2018 CONCACAF Champions League final

Last updated

2018 CONCACAF Champions League final
Event 2018 CONCACAF Champions League
on aggregate
Guadalajara won 4–2 on penalties
First leg
Date17 April 2018 (2018-04-17)
Venue BMO Field, Toronto
Man of the Match Rodolfo Pizarro (Guadalajara) [1]
Referee Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica) [2]
Attendance29,925 [3]
WeatherCloudy
2 °C (36 °F)
59% humidity [4]
Second leg
Date25 April 2018 (2018-04-25)
Venue Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
Man of the Match Rodolfo Cota (Guadalajara) [1]
RefereeÓscar Moncada (Honduras) [5]
Attendance36,977 [6]
WeatherClear
27 °C (81 °F)
13% humidity [7]
2017
2019

The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League final was the final round of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, the championship for association football clubs in CONCACAF, representing North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The 2018 edition was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name and first since being re-organized into a single-year tournament.

Contents

The final was contested in a two-legged series between Toronto FC from Canada and Guadalajara from Mexico. The first leg was hosted in Toronto on 27 April 2018, at BMO Field in Toronto, while the second leg was hosted in Guadalajara on 25 April 2018, at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara. [8] [9] Guadalajara won the final 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the series was tied 3–3 on aggregate. As a result, they earned the right to represent CONCACAF at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the second round.

Teams

In the following table, final until 2008 were in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era, since 2009 were in the CONCACAF Champions League era.

TeamZonePrevious final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto FC North America (NAFU) None
Flag of Mexico.svg Guadalajara North America (NAFU) 3 ( 1962 , 1963, 2007)

Venues

BMO Field in 2016.png
BMO Field in Toronto, Canada hosted the first leg
Omnilife Stadium.png
Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico hosted the second leg

Toronto's BMO Field, with a seating capacity of 30,000, hosted the first leg of the final; it opened in 2007 and was renovated in 2016. [10] The second leg took place in Guadalajara at the Estadio Akron, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 48,071. [11] [12] The two stadiums hosting the final were also candidates for the 2026 FIFA World Cup bid shared between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, [11] although only Estadio Akron was eventually selected. [13]

Background

The CONCACAF Champions League was established in 2008 as the continental championship for football clubs in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, succeeding the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. During its first nine editions, the Champions League consisted of a group stage in summer and autumn followed by a knockout stage during the following spring. [14] Beginning with the 2018 edition of the tournament, the group stage was re-formed as the CONCACAF League and limited to Central American and Caribbean teams. The Champions League was shortened to a two-month knockout tournament between teams from North American and major Central American nations, as well as the winner of the CONCACAF League. [15] The knockout tournament falls within the beginning of Major League Soccer's season, which operates on a summer schedule unlike other football leagues. [16]

Toronto FC were appearing in their first final, and were the second Canadian team to have reached the final after Montreal Impact finished as runners-up in 2015. [17] [18] Only four teams from Major League Soccer (three American, one Canadian) on five occasions had managed to reach the final of the Champions League or the Champions' Cup. In addition to Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy (in 1997) and Real Salt Lake (in 2011) had previously lost in the final. D.C. United (in 1998) and LA Galaxy (in 2000) were the only two MLS teams to have won the competition, doing so during the Champions' Cup era. [19] Of these five finals, four were against Mexican opponents, with only D.C. United managing to win. [20]

Guadalajara had previously appeared in three finals, all in the Champions' Cup era. They won the inaugural edition in 1962, before finishing second the following year after withdrawing from the final. Guadalajara appeared in their next final 44 years later in 2007, losing to fellow Mexican club Pachuca on penalties. Mexican teams were the most successful in the history of the Champions League/Champions' Cup, with a total of 12 teams having won a combined 33 titles. Mexican teams had appeared in every final since 2005, and won every tournament since 2006. There had been a total of eleven all-Mexican finals, all since 2002, including the previous two finals. [20]

Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto FC Round Flag of Mexico.svg Guadalajara
OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg
Flag of the United States.svg Colorado Rapids 2–0 2–0 (A) 0–0 (H) Round of 16 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Cibao 7–0 2–0 (A) 5–0 (H)
Flag of Mexico.svg UANL 4–4 (a) 2–1 (H) 2–3 (A) Quarter-finals Flag of the United States.svg Seattle Sounders FC 3–1 0–1 (A) 3–0 (H)
Flag of Mexico.svg América 4–2 3–1 (H) 1–1 (A) Semi-finals Flag of the United States.svg New York Red Bulls 1–0 1–0 (H) 0–0 (A)

