2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League was the first edition of the CONCACAF club football championship modelled after the UEFA Champions League, replacing the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and overall the 44th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The championship began on August 26, 2008, and it concluded May 12, 2009.[1] Atlante of Mexico won the championship after defeating Cruz Azul, also from Mexico on aggregate at the Final. They represented CONCACAF in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

2008–09 CONCACAF
Champions League
Tournament details
DatesAugust 26, 2008 – April 30, 2009
Teams24 (from 13 associations)
Final positions
Champion(s) Atlante (2nd title)
Runners-up Cruz Azul
Tournament statistics
Matches played77
Goals scored223 (2.9 per match)
Attendance539,397 (7,005 per match)
Top scorer(s) Javier Orozco
(7 goals)

Qualification

24 teams from 13 nations participated in the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine of the teams came from North America, twelve from Central America, and three from the Caribbean. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 competition:[2]

Teams in bold qualify directly for the Group Stage.

Association Club Qualifying method
North America (9 teams)
Mexico
4 berths
Atlante 2007 Apertura winners
Santos Laguna 2008 Clausura winners
U.N.A.M 2007 Apertura runners-up
Cruz Azul 2008 Clausura runners-up
United States
4 berths
Houston Dynamo 2007 MLS Cup winners
D.C. United 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield winners
New England Revolution 2007 U.S. Open Cup winners and 2007 MLS Cup runners-up
Chivas USA 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up1
Canada
1 berth
Montreal Impact 2008 Canadian Championship winners
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica
2 berths
Saprissa 2007 Invierno and 2008 Verano winners
Alajuelense 2008 Verano runners-up2
Honduras
2 berths
Marathón 2007 Apertura winners
Olimpia 2008 Clausura winners
Guatemala
2 berths
Jalapa 2007 Apertura winners
Municipal 2008 Clausura winners
El Salvador
2 berths
Luis Ángel Firpo 2007 Apertura and 2008 Clausura winners
Isidro Metapán 2008 Clausura runners-up3
Panama
2 berths
San Francisco 2007 Clausura and 2008 Apertura winner
Tauro 2008 Apertura runners-up4
Belize
1 berth
Hankook Verdes 2007–08 Belize Premier Football League winners
Nicaragua
1 berth
Real Estelí 2007 Apertura and 2008 Clausura winners
Caribbean (3 teams)
Jamaica Harbour View 2007 CFU Club Championship winners
Trinidad and Tobago Joe Public 2007 CFU Club Championship runners-up
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Islanders 2007 CFU Club Championship third place

1 New England were both the 2007 U.S. Open Cup winners and the 2007 MLS Cup runners-up, so Chivas USA claimed USA4 as the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up.

2 Saprissa were both the 2007 Invierno and 2008 Verano winners, so Alajuelense has claimed CRC2 as the 2008 Verano runners-up.

3 Luis Ángel Firpo were both the 2007 Apertura and 2008 Clausura winners, so Isidro Metapán has claimed SLV2 as the 2008 Clausura runners-up.

4 San Francisco were both the 2007 Clausura and 2008 Apertura winners, so Tauro has claimed PAN2 as the 2008 Apertura runners-up.

Format

There was a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. They were joined by the other eight teams who were seeded directly into the Group Stage. The clubs involved in the Group Stage were 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 Knockout Rounds, which will consist of two-legged ties. The Final Round, to be held in late April 2009, were also two-legged. Also, unlike the previously contested CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the away goals rule is used in the CONCACAF Champions League, but does not apply after a tie goes into extra time.[3]

Group Stage
Pot A Atlante Santos Laguna Houston Dynamo D.C. United
Pot B Saprissa Olimpia Municipal Luis Ángel Firpo
Preliminary Round
Pot A Universidad Nacional Cruz Azul New England Revolution Chivas USA
Alajuelense Marathón San Francisco Montreal Impact
Pot B Jalapa Isidro Metapán Tauro Hankook Verdes
Real Estelí Harbour View Joe Public Puerto Rico Islanders

Schedule

Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary Round Preliminary June 11, 2008
(New York, US)
August 26–29, 2008 September 2–4, 2008
Group Stage Matchday 1 August 16–18, 2008
Matchday 2 August 23–25, 2008
Matchday 3 September 30–October 2, 2008
Matchday 4 October 7–9, 2008
Matchday 5 October 21–23, 2008
Matchday 6 October 28–30, 2008
Championship Round Quarterfinals December 10, 2008 February 24–26, 2009 March 3–5, 2009
Semifinals March 17–18, 2009 April 7–8, 2009
Final April 22, 2009 May 12, 2009

Preliminary round

The draw for the Preliminary Round was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City. The first legs of the Preliminary Round were played 26–28 August 2008, while the second legs were played 2–4 September 2008.[4]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Jalapa 1–5 San Francisco 1–0 0–5
Joe Public 6–1 New England Revolution 2–1 4–0
Alajuelense 2–3 Puerto Rico Islanders 1–1 1–2
Cruz Azul 12–0 Hankook Verdes 6–0 6–0
Harbour View 0–3 UNAM N/A [5] 0–3
Tauro 3–1 Chivas USA 2–0 1–1
Montreal Impact 1–0 Real Estelí 1–0 0–0
Isidro Metapán 3–4 Marathón 2–2 1–2

