2008–09 CONCACAF
Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	26 August 2008 – 30 April 2009
Teams	24 (from 13 federations)
Final positions
Champion(s)	Atlante (2nd title)
Runner-up	Cruz Azul
Tournament statistics
Matches played	77
Goals scored	223 (2.9 per match)
Attendance	539,397 (7,005 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Javier Orozco (7 goals)
← None 2010–11 →

The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League is the first edition of the CONCACAF club football championship modelled after the UEFA Champions League. It has replaced the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The championship began on 26 August 2008, and it concluded 12 May 2009.^[1] Atlante of Mexico won the championship after defeating Cruz Azul, which also come from Mexico on aggregate at the Final. They will represent CONCACAF in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

Contents 1 Qualification 2 Format 3 Preliminary Round 4 Group Stage 4.1 Tie-breaking criteria 4.2 Group A 4.3 Group B 4.4 Group C 4.5 Group D 5 Championship Round 5.1 Bracket 5.2 Quarterfinals 5.3 Semifinals 5.4 Final 6 Leading Goalscorers 7 References

[edit] Qualification

24 teams from 13 nations participated in the CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 competition:^[2]

Nation	Club	Qualifying method
Mexico 4 berths	Atlante	Apertura 2007 winner
	Santos Laguna	Clausura 2008 winner
	U.N.A.M	Apertura 2007 runner-up
	Cruz Azul	Clausura 2008 runner-up
United States 4 berths	Houston Dynamo	MLS Cup 2007 winner
	D.C. United	2007 MLS Supporters' Shield winner
	New England Revolution	2007 U.S. Open Cup winner and MLS Cup 2007 runner-up
	Chivas USA	2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up*
Costa Rica 2 berths	Saprissa	Invierno 2007 and Verano 2008 winner
	Alajuelense	Verano 2008 runner-up**
Honduras 2 berths	Olimpia	Clausura 2008 winner
	Marathón	Apertura 2007 winner
Guatemala 2 berths	Jalapa	Apertura 2007 winner
	Municipal	Clausura 2008 winner
El Salvador 2 berths	Luis Angel Firpo	Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 winner
	Isidro Metapán	Clausura 2008 runner-up***
Panama 2 berths	San Francisco	Clausura 2007 and Apertura 2008 winner
	Tauro	Apertura 2008 runner-up****
Belize 1 berth	Hankook Verdes	2007–08 winner
Nicaragua 1 berth	Real Estelí	Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 winner
Canada 1 berth	Montreal Impact	2008 Canadian Championship winner
CFU 3 berths	Harbour View	CFU Club Championship 2007 winner
	Joe Public	CFU Club Championship 2007 runner-up
	Puerto Rico Islanders	CFU Club Championship 2007 third-place

^* - New England was both the 2007 U.S. Open Cup winner and the MLS Cup 2007 runner-up,
so Chivas USA has claimed USA4 as the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up.

^** - Saprissa were both the Invierno 2007 and Verano 2008 winner,
so Alajuelense has claimed CRC2 as the Verano 2008 runner-up.

^*** - Luis Angel Firpo were both the Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 winner,
so Isidro Metapán has claimed SLV2 as the Clausura 2008 runner-up.

^**** - San Francisco was both the Clausura 2007 and Apertura 2008 winner,
so Tauro has claimed PAN2 as the Apertura 2008 runner-up.

[edit] Format

There was a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. They were joined by the other eight teams who were seeded directly into the Group Stage. The clubs involved in the Group Stage were placed into four groups of four with each team playing the others in its group in both home and away matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Knockout Rounds, which will consist of two-legged ties. The Final Round, to be held in late April 2009, were also two-legged. Also, unlike the previously contested CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the away goals rule is used in the CONCACAF Champions League, but does not apply after a tie goes into extra time.^[3]

Group Stage
Pot A	Atlante	Santos Laguna	Houston Dynamo	D.C. United
Pot B	Saprissa	Olimpia	Municipal	Luis Angel Firpo
Preliminary Round
Pot A	Universidad Nacional	Cruz Azul	New England Revolution	Chivas USA
	Alajuelense	Marathón	San Francisco	Montreal Impact
Pot B	Jalapa	Isidro Metapán	Tauro	Hankook Verdes
	Real Estelí	Harbour View	Joe Public	Puerto Rico Islanders

