2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League
2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates August 4, 2015 – April 27, 2016
Teams 24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions Mexico América (7th title)
Runners-up Mexico UANL
Tournament statistics
Matches played 62
Goals scored 159 (2.56 per match)
Top scorer(s) Argentina Emanuel Villa (6 goals)
Best player Argentina Rubens Sambueza
Best young player Honduras Alberth Elis
Best goalkeeper Mexico Hugo González
Fair play award Mexico Querétaro

The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1][2] was 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.

América were the defending champions, and won their second consecutive title, and seventh CONCACAF club title (including the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era), by beating fellow Mexican team UANL 4–1 on aggregate in the final. As the winner of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, they qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their third appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup.[3][4]

Qualification

A total of 24 teams participated 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).[3] Therefore, a maximum of 13 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the tournament.

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 (NAFU) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations is as follows: four berths for each of Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

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. If a team reaches both tournament finals, the vacated berth is reallocated through regular season record.

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 a team qualifies through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which 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.[5] 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 (UNCAF) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations 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.

All of these leagues employ the split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualify if there are two available berths (if the same team wins both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualifies), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualifies if there is only one available berth.

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 (CFU) 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 open to clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. 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 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 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[Note USA] 3rd 2012–13 Runners-up
(2010–11)
Canada Canada
1 berth		 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team[Note CAN] 1st N/A N/A
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica 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 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 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 Panama
2 berths		 San Francisco 2014 Apertura champions 5th 2011–12 Group stage
(2008–09)
Árabe Unido 2015 Clausura champions 4th 2013–14 Quarterfinals
(2 times)
El Salvador 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 Nicaragua
1 berth		 Walter Ferretti Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season 1st N/A N/A
Belize 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 Trinidad and Tobago
2 teams		 Central 1 2015 CFU Club Championship champions 1st N/A N/A
W Connection 2015 CFU Club Championship runners-up 4th 2013–14 Group stage
(3 times)
Jamaica Jamaica
1 team		 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).[5][6]
  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.[7]

Draw

The draw for the tournament was held on June 1, 2015, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida.[8] The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots.[9]

For the draw, the 24 teams were seeded into three pots. 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 into the same group:[10]

The seeding was changed from previous seasons where teams from the same association were placed in different pots.

Pot 1
El Salvador Isidro Metapán El Salvador Santa Tecla Canada Vancouver Whitecaps FC Nicaragua Walter Ferretti
Belize Verdes Trinidad and Tobago Central Trinidad and Tobago W Connection Jamaica Montego Bay United
Pot 2
Costa Rica Saprissa Costa Rica Herediano Honduras Olimpia Honduras Motagua
Guatemala Comunicaciones Guatemala Municipal Panama Árabe Unido Panama San Francisco
Pot 3
Mexico América Mexico Santos Laguna Mexico UANL Mexico Querétaro
United States LA Galaxy United States Seattle Sounders FC United States D.C. United United States Real Salt Lake

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Stage Round First leg Second leg
Group stage Matchday 1 August 4–6, 2015
Matchday 2 August 18–20, 2015
Matchday 3 August 25–27, 2015
Matchday 4 September 15–17, 2015
Matchday 5 September 22–24, 2015
Matchday 6 October 20–22, 2015
Knockout stage Quarterfinals February 23–24, 2016 March 1–2, 2016
Semifinals March 15–16, 2016 April 5, 2016
Finals April 20, 2016 April 27, 2016

Group stage

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the quarterfinals.[3]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAN SAP WCO
1 Mexico Santos Laguna 4 3 0 1 12 3 +9 9 Knockout stage — 6–1 4–0
2 Costa Rica Saprissa 4 2 0 2 8 9 −1 6 2–1 — 4–0
3 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection 4 1 0 3 2 10 −8 3 0–1 2–1 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification UAN HER MET
1 Mexico UANL 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8 Knockout stage — 0–0 2–1
2 Costa Rica Herediano 4 1 2 1 4 3 +1 5 1–1 — 3–0
3 El Salvador Isidro Metapán 4 1 0 3 4 7 −3 3 1–2 2–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group C

