2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1][2] was the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 51st edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League
2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
DatesAugust 4, 2015 – April 27, 2016
Teams24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions América (7th title)
Runners-up UANL
Tournament statistics
Matches played62
Goals scored159 (2.56 per match)
Top scorer(s) Emanuel Villa (6 goals)
Best player(s) Rubens Sambueza
Best young player Alberth Elis
Best goalkeeper Hugo González
Fair play award Querétaro

América were the defending champions, and won their second consecutive title, and seventh CONCACAF club title (including the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era), by beating fellow Mexican team UANL 4–1 on aggregate in the final. As the winner of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, they qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their third appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup.[3][4]

Qualification
Location of teams of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League
North American Zone
Central American Zone
Caribbean Zone

A total of 24 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League: nine from the North American Zone (from three associations), twelve from the Central American Zone (from at most seven associations), and three from the Caribbean Zone (from at most three associations).[3] Therefore, a maximum of 13 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the tournament.

Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club does not have an available stadium that meets CONCACAF regulations for safety. If a club's own stadium fails to meet the set standards then it may find a suitable replacement stadium within its own country. However, if it is still determined that the club cannot provide the adequate facilities then it runs the risk of being replaced.

North America

Nine teams from the North American Football Union (NAFU) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations is as follows: four berths for each of Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

For Mexico, the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage. If a team reaches both tournament finals, the vacated berth is reallocated through regular season record.

For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs; the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. If U.S.-based, the MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the other regular season conference winner and the U.S. Open Cup winner are placed in Pot 3. If a team qualifies through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which has failed to otherwise qualify.

Because Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2015 Canadian Championship, typically played April–May, was extended, with the finals in August. Because a winner therefore would not be determined before the start of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, for this season only, the lone Canadian berth into the tournament (in Pot 1) was given to the best Canadian team in the MLS regular season. The champions of the 2015 Canadian Championship would instead qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, and the Canadian Championship schedule in future years will finish in June or July, after the CONCACAF Champions League draw each year, so future winners of the Voyageurs Cup (the Canadian Championship trophy) will earn entry into the Champions League for the following calendar year instead of the same calendar year as in previous tournaments.[5]

Central America

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations is as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, and one berth for each of Nicaragua and Belize. The teams from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama are placed in Pot 2 and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1.

All of these leagues employ the split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualify if there are two available berths (if the same team wins both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualifies), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualifies if there is only one available berth.

If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American association. The reallocation is based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.

Caribbean

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualify to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. In order for a team to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they usually need to finish as the champion or runner-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams may also be selected by their associations if they play in the league of another country.

If any Caribbean club is precluded, it is supplanted by the fourth-place finisher from the CFU Club Championship.

Teams

The following 24 teams (from 12 associations) qualified for the tournament.

In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).

Association Team Pot Qualifying method App Last App Previous Best
North America (9 teams)
Mexico
4 berths		 América 3 2014 Apertura champions 3rd 2014–15 Champions
(2014–15)
UANL 2014 Apertura runners-up 2nd 2012–13 Quarterfinals
(2012–13)
Santos Laguna 2015 Clausura champions 5th 2012–13 Runners-up
(2 times)
Querétaro 2015 Clausura runners-up 1st N/A N/A
United States
4 berths		 LA Galaxy 2014 MLS Cup champions 5th 2013–14 Semifinals
(2012–13)
Seattle Sounders FC 2014 MLS Supporters' Shield champions
2014 U.S. Open Cup champions		 4th 2012–13 Semifinals
(2012–13)
D.C. United 2014 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions 4th 2014–15 Quarterfinals
(2014–15)
Real Salt Lake 2014 MLS Supporters' Shield fourth place[Note USA] 3rd 2012–13 Runners-up
(2010–11)
Canada
1 berth		 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team[Note CAN] 1st N/A N/A
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica
2 berths		 Saprissa 2 2014 Invierno champions 5th 2014–15 Semifinals
(2010–11)
Herediano 2015 Verano champions 6th 2014–15 Semifinals
(2014–15)
Honduras
2 berths		 Motagua 2014 Apertura champions 3rd 2011–12 Group stage
(2011–12)
Olimpia 2015 Clausura champions 8th 2014–15 Quarterfinals
(2 times)
Guatemala
2 berths		 Comunicaciones 2014 Apertura champions
2015 Clausura champions		 5th 2014–15 Quarterfinals
(2009–10)
Municipal 2014 Apertura runners-up
2015 Clausura runners-up		 6th 2014–15 Group stage
(4 times)
Panama
2 berths		 San Francisco 2014 Apertura champions 5th 2011–12 Group stage
(2008–09)
Árabe Unido 2015 Clausura champions 4th 2013–14 Quarterfinals
(2 times)
El Salvador
2 berths		 Isidro Metapán 1 2014 Apertura champions 8th 2014–15 Quarterfinals
(2011–12)
Santa Tecla 2015 Clausura champions 1st N/A N/A
Nicaragua
1 berth		 Walter Ferretti Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season 1st N/A N/A
Belize
1 berth		 Verdes Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season 2nd 2008–09 Preliminary round
(2008–09)
Caribbean (3 teams)
Trinidad and Tobago
2 teams		 Central 1 2015 CFU Club Championship champions 1st N/A N/A
W Connection 2015 CFU Club Championship runners-up 4th 2013–14 Group stage
(3 times)
Jamaica
1 team		 Montego Bay United 2015 CFU Club Championship third place 1st N/A N/A
Notes
  1. ^
    Canada (CAN): Starting from 2015, the Canadian Championship will be played in the timeframe of June and July instead of April and May. As a result, the 2015 Canadian Championship will not be played in time to designate the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. As such, it has been agreed with all participating clubs, and approved by CONCACAF, that the 2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team would be appointed the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. This setup is for one season only, and starting from the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, the winner of the previous season's Canadian Championship will be the Canadian representative for the CONCACAF Champions League (e.g., the winner of the 2015 Canadian Championship will qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League).[5]
  2. ^
    United States (USA): The berth earned by Seattle Sounders FC for winning the U.S. Open Cup was passed to Real Salt Lake, the best U.S. team in the Supporters' Shield table not already qualified for the Champions League.[6]

