Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 04:10, 30 October 2015

2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
File:2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League.png
Tournament details
Dates	August 4, 2015 – April 27, 2016
Teams	24 (from 12 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	48
Goals scored	131 (2.73 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Emanuel Villa (6 goals)
← 2014–15 2016–17 → All statistics correct as of October 22, 2015.

The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) is the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 51st edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner will qualify as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. América are the defending champions.

This edition marked the first time since a quarterfinal round was introduced in 1997 that only one of the three CONCACAF zones was represented by the quarterfinalists. This edition also marked the first time since group play was introduced in 2008–09 that all participating teams from both Mexico and the United States advanced out of the group stage.

Qualification

A total of 24 teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League: nine from the North American Zone (from three associations), twelve from the Central American Zone (from at most seven associations), and three from the Caribbean Zone (from at most three associations).

Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club does not 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

Nine teams from the North American Football Union qualify to the Champions League. Mexico and the United States are each allocated four berths, the most of any of CONCACAF's member associations, while Canada is granted one berth in the tournament.

For Mexico, the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage.

For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs; the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. If U.S.-based, the MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the other regular season conference winner and the U.S. Open Cup winner are placed in Pot 3. If any of the above berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the Champions League place is allocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record who has failed to otherwise qualify.

Since Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Canadian Championship was moved from April–May to April–August (with no matches occurring between May and August), overlapping with the start of the Champions League. Therefore, for the 2015–16 tournament only, the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, in Pot 1, was given to the best Canadian team in the MLS regular season. The setup will be reverted for the 2016–17 tournament, where once again the Voyageurs Cup competed for in the Canadian Championship, earns the lone Canadian berth into the tournament (starting from the 2015 Canadian Championship, the winner earns the berth in the next calendar year instead of the same calendar year as in previous tournaments).

Central America

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union qualify to the Champions League. The allocation is as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, and one berth for each of Nicaragua and Belize. The teams from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama are placed in Pot 2 and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1.

If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American association. The reallocation is based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.

Caribbean

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union qualify to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament for clubs from associations of the Caribbean Football Union. In order for a team to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they usually need to finish as the champion or runner-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams may also be selected by their associations if they play in the league of another country.

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

Teams

The following 24 teams (from 12 associations) qualified for the tournament.

In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).

Association	Team	Pot	Qualifying method	App	Last App	Previous Best
North America (9 teams)
Mexico 4 berths	América	3	2014 Apertura champions	3rd	2014–15	Champions (2014–15)
	UANL		2014 Apertura runners-up	2nd	2012–13	Quarterfinals (2012–13)
	Santos Laguna		2015 Clausura champions	5th	2012–13	Runners-up (2 times)
	Querétaro		2015 Clausura runners-up	1st	N/A	N/A
United States 4 berths	LA Galaxy		2014 MLS Cup champions	5th	2013–14	Semifinals (2012–13)
	Seattle Sounders FC		2014 MLS Supporters' Shield champions 2014 U.S. Open Cup champions	4th	2012–13	Semifinals (2012–13)
	D.C. United		2014 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions	4th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2014–15)
	Real Salt Lake		2014 MLS Supporters' Shield fourth place	3rd	2012–13	Runners-up (2010–11)
Canada 1 berth	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1	2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team	1st	N/A	N/A
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica 2 berths	Saprissa	2	2014 Invierno champions	5th	2014–15	Semifinals (2010–11)
	Herediano		2015 Verano champions	6th	2014–15	Semifinals (2014–15)
Honduras 2 berths	Motagua		2014 Apertura champions	3rd	2011–12	Group stage (2011–12)
	Olimpia		2015 Clausura champions	8th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2 times)
Guatemala 2 berths	Comunicaciones		2014 Apertura champions 2015 Clausura champions	5th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2009–10)
	Municipal		2014 Apertura runners-up 2015 Clausura runners-up	6th	2014–15	Group stage (4 times)
Panama 2 berths	San Francisco		2014 Apertura champions	5th	2011–12	Group stage (2008–09)
	Árabe Unido		2015 Clausura champions	5th	2013–14	Quarterfinals (2 times)
El Salvador 2 berths	Isidro Metapán	1	2014 Apertura champions	8th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2011–12)
	Santa Tecla		2015 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Nicaragua 1 berth	Walter Ferretti		Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season	1st	N/A	N/A
Belize 1 berth	Verdes		Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season	2nd	2008–09	Preliminary round (2008–09)
Caribbean (3 teams)
Trinidad and Tobago	Central	1	2015 CFU Club Championship winners	1st	N/A	N/A
	W Connection		2015 CFU Club Championship runners-up	4th	2013–14	Group stage (3 times)
Jamaica	Montego Bay United		2015 CFU Club Championship third place	1st	N/A	N/A

