2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League

2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates July 26, 2011 – April 25, 2012
Teams 24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions Mexico Monterrey (2nd title)
Runners-up Mexico Santos Laguna
Tournament statistics
Matches played 78
Goals scored 242 (3.1 per match)
Attendance 674,305 (8,645 per match)
Top scorer(s) Mexico Oribe Peralta
Chile Humberto Suazo
(7 goals each)
Best player Mexico Oribe Peralta

The 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League is the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 47th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament began on July 26, 2011 and finished with the second leg of the final April 25, 2012.[1]

Defending champions Monterrey won the title, and qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.

Qualification

Twenty-four teams participate in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine of the teams come from North America, twelve from Central America, and three from the Caribbean.[2]

Teams may be disqualified and replaced by a team from a different country if the club doesn't 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

A total of nine clubs from the North American Football Union participate in the Champions League. Mexico and the United States are allocated four spots, the most of any CONCACAF nation, while Canada is granted one spot in the tournament.

In Mexico, the winners of the Mexican Primera División Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn direct berths into Group Stage of the Champions League, while the tournament runners-up earn berths into the Preliminary Round.

For the United States, three of its four spots are allocated through the Major League Soccer regular season and playoffs, while the fourth spot is allocated to whoever wins the domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The U.S. Open Cup winner, along with the MLS Cup runner-up earn berths into the Preliminary Round of the tournament. The winner of the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup are given byes into Group Stage.

The winner of Canada's domestic cup competition, the Canadian Championship, earns the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, entering in the Preliminary Round.

Central America

Twelve clubs from the Central American Football Union qualify to the Champions League. If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American federation. The reallocation would be based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.

For the Central American representatives that qualify via split seasons, in nations that play a playoff to determine a national champion, the winner gains the nation's top spot. In nations that don't utilize such methods, total points over both seasons, followed by other tiebreakers, determine which team gains the nation's top spot. The top teams from the leagues of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama enter the Group Stage, while their second teams enter the Preliminary Round. The two teams from the league of El Salvador and the sole representatives from the leagues of Nicaragua and Belize enter the Preliminary Round.

Caribbean

Three berths in the Champions League's Preliminary Round are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament for clubs from nations of the Caribbean Football Union. In order for a Caribbean club to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they would need to finish as the champion (or in some cases, runner-up) in their respective nation's top league in the previous season.

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

Teams

Teams in bold qualified directly for the Group Stage.

Association Club Qualifying method App Last App
North America (9 teams)
Mexico Mexico
4 berths
Monterrey 2010 Apertura champion 2nd 2010–11
UNAM 2011 Clausura champion 3rd 2009–10
Santos Laguna 2010 Apertura runner-up 3rd 2010–11
Morelia 2011 Clausura runner-up 1st None
United States United States
4 berths
Colorado Rapids 2010 MLS Cup champion 1st None
Los Angeles Galaxy 2010 MLS Supporters' Shield champion 2nd 2010–11
FC Dallas 2010 MLS Cup runner-up 1st None
Seattle Sounders FC 2010 U.S. Open Cup champion 2nd 2010–11
Canada Canada
1 berth
Toronto FC 2011 Canadian Championship champion 3rd 2010–11
Central America (12 teams)
Honduras Honduras
3 berths
Real España 2010 Apertura champion 2nd 2009–10
Motagua 2011 Clausura champion 2nd 2010–11
Olimpia 2010 Apertura runner-up and 2011 Clausura runner-up1 4th 2010–11
Costa Rica Costa Rica
2 berths
Alajuelense 2010 Invierno champion and 2011 Verano champion 2nd 2008–09
Herediano 2010 Invierno runner-up (runner-up with better aggregate record) 2nd 2009–10
Guatemala Guatemala
2 berths
Comunicaciones 2010 Apertura champion and 2011 Clausura champion 2nd 2009–10
Municipal 2010 Apertura runner-up and 2011 Clausura runner-up 3rd 2010–11
Panama Panama
2 berths
Tauro 2010 Apertura champion 3rd 2010–11
San Francisco 2011 Clausura champion 4th 2010–11
El Salvador El Salvador
2 berths
Isidro Metapán 2010 Apertura champion 4th 2010–11
Alianza 2011 Clausura champion 1st None
Nicaragua Nicaragua
1 berth
Real Estelí Champion with better aggregate record in 2010–11 season 2nd 2008–09
Caribbean (3 teams)
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Islanders 2011 CFU Club Championship champion 4th 2010–11
Haiti Haiti Tempête 2011 CFU Club Championship runner-up 1st None
Guyana Guyana Alpha United 2011 CFU Club Championship third place 1st None