Toronto FC

Toronto FC qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Canadian Championship. [21] The berth was originally going to be determined via a play-off match in August 2017 between the winners of the two tournaments had another team won either edition, due to the restructuring of the Champions League. [22] Toronto had appeared in four prior Champions Leagues, finishing as high as the semi-finals in 2011–12, losing to eventual runners-up Santos Laguna. [23] The team also won the 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield, completing MLS's first ever domestic treble, but could not qualify for the Champions League through either because the berths were designated for a team from the United States. [24] Ironically, Toronto's coach, assistant coach, and several starting players were previous part of Chivas USA, an MLS team affiliated and wholly owned by Guadalajara. [25]

Toronto was placed into Pot 1 and drawn against fellow MLS club Colorado Rapids in the Round of 16. [26] Toronto played the first leg away in Commerce City, Colorado on February 20, winning 2–0 during the coldest ever match involving MLS teams, measured at 3 °F (−16 °C) at kickoff and −16 °F (−27 °C) with wind chill. [27] The team advanced into the quarter-finals with a 0–0 draw at home in Toronto, winning the series 2–0 on aggregate. [28] Toronto played Mexican champions Tigres UANL in the quarter-finals and won the home leg 2–1 with a late goal from Jonathan Osorio. [29] The team took a 2–1 lead in the away leg, but two goals from André-Pierre Gignac gave Tigres a 3–2 win and a 4–4 aggregate tie. Toronto advanced on away goals, becoming one of two MLS teams to advance to the semi-finals. [30] [31]

Toronto hosted the first leg of the semi-finals against Club América on April 3, winning 3–1 after two unanswered goals in the 44th and 58th minutes. [32] The match included a half-time altercation between Toronto and América players, in which América coach Miguel Herrera accused Toronto Police of assaulting his players. [33] To prepare for the away leg at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Toronto moved a league fixture and spent several days acclimating to the altitude in Pachuca. [34] [35] In the away leg, Toronto took an early lead in the 12th minute, but América equalized on a last-minute penalty, bringing the aggregate score to 4–2. [17] Toronto became the third Major League Soccer team and second Canadian team to advance to a Champions League final, following Real Salt Lake in 2011 and the Montreal Impact in 2015. [17]

Guadalajara

C.D. Guadalajara, also known as Chivas, qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2017 Clausura in Liga MX. [36] The 2018 tournament was the team's second under the current Champions League format, having finished in the group stage in 2012–13. [37] Under manager Matías Almeyda, Chivas advanced to seven finals in various tournaments since 2015. [38]

Guadalajara was drawn with Cibao FC, winners of the 2017 CONCACAF League, in the Round of 16. The team stayed in Puerto Plata, approximately 45 miles (72 km) from the stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, due to a tobacco growers' conference that filled available hotel space. [39] Guadalajara won the first leg in the Dominican Republic by a 2–0 margin and the second leg 5–0. [40] In the quarter-finals, Guadalajara played Seattle Sounders FC of MLS and lost the first leg 1–0 away in Seattle. [41] The return leg remained scoreless until the second half, which saw three goals from Chivas to win the match 3–0. [42] Chivas advanced to the final on a 1–0 aggregate win over the New York Red Bulls in the semi-finals. Isaác Brizuela scored the lone goal of the series in the first leg, played in Guadalajara, while the second leg in New Jersey ended scoreless. [43] [44]

Format

The final was played in a home-and-away two-legged series, with the team with the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.

