Champions League
Tyler Deric and Dominic Kinnear share their thoughts on the CONCACAF Champions League draw that grouped the Dynamo with Panamanian side Árabe Unido and W Connection of Trinidad and Tobago for the 2013-14 tournament.
Full Name: W Connection Football Club
Founded: 1999
Location: Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago
Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium
League: TT Pro League
Championships: TT Pro League (4); FA Trophy (3); First Citizens Cup (6); CFU Club Championships (3)
CONCACAF History: 5 appearances; 2002 First Round, 2003 First Round, 2007 Quarterfinals (first round of competition), 2009-10 Group Stage, 2012-13 Group Stage
How they qualified: Group 1 winners in Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship (Two group winners and one playoff winner enter Champions League)
Record vs. Dynamo: This will be the first meeting of the two clubs, and the first Caribbean team the Dynamo have faced in the competition. W Connection have faced MLS sides twice in CONCACAF play, losing 3-0 on aggregate to Kansas City in the first round of the 2002 tournament and defeating the New York Red Bulls 4-3 on aggregate in the 2009-10 preliminary stage.
Full name: Club Deportivo Árabe Unido
Founded: 1994
Location: Colón, Panama
Stadium: Estadio Armando Dely Valdés
League: Liga Panameña de Fútbol (Panamanian Football League)
Championships: 12 (2 LINFUNA, 7 ANAPROF, 3 LPF)*
CONCACAF History: 4 appearances; 1996 Qualifying Stage, 2003 First Round, 2009-10 Quarterfinals, 2010-11 Group Stage
How they qualified: 2012 LPF Apertura Champions
Record vs. Dynamo: 0-1-1; The Dynamo faced DAU in the group stages of the 2009-10 Champions League. The first match, a 1-1 draw in Panama, was marred by five red cards and two power outages. The return leg in Houston was much kinder to the Dynamo, as they powered to a 5-1 victory. It wasn't enough for the Dynamo, however, as Árabe Unido advanced out of the group stage along with Mexican club Pachuca.
Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis and goalkeeper Tally Hall spoke with the media following Houston's 3-0 loss to Santos Laguna in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear spoke with the media following Houston's 3-0 loss Wednesday night in leg two of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series with Santos Laguna.
In talking with Dynamo players and coaches after training on Monday, the word playoff was thrown around quite often. OK, maybe it was me asking them if Wednesday's match reminded them of a second leg of a playoff series, but since no one refuted the statement that counts, right?
Regardless, although the Dynamo are only one game into their MLS season, Wednesday's Champions League match against Santos Laguna is the type of situation the Dynamo have excelled in over the past seven years. Few coaches around Major League Soccer have been able to navigate a team through a home-and-away series better than Dominic Kinnear.
Since 2006, Kinnear and the Dynamo have participated in 12 home-and-away series. That stat includes the MLS Cup playoffs, CONCACAF Champions League and CONCACAF Champions' Cup. In those 12 series, the Dynamo have advanced eight times. Two of the four series losses came in the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a third coming in the Champions League and the fourth coming in the 2008 Western Conference semifinals.
In two of those eight wins, the Dynamo have closed out the series with a result on the road, something Houston will have to do on Wednesday if they want to remain alive in the 2012-13 Champions League.
| Dynamo in two-legged series (8-4 record all-time) | ||||
| Year | Opponent | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | vs. Chivas USA | L 2-1 | W 2-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2007 | vs. FC Dallas | L 1-0 | W 4-1 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2007 | vs. Puntarenas | L 1-0 | W 2-0 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinals |
| 2007 | vs. Pachuca | W 2-0 | L 5-2 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals |
| 2008 | vs. Municipal | T 0-0 | W 3-1 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinals |
| 2008 | vs. Saprissa | T 0-0 | L 3-0 | CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals |
| 2008 | vs. New York | T 1-1 | L 3-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2008-09 | vs. Atlante | T 1-1 | L 3-0 | CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals |
| 2009 | vs. Seattle | T 0-0 | W 1-0 | Western Conference Semifinals |
| 2011 | vs. Philadelphia | W 2-1 | W 1-0 | Eastern Conference Semifinals |
| 2012 | vs. Sporting KC | W 2-0 | L 1-0 | Eastern Conference Semifinals |
| 2012 | vs. D.C. United | W 3-1 | T 1-1 | Eastern Conference Finals |
| 2012-13 | vs. Santos Laguna | W 1-0 | ??? | CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals |
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