[edit] Preliminary Round

The draw for the Preliminary Round was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City. The first legs of the Preliminary Round were played from 26 August 2008 to 28 August 2008, while the second legs were played from 2 September 2008 to 4 September 2008.^[4]

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Jalapa	1–5	San Francisco	1–0	0–5
Joe Public	6–1	New England Revolution	2–1	4–0
Alajuelense	2–3	Puerto Rico Islanders	1–1	1–2
Cruz Azul	12–0	Hankook Verdes	6–0	6–0
Harbour View	0–3	Universidad Nacional	N/A [5]	0–3
Tauro	3–1	Chivas USA	2–0	1–1
Montreal Impact	1–0	Real Estelí	1–0	0–0
Isidro Metapán	3–4	Marathón	2–2	1–2

The effects of Hurricane Gustav led to the cancellation of the first leg of the Harbour View - Universidad Nacional tie, and as a result the tie was contested as a single match.^[6]

[edit] Group Stage

The Group Stage draw was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City and was unveiled on 16 June 2008.^[4]

[edit] Tie-breaking criteria

If two teams are tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria shall be applied, in order, to determine the ranking of teams:^[7]

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. Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
5. Greater goal difference in all group matches
6. Greater number of goals scored in group matches
7. Greater number of goals scored away in all group Matches
8. Drawing of lots

[edit] Group A

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Marathón 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7 13 Cruz Azul 6 3 1 2 8 4 +4 10 Saprissa 6 3 1 2 7 9 −2 10 D.C. United 6 0 1 5 4 13 −9 1

DCU SAP CRU MAR D.C. United – 0–2 0–1 2–4 Saprissa 2–2 – 1–0 2–1 Cruz Azul 2–0 4–0 – 1–1 Marathón 2–0 2–0 2–0 –

[edit] Group B

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Universidad Nacional 6 3 3 0 18 7 +11 12 Houston Dynamo 6 2 3 1 9 9 0 9 Luis Angel Firpo 6 2 2 2 6 8 −2 8 San Francisco 6 0 2 4 4 13 −9 2

HOU LAF SFR UNAM Houston Dynamo – 1–0 2–1 1–3 Luis Angel Firpo 1–1 – 1–0 1–1 San Francisco 0–0 2–3 – 1–1 UNAM 4–4 3–0 6–0 –

[edit] Group C

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Atlante 6 3 2 1 6 3 +3 11 Montreal Impact 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11 Olimpia 6 2 2 2 10 6 +4 8 Joe Public 6 1 0 5 3 15 −12 3

ATL OLI JOE MON Atlante – 1–0 0–1 2–1 Olimpia 1–1 – 4–0 1–2 Joe Public 0–2 1–3 – 1–4 Montreal Impact 0–0 1–1 2–0 –

[edit] Group D

Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Santos Laguna 6 3 1 2 14 11 +3 10 Puerto Rico Islanders 6 2 2 2 9 10 −1 8 Tauro 6 2 2 2 9 10 −1 8 Municipal 6 1 3 2 12 13 −1 6

SAN MUN PRI TAU Santos Laguna – 3–2 3–0 3–0 Municipal 4–4 – 2–2 2–2 Puerto Rico Islanders 3–1 0–1 – 2–1 Tauro 2–0 2–1 2–2 –

[edit] Championship Round

The draw for the Championship Round was held on 10 December 2008. In each round, teams will play their opponent once at home and once away. The four group winners from the Group Stage will play the second leg at home in the Quarterfinals. The order of the home and away matches for the Semifinals and Finals were determined at the draw.

In all rounds, if two teams are tied after both legs the team with the most away goals is the winner. If the two teams are also tied in away goals then two fifteen minute halves of extra time are played. If the two teams are still tied on total goals after extra time a penalty shootout determines the winner.