If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, a penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner. [45]

Performance ranking

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsHost
1 Flag of Mexico.svg Guadalajara 6411111+1013Second leg
2 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto FC 6321106+411First leg
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. [45]

Broadcasting

Both legs of the final were broadcast in English on TSN2 in Canada and in Spanish on Univision Deportes in the United States, where it was also aired on sister station UniMás. Fox Sports broadcast in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. [46] [47] [48] Go90 also streamed the games in English in the United States. [49]

Matches

First leg

Summary

The first leg was hosted in Toronto at BMO Field on 17 April, where the kickoff temperature was 1 °C (34 °F) and snow flurries fell through the match. [3] Prior to the match, the new Champions League trophy was unveiled by CONCACAF officials. [50]

Chivas took the lead in the second minute on a goal scored by Rodolfo Pizarro, during an attack that originated from a throw-in by Isaác Brizuela, who assisted Pizarro's goal. [50] Toronto's Jonathan Osorio scored the equalizing goal in the 19th minute, finishing an attack started by Mark Delgado deep in the midfield. Toronto took control of possession and shooting chances through to halftime, but failed to score after two saves by Chivas's backup goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez. [50] [51] During the first half, Toronto's Jozy Altidore vomited several times on the pitch — the cause being a "stomach bug" that several Toronto players reportedly received in the semi-finals against América. [52] Chivas regained partial control of the match in the second half, alternating attacks with Toronto as both teams sought to take the lead. [50] [53] Chivas scored the match's winning goal in the 72nd minute on a free kick by Alan Pulido, which was misread by goalkeeper Alex Bono and ended up in the far side of the goal. [3] [54] Toronto failed to finish in its later attacks, which also included a no-call penalty for an alleged foul on Sebastian Giovinco. [55] [56]

Details

Toronto FC Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 1–2 Flag of Mexico.svg Guadalajara
  • Osorio Soccerball shade.svg19'
Report
Attendance: 29,925 [3]
Kit left arm torontofc17h.png
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Toronto FC [2]
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Guadalajara [2]
GK25 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Bono
CB9 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Gregory van der Wiel
CB3 Flag of the United States.svg Drew Moor
CB23 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Chris Mavinga Sub off.svg 46'
RM96 Flag of Brazil.svg Auro Jr.
CM18 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Delgado Sub off.svg 81'
CM4 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Bradley (c)
CM21 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jonathan Osorio
LM5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ashtone Morgan Sub off.svg 67'
CF17 Flag of the United States.svg Jozy Altidore
CF10 Flag of Italy.svg Sebastian Giovinco
Substitutes:
GK1 Flag of the United States.svg Clint Irwin
DF2 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Morrow Sub on.svg 67'
DF15 Flag of the United States.svg Eriq Zavaleta Sub on.svg 46'
MF8 Flag of Spain.svg Ager Aketxe Sub on.svg 81'
MF26 Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Nicolas Hasler
FW22 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jordan Hamilton
FW87 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tosaint Ricketts
Manager:
Flag of the United States.svg Greg Vanney
Toronto FC vs Guadalajara 2018-04-17.svg
GK34 Flag of Mexico.svg Miguel Jiménez
RB11 Flag of Mexico.svg Isaác Brizuela Yellow card.svg 64'
CB3 Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Salcido (c)
CB2 Flag of Mexico.svg Oswaldo Alanís
LB88 Flag of Mexico.svg Alejandro Mayorga Sub off.svg 71'
CM7 Flag of Mexico.svg Orbelín Pineda
CM25 Flag of Mexico.svg Michael Pérez
RW24 Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Cisneros
AM9 Flag of Mexico.svg Alan Pulido Sub off.svg 90+4'
LW20 Flag of Mexico.svg Rodolfo Pizarro
CF89 Flag of Mexico.svg Jesús Godínez Sub off.svg 77'
Substitutes:
GK1 Flag of Mexico.svg Antonio Rodríguez
DF28 Flag of Mexico.svg Miguel Basulto
MF10 Flag of Mexico.svg Javier López Sub on.svg 71'
MF13 Flag of Mexico.svg Gael Sandoval
MF23 Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Beltrán
FW14 Flag of Mexico.svg Ángel Zaldívar Sub on.svg 77'
FW18 Flag of Mexico.svg José Macías Sub on.svg 90+4'
Manager:
Flag of Argentina.svg Matías Almeyda

Man of the Match:
Rodolfo Pizarro (Guadalajara) [1]

Assistant referees: [2]
Juan Carlos Mora (Costa Rica)
Ainsley Rochard (Trinidad and Tobago)
Fourth official: [2]
Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Match rules [45]

  • 90 minutes.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Statistics

Statistic [57] Toronto FCGuadalajara
Goals scored12
Total shots1915
Shots on target137
Saves512
Ball possession52%48%
Corner kicks114
Fouls committed1115
Offsides14
Yellow cards01
Red cards00

