Mexico Leads The Way

Bob Koep
Senior Staff Writer
InsideSoccer Magazine

Mexico Leads The Way
Mexico is again the class act as it managed to place all its four teams in quarterfinals of the ONCACAF Champions League.

At the conclusion of the four group, 16 team round-robin league play the four Mexican teams
could all be found on top of their respective groups while three other Central American and one U.S. team, Columbus Crew, also made the grade.

Two of the three American teams that had reached the group play, Houston Dynamo and D C
United were eliminated and now the U.S. professional League, MLS, has only one team left
in the competition.

Pachuca of Mexico won Group 1, Toluca Group 2, Cruz Azul Group 3 and Pumas Unam Group 4
to complete a total Mexican domination.

All four second placed teams from each group also qualify for quarterfinals, thus lifting Arabe Unido of Panama, Marathon of Honduras and Comunicaciones of Guatemala into the knock out stage along with Columbus Crew.

The draw for quarterfinals will be held November 17 at the CONCAAF headquarters in New York
City and the four group winners will be drawn against a second place team.

That means the four Mexican teams, all Group winners, will be kept apart and it is entirely feasable that semifinals could be an all-Mexican affair.

First games of the home and home quarters will be played March 9 to 11 at the home of the second placed teams while the return legs go March 16 to 18 at the group winners fields.

That means, there is a five months intermission before action resumes. But while Mexican teams can stay in shape playing in their home leagues, the Columbus Crew will have to come up to game form in a pre-season training camp as the MLS, of course, is shut down till early April.

Columbus, meanwhile, has already clinched a berth in the next editition of the Champions League as it has topped the curent MLS standings and that earns an automatic bye.