New Faces, Familiar Foes, Same Goal: A 2022 CCL Preview

Last year brought an unusual sense of optimism to MLS chances of winning the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL 2022).  After all, five of the eight quarterfinalists were MLS teams, with one guaranteed MLS spot in the semifinal. Atlanta United being matched up against the Philadelphia Union.  It truly felt like this was our year.

A totally-only-needs-a-yellow-card classic CONCACAF tackle and ensuing brawl from Philly’s Round of 16 against Saprissa.

Video of the incident can be found here.

It was not.  Once again, our dreams were crushed by the ever-dominant monster known as Liga MX.  Of the six games against Liga MX teams in the two-leg quarterfinals and the two legs in the semifinals, MLS teams lost all but two (which weren’t even wins, but draws). This led to only Atlanta making it to the semifinals after beating Philly and the final being an all-Liga MX affair. 

As I wrote last year, MLS teams have a long history of falling short in CCL. Only four teams got as far as being runners-up in the thirteen editions of the current format.  This sustained lack of success, which has been caused by a variety of reasons including the competition starting in MLS preseason and the gap in spending between MLS and Liga MX teams. It can lead one to despair of MLS ever being able to win the CCL. At least until the more conservative MLS owners agree to relax spending limits for the whole league. 

This is probably the more rational, though rather jaded, take.  HOWEVER, there is nothing rational about the way that CONCACAF soccer games unfold. So where’s the fun in being rational about the results?!  Personally, I prefer to live my life by being wildly optimistic about my teams when their season begins. Even though this sometimes leads to disappointment.  I’ll probably say it every year until the end of time, but really, this could be our year!

What makes this year’s CCL exciting is so many seemingly fresh faces in the MLS delegation.  Though the Colorado Rapids, CF Montreal, New England Revolution, New York City FC, and Seattle Sounders have all competed in CCL before (and most of them within the last few years), none of them were involved in last year’s contest. Only Seattle and Montreal have been involved more than twice in the current form of the competition that has been in place since 2008.  It will be exciting to see what these teams that haven’t been thought of as contenders in MLS until recently can do (and, of course, also Seattle who’s been a dominant force in the league for forever). 

Looking at the bracket itself may bode well for MLS chances in the initial rounds.  We certainly can’t discount teams from leagues in Central American countries other than Mexico. However, on paper (and without doing any research on the specific teams) it looks to benefit the MLS contingent that only one of them plays a Liga MX team in the Round of 16 (CF Montreal will take on Santos Laguna).  Additionally, Colorado and NYCFC have the potential to make it to the semifinals without ever having to face a Mexican team in either of the earlier rounds!

Soccer is messy and hard to predict.  CONCACAF soccer takes that to a whole new level, and CCL is no exception.  This year’s MLS delegation features the dominant Supporter’s Shield winners New England. It also includes the team that beat New England in the semifinals and then beat Portland (in Portland!) to become MLS Champions, NYCFC, along with the perennial MLS favorites Seattle. Rounding out the group are the surprisingly good teams in Colorado and Montreal.  Regardless of what history tells us, no games have yet kicked off and each of these teams still has a shot at glory. 

So buckle your seatbelts, because in twice-monthly installments from February to May. Get ready for yellow cards, for studs-up-straight-to-the-ankle challenges, raucous stadiums in places so hot and humid the players will be swimming more than running, a ton of drama and chaos. Get ready for SO MUCH ANXIETY as MLS teams, once again, begin the quest for their first-ever CCL trophy. 

Whenever this happens and for whichever team, it will be a moment that will live on forever. And really, bragging rights for all eternity as the first MLS team to win CCL may be even more important than the actual trophy.  And this could be our year!  😉  

So remember people: go get your covid booster shots, but don’t be afraid to catch that #CCLFever!