Photo by Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports
By DAN KARELL
For the first time in the current format of the CONCACAF Champions League, an MLS team has secured the No. 1 seed in the knockout round.
D.C. United were rewarded for their perfect group stage campaign by being seeded as the top team in the Championship stage, with a place at the bottom of the bracket and a quarterfinal matchup against Costa Rican club Alajuelense. D.C. United are the lone American club remaining in the tournament after the New York Red Bulls, Sporting Kansas City, and Portland Timbers were all eliminated out in the group stage.
The other MLS side remaining in the tournament is the Montreal Impact, who are seeded fourth and have been drawn with Liga MX side Pachuca in the quarterfinals.
In addition to the seeding, CONCACAF also announced the order of the two-legged ties and the approximate dates for the games, though the exact dates and start times will be determined as we get closer 2015.
The top four seeds, which also include Mexico’s Club America and Costa Rica’s CS Herediano, will all play the first leg on the road and host the second leg. Perhaps worryingly though to MLS teams is the provisional dates set. The first leg is currently set for Feb. 24-26 with the return leg set for March 3-5.
Though MLS has yet to release their schedule for the 2015 season, it’s possible that both of these matches could take place before the season even commences.
If D.C. United gets past Alajuelense in the quarterfinals, they’ll be matched up with the winner of the Impact-Pachuca series in the semifinals.
Here’s a look at the final seedings and the quarterfinal matchups in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League:
Rankings
DC United (USA) – 12 points, +5 GD
Club America (MEX) – 10 points, +16 GD
CS Herediano (CRC) – 10 points, +7 GD
Impact de Montreal (CAN) – 10 points, +3 GD
Club Pachuca (MEX) – 9 points, +9 GD
Olimpia (HON) – 9 points, +7 GD
Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) – 7 points, +3 GD
LD Alajuelense (CRC) – 6 points, +1 GD
CONCACAF Champions League 2014/15 Quarterfinals – Home Leg (Feb. 24-26)
– LD Alajuelense (CRC) vs. DC United (USA)
– Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) vs. Club America (MEX)
– Olimpia (HON) vs. CS Herediano (CRC)
– Club Pachuca (MEX) vs. Impact de Montreal (CAN)
CONCACAF Champions League 2014/15 Quarterfinals – Away Leg (March 3-5)
– DC United (USA) vs. LD Alajuelense (CRC)
– Club America (MEX) vs. Deportivo Saprissa (CRC)
– CS Herediano (CRC) vs. Olimpia (HON)
– Impact de Montreal (CAN) vs. Club Pachuca (MEX)
———–
What do you think of this news? Impressed that D.C. United earned the No. 1 seed? What do you think are their chances of progressing? How do you like the Impact’s chances next spring?
Share your thoughts below.
The CCL format was changed to give MLS more of an advantage by avoiding Liga MX teams in the group stages. The fact that 3 out of 4 US teams couldn’t even make it out of the group stages is pathetic.
The CCL is a yearly reminder of just how bad MLS is. The reality is that most MLS teams would finish at the bottom of the table in Liga MX.
I forget the exact numbers, but the average salary in LigaMx is something like 500,000, and in MLS its 100,000. Do the math if your a good player from South or Central America where are you going to play? Plus I would imagine when you figure in cost of living and that European Clubs pull from LigaMx at a much higher rate its a no brainer.
Since I don’t see rosters getting deeper anytime soon with expansion on the way, its scheduling and strategy that is needed.
1. If a team is qualified for next years CCL, MLS needs to front load them with a few Wed. games in May and June so that they aren’t making the determination of making the playoffs vs CCL as NYRB, Portland, and KC in terms of seeding had to do.
2. If SKC and the Timbers had started their regular 11 against Saprissa and Olympia and ran up the score at home earlier in the competition they’re 2 goal losses wouldn’t have mattered. The reserve sides won those games 3-1 and 4-2, put in the starters and the GD is likely higher and fewer away goals.
MLS needs deeper rosters and a larger salary cap to be able to win. The LigaMX teams pretty much play scrubs all the way until the final.