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

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LAX CEN COM
1 United States LA Galaxy 4 2 2 0 12 3 +9 8 Knockout stage — 5–1 5–0
2 Trinidad and Tobago Central 4 1 1 2 3 7 −4 4 1–1 — 1–0
3 Guatemala Comunicaciones 4 1 1 2 2 7 −5 4 1–1 1–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AMÉ MOT WAL
1 Mexico América 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10 Knockout stage — 4–0 1–0
2 Honduras Motagua 4 2 1 1 5 6 −1 7 1–1 — 2–0
3 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti 4 0 0 4 2 8 −6 0 1–3 1–2 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEA OLI VAN
1 United States Seattle Sounders FC 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7 Knockout stage — 2–1 3–0
2 Honduras Olimpia 4 2 0 2 3 3 0 6 1–0 — 1–0
3 Canada Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4 1–1 1–0 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RSL MUN TEC
1 United States Real Salt Lake 4 3 1 0 4 1 +3 10 Knockout stage — 1–0 2–1
2 Guatemala Municipal 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4 0–1 — 2–1
3 El Salvador Santa Tecla 4 0 2 2 3 5 −2 2 0–0 1–1 —
Source: CONCACAF

Group H

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

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. The away goals rule would be used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so a tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg.[3]

Starting from this season, the higher-seeded team in each tie hosts the second leg throughout the knockout stage.[3]

Seeding

The qualified teams were seeded 1–8 in the knockout stage according to their results in the group stage.[3]

Seed Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 E Mexico América 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10
2 H United States D.C. United 4 3 1 0 9 3 +6 10
3 G United States Real Salt Lake 4 3 1 0 4 1 +3 10
4 A Mexico Santos Laguna 4 3 0 1 12 3 +9 9
5 D United States LA Galaxy 4 2 2 0 12 3 +9 8
6 B Mexico UANL 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8
7 C Mexico Querétaro 4 2 1 1 11 2 +9 7
8 F United States Seattle Sounders FC 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Drawing of lots.

Bracket

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                                         
7  Mexico Querétaro 2 1 3  
2  United States D.C. United 0 1 1  
  7  Mexico Querétaro 0 0 0  
  6  Mexico UANL 0 2 2  
6  Mexico UANL 2 1 3
3  United States Real Salt Lake 0 1 1  
  6  Mexico UANL 0 1 1
  1  Mexico América 2 2 4
5  United States LA Galaxy 0 0 0  
4  Mexico Santos Laguna 0 4 4  
  4  Mexico Santos Laguna 0 0 0
  1  Mexico América (a.e.t.) 0 1 1  
8  United States Seattle Sounders FC 2 1 3
1  Mexico América 2 3 5  

Quarterfinals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC United States 3–5 Mexico América 2–2 1–3
Querétaro Mexico 3–1 United States D.C. United 2–0 1–1
UANL Mexico 3–1 United States Real Salt Lake 2–0 1–1
LA Galaxy United States 0–4 Mexico Santos Laguna 0–0 0–4

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Santos Laguna Mexico 0–1 Mexico América 0–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Querétaro Mexico 0–2 Mexico UANL 0–0 0–2

Finals

April 20, 2016 (2016-04-20)
20:45 CDT (UTC−5)
UANL Mexico 0–2 Mexico América
Report Benedetto  49'
Martínez  90+3'

April 27, 2016 (2016-04-27)
20:45 CDT (UTC−5)
América Mexico 2–1 Mexico UANL
Arroyo  68'
Martínez  87' (pen.) 		Report Gignac  39'
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)

América won 4–1 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Querétaro's Emanuel Villa became the first player to score five goals in a CONCACAF Champions League match, during his team's home match against Verdes on September 17, 2015.[11]
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Argentina Emanuel Villa Mexico Querétaro 6
2 Ecuador Michael Arroyo Mexico América 5
United States Alan Gordon United States LA Galaxy 5
4 Cape Verde Djaniny Mexico Santos Laguna 4
France André-Pierre Gignac Mexico UANL 4
Colombia Carlos Quintero Mexico América 4
7 United States Lamar Neagle United States Seattle Sounders FC 3
Mexico Oribe Peralta Mexico América 3
Panama Johnny Ruiz Panama San Francisco 3

Source: CONCACAF.com[12]

Awards

Award[13] Player Team
Golden Ball Argentina Rubens Sambueza Mexico América
Golden Boot Argentina Emanuel Villa Mexico Querétaro
Golden Glove Mexico Hugo González Mexico América
Best Young Player Honduras Alberth Elis Honduras Olimpia
Fair Play Award — Mexico Querétaro

See also

References

External links

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