CONCACAF Champions League Preview: Columbus Crew vs. Municipal

All of us here at ISN love the idea of the CONCACAF Champions League. It is no way comparable to the UEFA Champions League, but you have to start somewhere.  The idea of 24 teams from 9 countries fighting for a single piece of hardware is just an awesome concept.  Getting to see teams that wouldn’t normally travel to the states is an added bonus. It provides us as American fans with some of the best soccer of the season.  Who knows what this competition will look like in 10-15 years?

Our favorite club, the Columbus Crew, face off against Guatemalan side Municipal t0m0rr0w night at Crew Stadium.  It likely won’t be a record night for attendance, even though more people should come out for the CCL games.  It is guaranteed that the fans will be passionate and enthusiastic regardless of their number.  We will be reporting live from Crew Stadium tomorrow, starting at 8:00 pm.

Playing a relatively unknown team from Guatemala provides an interesting challenge.  The Guatemalan National League may not be on the same level as MLS, but there are still many quality players on each squad. Municipal’s big-name player is Carlos Plata, who has an amazing 299 goals in his twenty-year career.

You have to wonder how Municipal will respond to the Crew’s physical style of play.  The Crew should have a size advantage in most cases and should be able to keep pace thanks to speedy players like Emilio Renteria and Emmanuel Ekpo.

However, three of Municipal’s players actually have MLS experience and should be comfortable with the style and speed of play. Interestingly enough, two (Mario Rodríguez and Freddy García) even spent time with our hometown Columbus Crew. Rodríguez scored a lone goal for the Crew in 2005, while García is best known for his game-winning goal against the Galaxy in the 2002 U.S. Open Cup final.

Municipal should bring some Central American flair to Crew Stadium, which should result in creative soccer and lots of speed.  The Crew last played Municipal in a 2006 exhibition with Columbus coming away with a 2-0 victory.

The Crew are still recovering from an attack from the injury bug, but Eddie Gaven could be made available for the match.  Gaven has been recovering from a  hard collision with Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy on July 31st. The Crew’s Brian Carroll, Robbie Rogers, Gino Padula, Andy Iro, and Chad Marshall will miss the match, barring some sort of miracle.