That’s why there is also only 2 of them this year as well.
MLS has come close to winning the champions league before. With the salary cap increasing I think our chances will improve to win.
In the first six years of CCL play MLS teams have made the semis 4 times and the final 1. That’s 17% of the time for semis and 8% of the time for the final. LigaMX 71% semis and 92% finals.
excellent news for DC and Montreal. hoping for those two to meet in SF and a Club America-DC final!
Hopefully those two reload this winter.
Very excited about this, especially DC United’s draw. A Mid Winter trip to sunny and warm Costa Rica is going to be awesome.
Good for you,…enjoy!
Are you listening Red Bulls? DCU topped the Eastern Conference in MLS and advanced in CCL! Red Bulls rested players for a very winnable CCL,…only to get spanked 4-0 in LA. What was accomplished? Squeaking into the play-offs?
Exactly. The worst part was hearing Mike Petke justify it by saying that Austria doesn’t understand what the CCL and Open Cup even are. What does that even mean? You know who does understand Mike? The fans who show up at RBA every week. Now, we’re looking at an a 2014 seasons consisting of a pathetic open cup loss to the Cosmos with a scrub team out there, an early exit from what should have been an easy CCL group and a road wild card game in KC or Columbus which, based upon RBNY’s road performance this year, probably means an early playoff exit.
Meanwhile the team is cheaping out with no third DP and not having a USL Pro team. I would be seriously considering whether to renew my season tickets if I hadn’t already done so because I caved to the “early renewal” pressure.
He means that he won’t get fired over losing in the Open Cup or CCL, but miss the playoffs and he will be Mike Petke, Former NY Coach.
I know what he meant but why does the club have that attitude?
lame excuse for losing.
they have cups & champions league in Austria (and every other country in the world)
they are just over dependent on their dp’s (or just Henry) and have a bad club culture.
I believe all the MLS teams played mostly reserve rosters throughout the CCL not just Red Bulls. I watched at least parts of the games this week and it seemed that way. Even Timbers and SKC who just needed one nil losses trotted out mostly reserves.
What a major disappointment as an MLS fan.
There must not be that much money available for CCL and CLWC for teams to care. It’s great that our attendance records continue to grow, but respect ultimately comes from success on the field.
Until MLS goes into CCL to win every other year or so, it’s all talk.
This year was a step backwards.
Aw, small victories, dude! I believe this is the first time an MLS side at the top since the Champions’ Cup. MLS has the same amount of teams in the quarterfinals as Liga MX. Only Costa Rica has more. I honestly think DC has a solid enough team to win the tournament altogether.
+1 small victories and a big victory for DCU!
side note; this must be the glory years for Costa Rican football. QF at the WC, all 3 teams in the CCL QF’s (elimated Cruz Azul & Leon on the way), Alajuelense made it to the semi’s last year after knocking out Club America, beautiful new National Stadium, they have players at Real Madrid, Arsenal, Fulham, Palermo & Everton.. i can’t remember a better time for Costa Rican football
It’s too bad MLS doesn’t support and/or care about the Champions League. It could be fun if they put in a little effort. Instead, we get half the league making a playoff that is ignored by 99.99% of the country during the height of football season.
I haven’t really been paying much attention to this competition since RBNY decided not to try so I was surprised to see only 1 of 4 US teams advancing. Pretty pathetic.
This will continue to happen as long as MLS adds new teams and waters down the quality of team rosters. Add a new franchise and weaken the teams; don’t raise the cap and weaken the quality. We can’t match Lega Mex’s payroll so I don’t see this changing.
The last time an expansion team was added was 2012 and that was… Montreal. A year later, Seattle and L.A. both made it to the semifinals. The addition of Orlando, NYCFC, and Atlanta have yet to affect the quality of current MLS rosters.
expansion is not the issue, its the, growing, salary cap and the scheduling. MLS’ starters might be able to compete with LigaMX and Central American clubs but their reserves are not even close.
hopefully with more warmer weather/indoor teams; Orlando, Atlanta, Miami?, Sacramento?, MN?, San Antonio?, entering the league we can start earlier, beginning of February, and give our teams a less congested schedule around international & ccl games and a shot in the knockout rounds.