1 Berth originally awarded to Belize (Belize Defence Force) but Belize failed CONCACAF stadium requirements, so the spot vacated was awarded to Honduras (Olimpia) based on performance from last season.[3]

Format

Like the previous editions, the tournament is divided into three phases:[4]

Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) may not be drawn with each other in the Preliminary Round and Group Stage, but may be drawn with each other in the Championship Round, where the only restriction is that in the quarterfinals, a group winner has to be drawn with the runner-up of another group and also host the second leg.

For the two-legged ties of the Preliminary Round and Championship Round, the away goals rule is used, but not after a tie enters extra time, and so a tie is decided by penalty shootout if the aggregate score is level after extra time.

Group Stage
Pot A Mexico Monterrey Mexico UNAM United States Colorado Rapids United States Los Angeles Galaxy
Pot B Costa Rica Alajuelense Honduras Real España Guatemala Comunicaciones Panama Tauro
Preliminary Round
Pot A Mexico Santos Laguna Mexico Morelia United States FC Dallas United States Seattle Sounders FC
Costa Rica Herediano Honduras Motagua El Salvador Isidro Metapán Canada Toronto FC
Pot B Guatemala Municipal Panama San Francisco El Salvador Alianza Nicaragua Real Estelí
Honduras Olimpia Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Islanders Haiti Tempête Guyana Alpha United

Schedule

Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary Round Preliminary May 18, 2011
(New York, USA)[5]
July 26–28, 2011 August 2–4, 2011
Group Stage Matchday 1 August 16–18, 2011
Matchday 2 August 23–25, 2011
Matchday 3 September 13–15, 2011
Matchday 4 September 20–22, 2011
Matchday 5 September 27–29, 2011
Matchday 6 October 18–20, 2011
Championship Round Quarterfinals November 8, 2011
(New York, USA)[6]
March 6–8, 2012 March 13–15, 2012
Semifinals March 27–29, 2012 April 3–5, 2012
Finals April 17–19, 2012 April 24–26, 2012

Preliminary Round

The draw for the Preliminary Round and the Group Stage was held on May 18, 2011.[7] The first legs of the Preliminary Round were played July 26–28, 2011, while the second legs were played August 2–4, 2011.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Motagua Honduras 4–2 Guatemala Municipal 4–0 0–2
Morelia Mexico 7–0 Haiti Tempête 5–0 2–0
Isidro Metapán El Salvador 3–3 (a) Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Islanders 2–0 1–3
Santos Laguna Mexico 4–3 Honduras Olimpia 3–1 1–2
Alianza El Salvador 0–2 United States FC Dallas 0–1 0–1
Toronto FC Canada 4–2 Nicaragua Real Estelí 2–1 2–1
San Francisco Panama 1–2 United States Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Herediano Costa Rica 10–2 Guyana Alpha United 8–0 2–2

Group Stage

The Group Stage were played in 6 matchdays during August–October 2011: August 16–18, August 23–25, September 13–15, September 20–22, September 27–29, and October 18–20.[7] The top two teams of each group advanced to the Championship Round.[4]

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
United States Los Angeles Galaxy 640284+412
Mexico Morelia 6402115+612
Costa Rica Alajuelense 640286+212
Honduras Motagua 6006214−120
  ALA LA MOR MOT
Alajuelense 1–0 1–0 1–0
Los Angeles Galaxy 2–0 2–1 2–0
Morelia 2–1 2–1 4–0
Motagua 2–4 0–1 0–2
Tiebreakers[4]

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Mexico Santos Laguna 6411166+1013
El Salvador Isidro Metapán 63031015−59
United States Colorado Rapids 6213912−37
Honduras Real España 6123911−25
  COL MET REA SAN
Colorado Rapids 3–2 1–2 1–4
Isidro Metapán 1–3 3–2 2–0
Real España 1–1 1–2 1–1
Santos Laguna 2–0 6–0 3–2

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Mexico UNAM 632182+611
Canada Toronto FC 631277010
United States FC Dallas 6213611−57
Panama Tauro 612378−15
  DAL TAU TOR UNAM
FC Dallas 1–1 0–3 0–2
Tauro 5–3 1–2 0–0
Toronto FC 0–1 1–0 1–1
UNAM 0–1 1–0 4–0