Notes

1. Canada (CAN): Starting from 2015, the Canadian Championship will be played in the timeframe of June and July instead of April and May. As a result, the 2015 Canadian Championship will not be played in time to designate the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. As such, it has been agreed with all participating clubs, and approved by CONCACAF, that the 2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team would be appointed the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. This setup is for one season only, and starting from the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, the winner of the previous season's Canadian Championship will be the Canadian representative for the CONCACAF Champions League (e.g., the winner of the 2015 Canadian Championship will qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League).
2. United States (USA): The berth earned by Seattle Sounders FC for winning the U.S. Open Cup was passed to Real Salt Lake, the best U.S. team in the Supporters' Shield table not already qualified for the Champions League.

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on June 1, 2015 at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida.

The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. In a change from previous draws, teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) were placed in the same pot such that they could not be drawn with each other in the group stage:

• Pot 1 contained two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Canada, Nicaragua, and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean (two from Trinidad and Tobago and one from Jamaica).
• Pot 2 contained two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama.
• Pot 3 contained four teams each from Mexico and the United States.

Pot 1
Isidro Metapán	Santa Tecla	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Walter Ferretti
Verdes	Central	W Connection	Montego Bay United
Pot 2
Saprissa	Herediano	Olimpia	Motagua
Comunicaciones	Municipal	Árabe Unido	San Francisco
Pot 3
América	Santos Laguna	UANL	Querétaro
LA Galaxy	Seattle Sounders FC	D.C. United	Real Salt Lake

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Group stage

In the group stage, each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advance to the knockout stage.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations Page 8, Tie-Breaker Procedures):

1. Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned;
2. Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
3. Greater number of goals scored away from home in matches between the teams concerned;
4. Greater goal difference in all group matches;
5. Greater number of goals scored in group matches;
6. Greater number of goals scored away in all group matches;
7. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SAN	SAP	WCO
1	Santos Laguna	4	3	0	1	12	3	+9	9	Knockout stage		—	6–1	4–0
2	Saprissa	4	2	0	2	8	9	−1	6			2–1	—	4–0
3	W Connection	4	1	0	3	2	10	−8	3			0–1	2–1	—

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		UAN	HER	MET
1	UANL	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2	8	Knockout stage		—	0–0	2–1
2	Herediano	4	1	2	1	4	3	+1	5			1–1	—	3–0
3	Isidro Metapán	4	1	0	3	4	7	−3	3			1–2	2–0	—

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		QUE	SFO	VER
1	Querétaro	4	2	1	1	11	2	+9	7	Knockout stage		—	2–0	8–0
2	San Francisco	4	2	0	2	11	5	+6	6			2–1	—	8–0
3	Verdes	4	1	1	2	2	17	−15	4			0–0	2–1	—

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LAX	CEN	COM
1	LA Galaxy	4	2	2	0	12	3	+9	8	Knockout stage		—	5–1	5–0
2	Central	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4	4			1–1	—	1–0
3	Comunicaciones	4	1	1	2	2	7	−5	4			1–1	1–0	—

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AMÉ	MOT	WAL
1	América	4	3	1	0	9	2	+7	10	Knockout stage		—	4–0	1–0
2	Motagua	4	2	1	1	5	6	−1	7			1–1	—	2–0
3	Walter Ferretti	4	0	0	4	2	8	−6	0			1–3	1–2	—

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEA	OLI	VAN
1	Seattle Sounders FC	4	2	1	1	6	3	+3	7	Knockout stage		—	2–1	3–0
2	Olimpia	4	2	0	2	3	3	0	6			1–0	—	1–0
3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	1	1	2	2	5	−3	4			1–1	1–0	—

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RSL	MUN	TEC
1	Real Salt Lake	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Knockout stage		—	1–0	2–1
2	Municipal	4	1	1	2	3	4	−1	4			0–1	—	2–1
3	Santa Tecla	4	0	2	2	3	5	−2	2			0–0	1–1	—

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		DCU	ÁRA	MBU
1	D.C. United	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6	10	Knockout stage		—	2–0	3–0
2	Árabe Unido	4	2	0	2	5	4	+1	6			0–1	—	3–0
3	Montego Bay United	4	0	1	3	4	11	−7	1			3–3	1–2	—

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the eight teams play a single-elimination tournament. Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule is used if the aggregate score is level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so a tie is decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score is level after extra time of the second leg.