Agree with this with a tweak. I am of the opinion that MLS needs to start in late July, play through early December and then take about a six week break over the Christmas/New Year’s holidays and January. Small international tournaments could be scheduled in warm markets that included European teams on winter break to fill the January void. MLS would then return to playing in early February (right after the Super Bowl). Additional warm weather locations and teams with the possibility of playing indoors as needed make this possible. The season would then finish with playoffs in May and MLS cup the first weekend of June or last weekend in May.
June and early July are becoming increasingly filled with international tournaments every year. 2013 – Confed Cup, 2014 – World Cup, 2015 – Gold Cup, 2016 – Copa America Cent. and Euro Champ., 2017 – Confed Cup, 2018 – World Cup, etc… This should be the MLS off season.
The switch is beautiful for many reasons. The best reason is the increased attention the playoffs and MLS Cup would receive in mainstream sports media in May vs. November. Currently the playoffs compete with the NFL, college football, the World Series, the start of the NBA season, the start of the NHL season, and the start of college basketball. That’s a tough lineup. I know there would still be competition from football for fall MLS games. That’s not going away. Better to have the most exciting part of the season in a month (May) with much less competition (no football) and good weather all most locations.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the current TV contracts run through 2022 and the Qatar World Cup. If the 2022 World Cup takes place in the winter, it would seem to be the best time for MLS to make a switch to the new calendar.
+1,000,000
I’ve been saying the exact same thing for awhile.
okay. yes you have a much better overhauled schedule there. MLS Cup and CCL finals in May would be amazing!
i was just stating minor improvements to the current alignment that would make MLS more competitive.
Excited to see 5 nations represented in the last 8. I am curious what kind of media numbers some of these matches will get in other nations. It would be nice to see this tournament start to bring in some good regional media income. It wouldn’t take a huge pool of funds to make this very beneficial for participating clubs.
This is the key point. This competition is worthless if more countries aren’t actually interested. I will take a poor year from MLS clubs if it improves the appeal of the prize within the region.
2013 and 2014 last place teams carrying the MLS flag in the CCL.
Beautiful.
Score one for ANTI Pro/Rel. That DOES NOT happen if they are relegated. Guys like Hamid are on to other teams and DC gets it handed to them in the Champs league tourney.
That’s a very fair point.
Although, for conversation purposes is that a good thing if we (MLS/MLS fans) have aspirations of winning the CCL?
We need the Superclub team to win CCL ?
Maybe.
Look at England sharing “too much” of the TV revs, getting crushed by Spanish teams which barely do.
Not gonna happen here, I am glad for that, but it makes it tougher to win CCL.
I wouldn’t be too sure it will never happen here. Don Garber isn’t going to be in charge forever and it makes too much sense not to happen. It’s not time yet but eventually it will be.
what does Garber have to do with it? It’s the owners who will decide whether or not things change.
Well, to clarify I wasn’t implying a superclub was needed.
More specifically I’m just referring to our league and it’s hell-bent nature to create parity and the less than advantageous position it puts our clubs in (ignoring the obvious salary/depth disparity).
Of course, can it be done? Sure. RSL displayed a certain blueprint for it recently. I’m just thinking/discussing out loud.
DC would have still had their CCL birth from the cup win, even with relegation. The assumption is that the club would have sold off their players, but with DC already having one of the lowest player salaries, they probably would have maintained the same level of spending to gain promotion. I think the only way the argument holds up is that DC wouldn’t have been playing as good competition this year, therefore wouldn’t be as sharp in the CCL.
Also, if there was relegation, DC probably attacks 2013 differently instead of tossing in the towel halfway through. So if anything, it’s a mark for PRO-relegation….since DC was obviously a decent team that quit on its MLS season.
MLS really needs better people in charge. It’s growing in spite of itself because soccer is more popular & TV sports are more popular.