[edit] Bracket

	Quarterfinals						Semifinals						Finals
	Puerto Rico Islanders	2	1	3
	Marathón	1	0	1
							Puerto Rico Islanders	2	1	3 (2)
							Cruz Azul (p)	0	3	3 (4)
	Cruz Azul	1	1	2
	Universidad Nacional	0	0	0
													Cruz Azul	0	0	0
													Atlante	2	0	2
	Montreal Impact	2	2	4
	Santos Laguna	0	5	5
							Santos Laguna	2	1	3
							Atlante	1	3	4
	Houston Dynamo	1	0	1
	Atlante	1	3	4

[edit] Quarterfinals

The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played from 24 February 2009 to 26 February 2009, while the second legs were played from 3 March 2009 to 5 March 2009.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Houston Dynamo	1–4	Atlante	1–1	0–3
Montreal Impact	4–5	Santos Laguna	2–0	2–5
Puerto Rico Islanders	3–1	Marathón	2–1	1–0
Cruz Azul	2–0	Universidad Nacional	1–0	1–0

[edit] Semifinals

The first legs of the Semifinals were played on 17 March and 18 March 2009, while the second legs were played on 7 April and 8 April 2009.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Puerto Rico Islanders	3–3 (2–4 p)	Cruz Azul	2–0	1–3 (aet)
Santos Laguna	3–4	Atlante	2–1	1–3

[edit] Final

The two-legged Final will be played on 22 April and 12 May 2009. The second leg was originally scheduled for 29 April, but was postponed until 12 May by CONCACAF due to concerns over an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Cruz Azul	0–2	Atlante	0–2	0–0

CONCACAF Champions League 2009 Champion
Atlante Second Title

[edit] Leading Goalscorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
1	Javier Orozco	Cruz Azul	7
2	Agustín Enrique Herrera	Santos Laguna	5
	Francisco Palencia	Universidad Nacional	5
	Guillermo Ramírez	Municipal	5
	Gregory Richardson	Joe Public	5
7	Brunet Hay	Tauro	4
	Edwin Aguilar	Tauro	4
	Christian Benítez	Santos Laguna	4
	Roberto Brown	Montreal Impact	4
	Milton Núñez	Marathón	4
	Carlos Quintero	Santos Laguna	4
	Vicente Matías Vuoso	Santos Laguna	4
	Pablo Zeballos	Cruz Azul	4

[edit] References

v • d • e CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 Champions Atlante Runners-up Cruz Azul Eliminated in Semifinals Puerto Rico Islanders · Santos Laguna Eliminated in quarter-finals Houston Dynamo · Marathón · Montreal Impact · U.N.A.M Eliminated in group stage D.C. United · Joe Public · Luís Ángel Firpo · Municipal · Olimpia · San Francisco · Saprissa · Tauro Round and draw dates · Qualifying rounds · Group stage · Final

v • d • e CONCACAF Champions' Cup and Champions League Champions' Cup era, 1962–2008 Seasons 1962 · 1963 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 Champions League era, 2008–present Seasons 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 Finals 2009

v • d • e International club football FIFA · Club World Cup (stats) · Intercontinental Cup (defunct) (stats) · Player of the Year · List of international & official club competition winners · Teams Asia AFC – Champions League · AFC Cup · President's Cup Africa CAF – Champions League · Confederation Cup · Super Cup North America CONCACAF – Champions League South America CONMEBOL – Copa Libertadores · Copa Sudamericana · Recopa Sudamericana Oceania OFC – Champions League Europe UEFA – Champions League · Europa League · Super Cup

v • d • e North American club football competitions CONCACAF tournaments CONCACAF Champions League · SuperLiga · CFU Club Championship Invitational tournaments Copa Libertadores Defunct tournaments Copa Interclubes UNCAF · CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup · CONCACAF Giants Cup

v • d • e 2008–09 in North and Central America, and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF) Domestic leagues Belize · Canada '08 '09 · Costa Rica · El Salvador '08 A '09 C · Guatemala · Honduras '08 A '09 C · Jamaica · Mexico '08 A '09 C · Panama '08 C '09 A · Trinidad and Tobago '08 '09 · United States '08 '09 Domestic cups Canada '08 '09 · Trinidad and Tobago '08 '09 · United States '08 '09 CONCACAF competitions Champions League (Preliminary round · Group stage · Championship round · Final) North American SuperLiga '08 '09 · CFU Club Championship '09