CONCACAF
Check in on Brad Davis with the USMNT as he and the team prepare for their match against Jamaica on Friday.
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.
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup groups and schedule were announced on Wednesday, with Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium set to host Group B matches. This will be the fifth consecutive Gold Cup with matches being played in Houston.
Group B consists of Honduras, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti. Honduras is currently in the final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
"Houston has become a top soccer city over the years, and BBVA Compass Stadium has emerged as an elite facility," said Dynamo president Chris Canetti. "Hosting a marquee event like Gold Cup is exciting and indicative of the respect organizers have for our city, stadium and organization."
Both Honduras and El Salvador participated in the 2011 tournament. El Salvador lost in the quarterfinals to Panama on penalty kicks (5-3), while Honduras lost to Mexico 2-0 in the semifinals, a game that was played at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Haiti’s last CONCACAF Gold Cup appearance was in 2009 when it lost 4-0 to Mexico in the quarterfinals, whereas Trinidad & Tobago’s last appearance was in 2007, when it failed to advance out of the group stage.
The Honduran national team could have some familiar faces from Major League Soccer in their squad. Houston’s Boniek García, Víctor Bernárdez and Marvin Chávez (San Jose), Mario Martínez (Seattle), Jerry Bengtson (New England), Hendry Thomas (Colorado), and Johnny Leverón (Montreal) all feature regularly for Los Catrachos.
The Honduran and Salvadoran national teams are no strangers to playing in Houston and both have proven to have strong support from the local community.
Honduras played Peru to a scoreless draw on Nov. 12, 2012 at BBVA Compass Stadium, while El Salvador played New Zealand to a 2-2 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium on May 23, 2012. In addition, more than 27,000 fans packed Robertson Stadium in May 2011 to see a friendly between Honduras and El Salvador.
Tickets to all Gold Cup matches will be available to the general public starting on Thursday, March 21 at 10 a.m. by visiting www.GoldCup.org.
Group B schedule (time listed in CT):
Monday, July 8 – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)
El Salvador vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 6 p.m.
Haiti vs. Honduras, 8:30 p.m.
Friday, July 12 – Sun Life Stadium (Miami, FL)
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Haiti, 6 p.m.
Honduras vs. El Salvador, 8:30 p.m.
Monday, July 15 – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)
El Salvador vs. Haiti, 6 p.m.
Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 8:30 p.m.
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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