If there was relegation, then we need to start having serious debates about MLS abiding to the FIFA calendar. It only makes sense. You can’t have an MLS team compete in the CCL quarter finals during pre-season if we’re sticking to this pro/rel argument. When Wigan won the FA Cup and were relegated and competing in the Europa League, they didn’t do it during pre-season. If Montreal were about to get relegated to NASL, you honestly expect them to compete properly in the quarter finals during their NASL PRE-SEASON?? That’s nuts.
So if it’s a mark for pro/rel, it’s a mark for FIFA Calendar as well. If you want success in CCL and pro/rel while keeping the current MLS calendar, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
And that’s if NASL kisses and makes up with MLS and decides to be their 2nd division and abide by their calendar, not NASL’s current FIFA-sanctioned calendar.
Wait, you’re talking about 2013 DC United? If you’re being sarcastic I apologize for not picking up on it. However, that team was awful. Lionard Pajoy was one of the starting FWDs. Kyle Porter made 28 appearances for that team. This season, he has made 3 appearances, all off the bench. Carlos Ruiz, walker and all, was on that team. To quote Charles Barkley, “turrible.”
Relegation does not matter here as DC entered this tourney as US Open Cup Winner
Really? So you think it is a good situation when 3 Costa Rican clubs advanced, but only 1 out of 4 US clubs advanced. With no promotion/relegation, we are struggling even against underwhelming regional competition. I guess MLS can pat itself on its back.
As usual, your comments – re. MLS – are always off the mark. Besides the fact that Mexico had a tough go of it (i notice how you conveniently left them out of your argument) many a great point have been made to explain how MLS went from almost 4 teams to two (it’s two MLS teams by the way).
Maybe it’s an off year or maybe the region is getting better – time will tell. However, I do see how it gives you ammo to keep stating your case – which is MLS is not good enough and can only be better if we __________.
Of our TWO teams one of them had top seed and the other was a high seed as well. Yeah we only have two but seriously, are you not entertained? 🙂
I am not sure what you mean by MLS went from “almost 4 teams to two.” Are you trying to pad MLS’s actual record? I specifically referred to teams from the United States, which went 1 for 4. Under the format of the competition, the places are allocated to a country, not a league. US and Mexico each get four teams. Canada gets one. If you argue that US and Canadian teams should be viewed together because they all represent MLS, it is a fair point. However, if you combine them, you should increase the total number of entries, not just the entries that advanced. In other words, you should stated that 2 out of 5 MLS teams advanced. Both Costa Rica, Mexico and Honduras had a higher percentage of their teams advance than MLS did. And Concacaf helped MLS by separating them from Mexican teams at the group stage. And of the two teams remaining, do you really expect that Montreal or DCU will win the competition even with Mexican teams having an off year by their standards? As a DCU supporter, I am happy that they got the top seed, but I am not giddy. The teams in DCU’s group, Waterhouse and Tauro, were poor and DCU did not dominate against them (although to be fair DCU did play a lot of reserves in the last game). Just look at their goal difference and compare it that of America or Pachuca. Let’s see how MLS teams do in the quarter finals against lower seeded teams from Mexican and Costa Rican leagues before putting too much stock into their high seeding.
You are right on the total count – it’s 5 MLS teams.
If Portland does not put themselves in playoff limbo and play their first squad against that team – I like their chances.
Saprissa is a regional powerhouse that can beat any of the teams in this region. So KC losing to them is nothing shameful. Plus KC beat them handily at home.
I am a DC fan and ecstatic that we topped our group – you can choose to belittle the competition but we did what we had to do and got the points plus with our B squad to boot.
MLS teams and Mexican teams don’t face each other this early in the competition – I am quite sure you knew that. Plus, what do you have to say for the Mexican teams that lost – shouldn’t they have dominated?
Some people are never happy and can find dung inside of honey. Am I calling MLS the best league on Earth? Of course not but unlike you I chose to understand that things take time and I believe that MLS is handling it’s timetable just fine. Accuse me of patting them on the back? I guess so. Better than kicking them in the gut every time one gets the chance. But that’s just me.
I want MLS to succeed, but it has a lot of baggage the it need to ditch to become more competitive such as single entity structure, ban on free agency, no promotion/relegation, salary cap, etc.