will need to be cautious on the road.

Waterhouse 1-1 Herediano

It was a dream start for the Jamaicans, getting on the board after just three minutes and making the reigning champions really push for that away goal. They eventually got it, but Waterhouse know they are still in this series and a 1-1 draw in the away leg is more than within their capabilities.

Forge 1-0 Olimpia

Forge continues to impress, remaining unbeaten in this tournament and a perfect 2-0 at Tim Horton's Field. The goal came very early from Chris Nanco, and the Canadian side will look now to replicate their efforts from the last round when they head to Honduras (behind closed doors) next week. There were a lot of great chances in this game, including a missed penalty for Olimpia, but a one goal margin of victory was a fair result.

Alianza 2-0 Tauro

Alianza remain the most impressive team in the tournament thus far and one of the most impressive teams on the continent; their league form has been every bit as good as their performance in this tournament. A very comfortable 2-0 win for the hosts means they have a bit of leeway when they travel to Panama for leg 2.

CONCACAF League Week 2 Wrap-Up

The preliminary round has come to a close and the field has been narrowed to 16 teams. Everyone is just four series wins away from a title and potentially only one win away from the Champions League. The round of 16 may be early goings but these will be some seriously important matches.

During Jornada 2 we saw the conclusion of the series from last week, complete with some real surprises and impressive performances. Here's the quick review:

Santa Tecla 1-0 Real Estelí (2-2 aggregate)

Santa Tecla took an early lead into a massive thunderstorm and power outage delay, and held on to advance on away goals. Last week's MVP Juan Barrera sat out with the flu, and his absence was visible for Estelí.

AS Capoise 1-1 Robinhood (1-1 aggregate)

Capoise dominated the start of the match and took a deserved lead on an unfortunate own-goal in the 21st minute. The momentum shifted in the second half and Robinhood snatched the winning away goal in the 79th minute thanks to Cirilo Da Costa's header.

Saprissa 3-1 Belmopan Bandits (6-2 aggregate)

This series was already finished when Saprissa took a 3-1 lead in Belize last week, but the Bandits played well. They played even better in the Monster's Cave, even taking a 1-0 lead into halftime to put the whole region on upset alert. Needing just one more goal to steal a legendary series win, they were burned a few times in the second half to make the aggregate score a completely inaccurate picture of how competitive this series was.

San Francisco 0-1 Alianza (1-6 aggregate)

Alianza demolished San Francisco so bad in the first leg that the energy was a little low for this one. Alianza snatched the away win for style points and look quite dangerous heading into the next round.

Antigua GFC 0-0 Forge FC (1-2 aggregate)

A thrilling series ends with Canada's first ever representative living to fight another day. After conceding the away goal last week it looked like a tall order to escape from Guatemala alive, but Forge pulled it off despite some scares. A fantastic result for their first foray into Central America.

Marathón 1-1 Comunicaciones (Aggregate 2-3)

With only a few minutes left to play in a flooded affair it looked like Guatemalan football was in for a sour night when Yustin Arboleda banged one in for Marathón, but a dramatic late winner in extra time from Christian Hernandez on what seemed to be a failed cross sent Los Cremas through to the next round. This is the pure chaos we're all here to see.

 Player of the Week: Kyle Bekker

Bekker was in charge of the midfield for Forge all night, making some key steals and helping control the pace to prevent Antigua from overwhelming them.


Goal of the Week: Yustin Arboleda

Arboleda's impressive juggling act should have been a fantastic winner that would go down in club lore, but after the loss it may be forgotten.

CONCACAF League Week 1 Wrap-Up

One week down in the CONCACAF League, nine more to go. And what a great start to the tournament it was. There were at least three goals in every game, with one exception, but even the 0-0 draw between Robinhood and Capoise was compelling. For this tournament I'm going to keep it simple; these wrap-up posts will have one or two sentence summaries of each match, a link to the highlights, and my player of the week and goal of the week.

Real Estelí 2-1 Santa Tecla

Juan Barrera had an absolutely dominant performance including the game winning goal to give Estelí their first ever win in a CONCACAF tournament. Three really good goals in this one.

Robinhood 0-0 AS Capoise

Hardly a dull match, the fans in Suriname were treated to about 10 penalty shouts, plenty of fantastic saves, and a swashbuckling Capoise side as promised. They also got a 20 minute power outage delay.

Belmopan Bandits 1-3 Saprissa

Saprissa came out with a comfortable win as expected, but Belmopan did well to net one fantastic goal and they nearly had another later on.

Forge FC 2-1 Antigua 

After falling behind early and being completely dominated in the first half, Forge turned it around with two goals in the second half to snag Canada's first ever CONCACAF League win and give themselves hope in the series.

Alianza 5-1 San Francisco 

It got ugly quick for the visitors who were down 3-0 by the half-hour mark. Alianza looked really really good.

Comunicaciones 2-1 Marathón

What could have been disaster for the hosts when they fell behind immediately turned into a 2-1 win with the series hanging in the balance. Side note: Disappointing crowd in Guatemala City.

Player of the Week: Juan Barrera

Barrera was just so dang good in this game, he has to get the nod. Shout out to Saprissa youngster Manfred Ugalde who scored twice, but Barrera controlled the midfield the way you expect a legend to.

Goal of the Week: Jefrie James

The Belmopan man pulled the ball down in heavy traffic and then fired it past four defenders into the top corner from 25 yards out. It was reaaaaally good.

That's all from me, the preliminary round second legs are next week. See you then!