The effects of Hurricane Gustav led to the cancellation of the first leg of the Harbour View - UNAM tie, and as a result the tie was contested as a single match.[6]

Group stage

The Group Stage draw was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City and was unveiled on 16 June 2008.[4] Winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarterfinals.[3]

Group A

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Marathón 6411125+713
Cruz Azul 631284+410
Saprissa 631279−210
D.C. United 6015413−91
 DCUSAPCRUMAR
D.C. United 0–2 0–1 2–4
Saprissa 2–2 1–0 2–1
Cruz Azul 2–0 4–0 1–1
Marathón 2–0 2–0 2–0
  • Cruz Azul were ranked ahead of Saprissa based on head-to-head record, which is the first tiebreaker.[3]

Group B

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
UNAM 6330187+1112
Houston Dynamo 62319909
Luis Ángel Firpo 622268−28
San Francisco 6024413−92
 HOULAFSFRUNAM
Houston Dynamo 1–0 2–1 1–3
Luis Ángel Firpo 1–1 1–0 1–1
San Francisco 0–0 2–3 1–1
UNAM 4–4 3–0 6–0

Group C

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Atlante 632163+311
Montreal Impact 6321105+511
Olimpia 6222106+48
Joe Public 6105315−123
 ATLOLIJOEMON
Atlante 1–0 0–1 2–1
Olimpia 1–1 4–0 1–2
Joe Public 0–2 1–3 1–4
Montreal Impact 0–0 1–1 2–0
  • Atlante were ranked ahead of Montreal Impact based on head-to-head record, which is the first tiebreaker.[3]

Group D

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Santos Laguna 63121411+310
Puerto Rico Islanders 6222910−18
Tauro 6222910−18
Municipal 61321213−16
 SANMUNPRITAU
Santos Laguna 3–2 3–0 3–0
Municipal 4–4 2–2 2–2
Puerto Rico Islanders 3–1 0–1 2–1
Tauro 2–0 2–1 2–2
  • Puerto Rico Islanders were ranked ahead of Tauro based on head-to-head record, which is the first tiebreaker.[3]

Championship round

The draw for the Championship Round was held on 10 December 2008. In each round, teams will play their opponent once at home and once away. The four group winners from the Group Stage will play the second leg at home in the Quarterfinals. The order of the home and away matches for the Semifinals and Finals were determined at the draw.

In all rounds, if two teams are tied after both legs then two 15-minute halves of extra time are played. If the two teams are still tied on total goals after extra time a penalty shootout determines the winner.

Bracket

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                                   
Puerto Rico Islanders 2 1 3  
Marathón 1 0 1  
  Puerto Rico Islanders 2 1 3 (2)  
  Cruz Azul (p) 0 3 3 (4)  
Cruz Azul 1 1 2
UNAM 0 0 0  
  Cruz Azul 0 0 0
  Atlante 2 0 2
Montreal Impact 2 2 4  
Santos Laguna 0 5 5  
  Santos Laguna 2 1 3
  Atlante 1 3 4  
Houston Dynamo 1 0 1
Atlante 1 3 4  

Quarterfinals

The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played from 24 February 2009 to 26 February 2009, while the second legs were played from 3 March 2009 to 5 March 2009.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Houston Dynamo 1–4 Atlante 1–1 0–3
Montreal Impact 4–5 Santos Laguna 2–0 2–5
Puerto Rico Islanders 3–1 Marathón 2–1 1–0
Cruz Azul 2–0 UNAM 1–0 1–0

Semifinals

The first legs of the Semifinals were played on 17 March and 18 March 2009, while the second legs were played on 7 April and 8 April 2009.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Puerto Rico Islanders 3–3 (2–4 p) Cruz Azul 2–0 1–3 (aet)
Santos Laguna 3–4 Atlante 2–1 1–3

Final

The two-legged Final was played on 22 April and 12 May 2009. The second leg was originally scheduled for 29 April, but was postponed until 12 May by CONCACAF due to concerns over an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Cruz Azul 0–2 Atlante 0–2 0–0
CONCACAF Champions League
2008–09 Champions
Atlante
Second Title

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Club Goals
1 Javier Orozco Cruz Azul 7
2 Agustín Enrique Herrera Santos Laguna 5
Francisco Palencia UNAM
Guillermo Ramírez Municipal
Gregory Richardson Joe Public
6 Brunet Hay Tauro 4
Edwin Aguilar Tauro
Christian Benítez Santos Laguna
Roberto Brown Montreal Impact
Milton Núñez Marathón
Carlos Quintero Santos Laguna
Vicente Matías Vuoso Santos Laguna
Pablo Zeballos Cruz Azul

References

  1. "CONCACAF Champions League Officially Launched" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-01-28. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  2. "Qualifying Format Unveiled for 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-05-14. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  3. "CONCACAF Champions League Regulations 2008/2009" (PDF) (Press release). CONCACAF. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  4. "Preliminary Round match-ups unveiled for 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-06-11. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  5. "CONCACAF Champions League match rescheduled due to Hurricane Gustav" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-08-28. Archived from the original on 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  6. "CONCACAF Champions League match between Harbour View - Pumas UNAM cancelled" (Press release). CONCACAF. 2008-08-29. Archived from the original on 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
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