Bad Times In The CCC
Some quick thoughts on MLS's week in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
MLS: Good enough to beat Mexican sides at home, sometimes by convincing scorelines, but not good enough to make those wins stand up in the second leg in Mexico. It's a tale as old as time.
Still, there's something particularly gut-punchy about the way this round of Concacaf Champions Cup went for Major League Soccer. San Diego's incredible win in the first leg against Toluca, finding a way to take a goal lead out of the home match despite having a player sent off in the early going of the game, will be forgotten by all but San Diego fans. The deck was stacked against Mikey Varas's boys at altitude and missing two starters on Wednesday night, but it would have been crazy not to have at least a little hope that they could hold on advance.
Toluca dijo que no.
FC Cincinnati staked themselves to a 3-0 aggregate lead in leg one. Kevin Denkey had himself a day. A chance at some impressive history for FCC beckoned. All Pat Noonan's team—a team with distinct defensive identity—had to do was keep Tigres from dropping a big number.
Tigres se volvió loco.
The scene was a familiar one if you're a veteran of the adventures of MLS in Mexico. FC Cincinnati under immense pressure at the end of the match, desperately trying to hold Tigres back and advance on the away goal they managed to find through Denkey on a set piece.
Desperate defending did no good. Tigres kept coming in waves. Finally, Fernando Gorriarán got the winning goal eight minutes after the clock ticked past 90, slipping the dagger into FC Cincinnati and bringing a dispiriting end to the MLS club's international campaign.
Concacaf writers just love that ending.
Four MLS are into the quarterfinals. None of them beat Mexican opposition to get there. Looking at the match-ups, I don't think I see a winner on the board. I want to believe in Nashville but it's going to take a monster first leg to stake BJ Callaghan's club to the type of lead it will need to survive a second leg in Mexico City.
I think you can reason out why the rest of MLS's representation in the tournament is staring down death at the hands of Liga MX. The Galaxy aren't actually good, LAFC had the misfortune to draw La Máquina of Cruz Azul, and the Sounders get the Tigres team that just took Cincinnati apart. At least Seattle can play the home leg at Lumen Field after being forced to host Vancouver in Spokane.
We're all hoping the MLS calendar switch changes the dynamic, but we won't see any evidence for or against until 2028. If the calendar "fixes" the imbalance, then maybe it wasn't a talent issue. But for my money MLS remains a victim of the restrictions on clubs when it comes to how they spend across their roster.
Check out today's Morning Kickaround on CCC, included Inter Miami's ouster at the hands of Nashville.