Starting from this edition, the higher-seeded team in each tie will host the second leg throughout the knockout stage (Regulations Page 8, Article e, ii).

Seeding

The qualified teams are seeded 1–8 in the knockout stage according to their results in the group stage.

Seed	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	E	América	4	3	1	0	9	2	+7	10
2	H	D.C. United	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6	10
3	G	Real Salt Lake	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10
4	A	Santos Laguna	4	3	0	1	12	3	+9	9
5	D	LA Galaxy	4	2	2	0	12	3	+9	8
6	B	UANL	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2	8
7	C	Querétaro	4	2	1	1	11	2	+9	7
8	F	Seattle Sounders FC	4	2	1	1	6	3	+3	7

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

6

UANL

3

Real Salt Lake

Winner QF3

Winner QF2

7

Querétaro

2

D.C. United

Winner SF2

Winner SF1

5

LA Galaxy

4

Santos Laguna

Winner QF4

Winner QF1

8

Seattle Sounders FC

1

América

Quarterfinals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC	QF1	América	Feb 23–25	Mar 1–3
Querétaro	QF2	D.C. United	Feb 23–25	Mar 1–3
UANL	QF3	Real Salt Lake	Feb 23–25	Mar 1–3
LA Galaxy	QF4	Santos Laguna	Feb 23–25	Mar 1–3

Semifinals

1. Order of legs to be determined based on actual seeding of the two teams, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.

Finals

1. Order of legs to be determined based on actual seeding of the two teams, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.

Top goalscorers

Note: Players and teams in bold are still active in the competition.

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Emanuel Villa	Querétaro	6
2	Alan Gordon	LA Galaxy	5
3	Michael Arroyo	América	3
	Djaniny	Santos Laguna	3
	Lamar Neagle	Seattle Sounders FC	3
	Johnny Ruiz	San Francisco	3
7	Miguel Aguilar	D.C. United	2
	Erick Andino	Motagua	2
	Conor Doyle	D.C. United	2
	Alberth Elis	Olimpia	2
	Alonso Escoboza	Santos Laguna	2
	Ataullah Guerra	Central	2
	Jonathan Hansen	Herediano	2
	Robbie Keane	LA Galaxy	2
	Deon McCaulay	Verdes	2
	Luis Ángel Mendoza	Santos Laguna	2
	Kofi Opare	D.C. United	2
	Carlos Quintero	América	2
	Tony Rugamas	Isidro Metapán	2
	Sinha	Querétaro	2
	Dino Williams	Montego Bay United	2
	Johnny Woodly	Municipal	2
	Alonso Zamora	UANL	2
	Ervin Zorilla	San Francisco	2

Source: CONCACAF.com

Awards

Winners

2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League
]

Individual awards

• Individual awards given out at end of the tournament.

Award	Player	Team
Golden Ball	]	]
Golden Boot	]	]
Golden Glove	]	]
Bright Future	]	]
Fair Play Award	]	]

Tournament ranking

As of October 23, 2015

See also

• 2016 FIFA Club World Cup

References

1. "Scotiabank Joins CONCACAF as Official Partner". CONCACAF.com. December 9, 2014.
2. "Official Logo Unveiled for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF.com. February 10, 2015.
3. ^ "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015–16 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
4. ^ "Canada Soccer announces move to new timeframe for future Amway Canadian Championships". CanadaSoccer.com. 21 March 2014.
5. "Changes for future Amway Canadian Championships". CONCACAF.com. March 21, 2014.
6. "Real Salt Lake savors CCL qualification". CONCACAF.com. December 8, 2014.
7. "SCCL draw slated for Monday". CONCACAF.com. May 29, 2015.
8. "Draw Produces Intriguing Matches for 2015/16 SCCL Group Stage". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015.
9. "Official Draw: Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015.
10. "Queretaro's Villa makes history on five-goal night". CONCACAF.com. September 18, 2015.
11. "CONCACAF Champions League — Statistics". CONCACAF.com.

External links

• CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF.com

• 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League
• 2015–16 in CONCACAF football
• Current association football seasons