Hi.
Times are interesting in CONCACAF - the regional confederation which covers North and Central America, the Caribbean, and those parts of South America that CONMEBOL don't want - both at a club and country level.
Country-wise, the race is on to determine which teams will represent CONCACAF at the 2010 World Cup. In the fourth and final qualifying round, the last 6 teams (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States) are facing off against one another, with the top three teams going straight to the World Cup, and the 4th-placed team going into a playoff with the 5th-placed CONMEBOL team to determine which confederation in the Americas will earn that last berth!
At a club level, things have already been pretty interesting, as the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League has entered its quarter-final stage, and slots are already being filled regarding who will take part in the 2009-10 contest.
The first leg games were played last week, and arbuably the story of the week was the record attendance at Montréal's Olympic Stadium (55,571 - smashing the previous record for attendance at a CONCACAF-level club game) who turned out to see the local team, the Montréal Impact, win 2-0 against Mexico's Santos Laguna.
I was at that game, and I can tell you that I have never enjoyed a game atmosphere as much - nor felt that I had been a part of a moment in a country's soccer history - than I did at the big O that night.
Other results saw the Puerto Rico Islanders beat Honduras' Marathón in the former's home leg, while Cruz Azul beat fellow Mexico City rivals UNAM Pumas 1-0, and the Houston Dynamo of MLS drew 1-1 at home against Mexico's Atlante.
The second leg matches start tonight at 10 EST - as Houston travel to Cancún, hoping to overturn the disadvantage which Atlante's away goal placed them in last week, and earn a berth in the semi-final...
...where they will meet the winner of the Montréal-Santos Laguna match, to be held in Torreón this Thursday.
Also, on Wednesday, Pumas will host Cruz Azul, while the Islanders will fly to Honduras for the re-match against Marathón.
It's promising to be an interesting set of fixtures... and I for one hope like hell that the Impact can hang on in Torreón, and earn that semi-final berth!
Times are interesting in CONCACAF - the regional confederation which covers North and Central America, the Caribbean, and those parts of South America that CONMEBOL don't want - both at a club and country level.
Country-wise, the race is on to determine which teams will represent CONCACAF at the 2010 World Cup. In the fourth and final qualifying round, the last 6 teams (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States) are facing off against one another, with the top three teams going straight to the World Cup, and the 4th-placed team going into a playoff with the 5th-placed CONMEBOL team to determine which confederation in the Americas will earn that last berth!
At a club level, things have already been pretty interesting, as the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League has entered its quarter-final stage, and slots are already being filled regarding who will take part in the 2009-10 contest.
The first leg games were played last week, and arbuably the story of the week was the record attendance at Montréal's Olympic Stadium (55,571 - smashing the previous record for attendance at a CONCACAF-level club game) who turned out to see the local team, the Montréal Impact, win 2-0 against Mexico's Santos Laguna.
I was at that game, and I can tell you that I have never enjoyed a game atmosphere as much - nor felt that I had been a part of a moment in a country's soccer history - than I did at the big O that night.
Other results saw the Puerto Rico Islanders beat Honduras' Marathón in the former's home leg, while Cruz Azul beat fellow Mexico City rivals UNAM Pumas 1-0, and the Houston Dynamo of MLS drew 1-1 at home against Mexico's Atlante.
The second leg matches start tonight at 10 EST - as Houston travel to Cancún, hoping to overturn the disadvantage which Atlante's away goal placed them in last week, and earn a berth in the semi-final...
...where they will meet the winner of the Montréal-Santos Laguna match, to be held in Torreón this Thursday.
Also, on Wednesday, Pumas will host Cruz Azul, while the Islanders will fly to Honduras for the re-match against Marathón.
It's promising to be an interesting set of fixtures... and I for one hope like hell that the Impact can hang on in Torreón, and earn that semi-final berth!