Draw

The draw for the tournament was held on June 1, 2015, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida.[7] The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots.[8]

For the draw, the 24 teams were seeded into three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) were placed in the same pot such that they could not be drawn into the same group:[9]

  • Pot 1 contained two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Canada, Nicaragua, and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean.
  • Pot 2 contained two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama.
  • Pot 3 contained four teams each from Mexico and the United States.

The seeding was changed from previous seasons where teams from the same association were placed in different pots.

Pot 1
Isidro Metapán Santa Tecla Vancouver Whitecaps FC Walter Ferretti
Verdes Central W Connection Montego Bay United
Pot 2
Saprissa Herediano Olimpia Motagua
Comunicaciones Municipal Árabe Unido San Francisco
Pot 3
América Santos Laguna UANL Querétaro
LA Galaxy Seattle Sounders FC D.C. United Real Salt Lake

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Stage Round First leg Second leg
Group stage Matchday 1 August 4–6, 2015
Matchday 2 August 18–20, 2015
Matchday 3 August 25–27, 2015
Matchday 4 September 15–17, 2015
Matchday 5 September 22–24, 2015
Matchday 6 October 20–22, 2015
Knockout stage Quarterfinals February 23–24, 2016 March 1–2, 2016
Semifinals March 15–16, 2016 April 5, 2016
Final April 20, 2016 April 27, 2016

Group stage
Main article: 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League group stage

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the quarterfinals.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAN SAP WCO
1 Santos Laguna 4 3 0 1 12 3 +9 9 Knockout stage — 6–1 4–0
2 Saprissa 4 2 0 2 8 9 −1 6 2–1 — 4–0
3 W Connection 4 1 0 3 2 10 −8 3 0–1 2–1 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification UAN HER MET
1 UANL 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8 Knockout stage — 0–0 2–1
2 Herediano 4 1 2 1 4 3 +1 5 1–1 — 3–0
3 Isidro Metapán 4 1 0 3 4 7 −3 3 1–2 2–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification QUE SFO VER
1 Querétaro 4 2 1 1 11 2 +9 7 Knockout stage — 2–0 8–0
2 San Francisco 4 2 0 2 11 5 +6 6 2–1 — 8–0
3 Verdes 4 1 1 2 2 17 −15 4 0–0 2–1 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LAX CEN COM
1 LA Galaxy 4 2 2 0 12 3 +9 8 Knockout stage — 5–1 5–0
2 Central 4 1 1 2 3 7 −4 4 1–1 — 1–0
3 Comunicaciones 4 1 1 2 2 7 −5 4 1–1 1–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AMÉ MOT WAL
1 América 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10 Knockout stage — 4–0 1–0
2 Motagua 4 2 1 1 5 6 −1 7 1–1 — 2–0
3 Walter Ferretti 4 0 0 4 2 8 −6 0 1–3 1–2 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEA OLI VAN
1 Seattle Sounders FC 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7 Knockout stage — 2–1 3–0
2 Olimpia 4 2 0 2 3 3 0 6 1–0 — 1–0
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4 1–1 1–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RSL MUN TEC
1 Real Salt Lake 4 3 1 0 4 1 +3 10 Knockout stage — 1–0 2–1
2 Municipal 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4 0–1 — 2–1
3 Santa Tecla 4 0 2 2 3 5 −2 2 0–0 1–1 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DCU ÁRA MBU
1 D.C. United 4 3 1 0 9 3 +6 10 Knockout stage — 2–0 3–0
2 Árabe Unido 4 2 0 2 5 4 +1 6 0–1 — 3–0
3 Montego Bay United 4 0 1 3 4 11 −7 1 3–3 1–2 —
Source: CONCACAF