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Mexico Monterrey 6402114+712
United States Seattle Sounders FC 6312107+310
Guatemala Comunicaciones 6213813−57
Costa Rica Herediano 6204611−56
  COM HER MON SEA
Comunicaciones 2–0 1–0 2–2
Herediano 4–1 0–5 1–2
Monterrey 3–1 1–0 0–1
Seattle Sounders FC 4–1 0–1 1–2

Championship Round

Bracket

The draw for the Championship Round was held on November 8, 2011.[8] In the quarterfinals, the group winners were assured of playing the second leg at home, and were drawn against the group runners-up, with the only restriction being that they could not face the same team that they played in the Group Stage (and thus they may face a team from the same association).[4]

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                                 
Mexico Morelia 1 1 2  
Mexico Monterrey 3 4 7  
  Mexico Monterrey 3 1 4  
  Mexico UNAM 0 1 1  
El Salvador Isidro Metapán 2 0 2
  Mexico UNAM 1 8 9  
    Mexico Monterrey 2 1 3
  Mexico Santos Laguna 0 2 2
  Canada Toronto FC 2 2 4  
United States Los Angeles Galaxy 2 1 3  
Canada Toronto FC 1 2 3
  Mexico Santos Laguna 1 6 7  
United States Seattle Sounders FC 2 1 3
  Mexico Santos Laguna 1 6 7  

Quarterfinals

The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played March 6–8, 2012, and the second legs were played March 13–15, 2012.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC United States 3–7 Mexico Santos Laguna 2–1 1–6
Isidro Metapán El Salvador 2–9 Mexico UNAM 2–1 0–8
Toronto FC Canada 4–3 United States Los Angeles Galaxy 2–2 2–1
Morelia Mexico 2–7 Mexico Monterrey 1–3 1–4

Semifinals

The first legs of the Semifinals were played March 28, 2012, and the second legs were played April 4, 2012.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Toronto FC Canada 3–7 Mexico Santos Laguna 1–1 2–6
Monterrey Mexico 4–1 Mexico UNAM 3–0 1–1

Finals

The first leg of the Finals was played April 18, 2012, and the second leg was played April 25, 2012.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Monterrey Mexico 3–2 Mexico Santos Laguna 2–0 1–2
CONCACAF Champions League
2011–12 Champion
Mexico
Monterrey
Second Title

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Chile Humberto SuazoMexico Monterrey7
Mexico Oribe PeraltaMexico Santos Laguna7
3 Brazil Jorge BarbosaCosta Rica Herediano6
United States Herculez GomezMexico Santos Laguna6
Ecuador Joao PlataCanada Toronto FC6
6 Mexico Darío CarreñoMexico Monterrey5
Jamaica Ryan JohnsonCanada Toronto FC5
Ecuador Cristian SuárezMexico Santos Laguna5
9 Argentina Martín BravoMexico UNAM4
Mexico Aldo de NigrisMexico Monterrey4
Mexico Eduardo HerreraMexico UNAM4
Colombia Carlos QuinteroMexico Santos Laguna4
Uruguay Paolo SuárezEl Salvador Isidro Metapán4

Source:[9]

Awards

For the first time, CONCACAF awarded a Golden Boot trophy to the top scorer and a Golden Ball trophy to the player of the tournament. Humberto Suazo won the Golden Boot over Oribe Peralta by the tie-breaker of scoring more goals over the two-leg final.[10] Oribe Peralta won the Golden Ball, determined by a combination of fan and media votes.[11]

References

  1. "2011-2012 CONCACAF Champions League Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
  2. "Qualifying 2011/2012". CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20.
  3. "Olimpia awarded fourth straight CCL berth". CONCACAF.com. May 17, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "CONCACAF Champions League Regulations 2011/2012" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
  5. "Champions League draw set for May 18". CONCACAF.com. April 11, 2011.
  6. "CCL Championship Round draw set for November 8". CONCACAF.com. November 1, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "CCL draw pits Monterrey vs. Comunicaciones". CONCACAF.com. May 18, 2011.
  8. "CCL Championship Round draw held in NYC". CONCACAF.com. November 8, 2011.
  9. "Champions League 2011/2012 — Topscorers". CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  10. "CCL - Golden Boot: Humberto Suazo (Monterrey)". CONCACAF.com.
  11. "CCL - Golden Ball: Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna)". CONCACAF.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.