Second leg

Summary

The second leg was hosted in Guadalajara at Estadio Akron on 25 April. Toronto fielded some midfielders and wingbacks in defensive roles due to injuries, including captain Michael Bradley and right back Gregory van der Wiel; midfielder Víctor Vázquez returned from injury to start the match. [58] Chivas extended their aggregate lead to 3–1 on a goal scored by Orbelín Pineda in the 19th minute. Toronto responded with two goals in the 25th and 44th minutes by Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, bringing the series level on aggregate. The 2–1 lead for Toronto held through to the end of the second half, despite chances from both teams, including a missed shot by Toronto's Mark Delgado. [59] [60] The final was decided in a penalty shoot-out, which was won 4–2 by Guadalajara after four rounds. All four of Chivas's penalty takers scored, while Toronto's Jonathan Osorio and Michael Bradley both missed. [59] [61] [62]

Details

Guadalajara Flag of Mexico.svg 1–2 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto FC
Report
Penalties
4–2
Attendance: 36,977 [6]
Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)
Kit left arm chivas1718h.png
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Guadalajara [5]
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Toronto FC [5]
GK30 Flag of Mexico.svg Rodolfo Cota
RB11 Flag of Mexico.svg Isaác Brizuela Sub off.svg 68'
CB4 Flag of Mexico.svg Jair Pereira
CB2 Flag of Mexico.svg Oswaldo Alanís
LB6 Flag of Mexico.svg Edwin Hernández
CM3 Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Salcido (c)Sub off.svg 55'
CM25 Flag of Mexico.svg Michael Pérez Sub off.svg 68'
RW24 Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Cisneros
AM7 Flag of Mexico.svg Orbelín Pineda
LW20 Flag of Mexico.svg Rodolfo Pizarro
CF9 Flag of Mexico.svg Alan Pulido
Substitutes:
GK34 Flag of Mexico.svg Miguel Jiménez
DF28 Flag of Mexico.svg Miguel Basulto
MF10 Flag of Mexico.svg Javier López Sub on.svg 68'
MF13 Flag of Mexico.svg Gael Sandoval
MF23 Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Beltrán
FW14 Flag of Mexico.svg Ángel Zaldívar Sub on.svg 68'
FW89 Flag of Mexico.svg Jesús Godínez Sub on.svg 55'
Manager:
Flag of Argentina.svg Matías Almeyda
Guadalajara vs Toronto FC 2018-04-25.svg
GK25 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Bono
RB96 Flag of Brazil.svg Auro Jr. Yellow card.svg 84'
CB9 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Gregory van der Wiel
CB4 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Bradley (c)
LB5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ashtone Morgan
RM26 Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Nicolas Hasler Sub off.svg 57'
CM18 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Delgado
CM21 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jonathan Osorio
LM7 Flag of Spain.svg Víctor Vázquez Sub off.svg 71'
CF17 Flag of the United States.svg Jozy Altidore Sub off.svg 85'
CF10 Flag of Italy.svg Sebastian Giovinco Yellow card.svg 43'
Substitutes:
GK1 Flag of the United States.svg Clint Irwin
DF15 Flag of the United States.svg Eriq Zavaleta
MF8 Flag of Spain.svg Ager Aketxe Sub on.svg 85'
MF14 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jay Chapman Sub on.svg 71'
MF54 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ryan Telfer
FW22 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jordan Hamilton Sub on.svg 57'
FW87 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tosaint Ricketts
Manager:
Flag of the United States.svg Greg Vanney

Man of the Match:
Rodolfo Cota (Guadalajara) [1]

Assistant referees: [5]
Gerson López (Guatemala)
Christian Ramírez (Honduras)
Fourth official: [5]
Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Match rules [45]

Statistics

Statistic [63] GuadalajaraToronto FC
Goals scored12
Total shots239
Shots on target83
Saves17
Ball possession55%45%
Corner kicks64
Fouls committed916
Offsides10
Yellow cards02
Red cards00

Post-match

Guadalajara's win was the thirteenth consecutive Champions League or Champions' Cup title won by a Mexican team. [59] As a result, Guadalajara qualified for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup as CONCACAF's representative. [59]

Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio and Sebastian Giovinco won the tournament's Golden Boot and Golden Ball, respectively. [64] Guadalajara's Rodolfo Cota and Rodolfo Pizarro won the tournament's Golden Glove and the Best Young Player, respectively. [65] [66]

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