Knockout stage
Main article: 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. The away goals rule would be used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so a tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg (Regulations, II. C. Tie-Breaker Procedures).[3]

Starting from this season, the higher-seeded team in each tie would host the second leg throughout the knockout stage.

Seeding

The qualified teams were seeded 1–8 in the knockout stage according to their results in the group stage.

Seed Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 E América 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10
2 H D.C. United 4 3 1 0 9 3 +6 10
3 G Real Salt Lake 4 3 1 0 4 1 +3 10
4 A Santos Laguna 4 3 0 1 12 3 +9 9
5 D LA Galaxy 4 2 2 0 12 3 +9 8
6 B UANL 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8
7 C Querétaro 4 2 1 1 11 2 +9 7
8 F Seattle Sounders FC 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Drawing of lots (Regulations, II. C. Tie-Breaker Procedures).[3]

Bracket
  Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                                         
7 Querétaro 2 1 3  
2 D.C. United 0 1 1  
  7 Querétaro 0 0 0  
  6 UANL 0 2 2  
6 UANL 2 1 3
3 Real Salt Lake 0 1 1  
  6 UANL 0 1 1
  1 América 2 2 4
5 LA Galaxy 0 0 0  
4 Santos Laguna 0 4 4  
  4 Santos Laguna 0 0 0
  1 América (a.e.t.) 0 1 1  
8 Seattle Sounders FC 2 1 3
1 América 2 3 5  

Quarterfinals
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC 3–5 América 2–2 1–3
Querétaro 3–1 D.C. United 2–0 1–1
UANL 3–1 Real Salt Lake 2–0 1–1
LA Galaxy 0–4 Santos Laguna 0–0 0–4

Semifinals
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Santos Laguna 0–1 América 0–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Querétaro 0–2 UANL 0–0 0–2

Final
Main article: 2016 CONCACAF Champions League Final
UANL 0–2 América
Report Benedetto  49'
Martínez  90+3'
Attendance: 39,293
América 2–1 UANL
Arroyo  68'
Martínez  87' (pen.)		 Report Gignac  39'
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)

América won 4–1 on aggregate.

CONCACAF Champions League
2015–16 Champion
América
Seventh Title

Top goalscorers
Querétaro's Emanuel Villa became the first player to score five goals in a CONCACAF Champions League match, during his team's home match against Verdes on September 17, 2015.[10]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Emanuel Villa Querétaro 6
2 Michael Arroyo América 5
Alan Gordon LA Galaxy
4 Djaniny Santos Laguna 4
André-Pierre Gignac UANL
Darwin Quintero América
7 Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC 3
Oribe Peralta América
Johnny Ruiz San Francisco

Source: CONCACAF.com[11]

Awards
Award[12] Player Team
Golden Ball Rubens Sambueza América
Golden Boot Emanuel Villa Querétaro
Golden Glove Hugo González América
Best Young Player Alberth Elis Olimpia
Fair Play Award — Querétaro

See also

References
  1. "Scotiabank Joins CONCACAF as Official Partner". CONCACAF.com. December 9, 2014.
  2. "Official Logo Unveiled for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF.com. February 10, 2015.
  3. "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015–16 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
  4. "America crowned continental kings again". FIFA.com. 28 April 2016.
  5. "Changes for future Amway Canadian Championships". CONCACAF.com. March 21, 2014. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014.
  6. "Real Salt Lake savors CCL qualification". CONCACAF.com. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  7. "SCCL draw slated for Monday". CONCACAF.com. May 29, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  8. "Draw Produces Intriguing Matches for 2015/16 SCCL Group Stage". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  9. "Official Draw: Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  10. "Queretaro's Villa makes history on five-goal night". CONCACAF.com. September 18, 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  11. "CONCACAF Champions League — Statistics". CONCACAF.com.
  12. "Individual Awards Winners Announced for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16". CONCACAF.com. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
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