For the fourth time in their history the Colorado Rapids will appear in the top club competition in the region, having qualified for the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
The Rapids qualified by virtue of finishing top of the Western Conference in 2021 and will face Comunicaciones FC of Guatemala over two legs in the opening round.
Thirty-two clubs will make up the 2022 version of this prestigious competition, which brings together the best teams in Concacaf. Concacaf is the governing body for soccer in North and Central America, and the Caribbean.
The Rapids return to the region’s top table after a four-year absence. Their previous appearance, in 2018, ended in a 2-0 aggregate loss to eventual runners-up Toronto FC, which had Robin Fraser as assistant coach. Drew Moor played in both games for Toronto.
That 2018 appearance was the first since 2011, when the tournament included a group stage. The Rapids played six games in total that year, against Santos Laguna (Mexico), Real Espana (Honduras), and Isidro Metapan (El Salvador). They finished with a 2-3-1 record.
And that appearance in 2011, as a result of winning MLS Cup a year earlier, came after an absence of 13 years.
Did you know? Marcelo Balboa not only scored the first MLS goal in club history, but he also netted the club’s first-ever goal in what was then the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The club legend scored against Club Leon (Mexico) - the team he had joined the Rapids from in time for game two of the inaugural MLS season in 1996 - in the first leg of the 1998 qualifying playoff. Leon won the second leg 4-2 to progress 4-3 on aggregate. Also playing for the Rapids in that first venture into Concacaf competition was current assistant coach, Wolde Harris.
And so, the Rapids will play in the Concacaf showpiece for the second time in four seasons, equaling the number of appearances they had managed in their previous 23 seasons. Robin Fraser will lead a side into Champions League for the first time as a head coach, though as a player he was part of the LA Galaxy team which finished runners-up in the 1997 edition (then known as the Champions Cup).
Comunicaciones, the Rapids’ opponents at the first hurdle, qualified for this year’s Champions League after winning the region’s second tier competition, the Concacaf League. They defeated Honduras club side Motagua in the final, beating them 6-3 over two legs in December.
While the Rapids’ league season does not get underway until February 26 at LAFC, Comunicaciones began the Liga Nacional Clausura in mid-January. Indeed, they will have seen far more competitive soccer in the past few months than the Rapids.
Comunicaciones were beaten finalists in the Apertura in early January, having finished second in the standings at the end of the regular season. They were the league’s leading scorers in the Apertura with 37 goals in 22 games. Their first game of the Clausura was a 7-0 win over Nueva Concepcion.
Formed in 1949, they are among the two most successful clubs in Guatemala. They have been crowned champions 30 times - one fewer than bitter rivals Municipal - though not since 2015.
FACTS AND STATS
· Launched in 1962 as the Concacaf Champions Cup, it was rebranded as the Champions League from 2008.
· Mexican clubs have dominated the competition, winning it 37 times, beginning with Club Deportivo Guadalajara in 1962.
· Teams from Costa Rica have claimed the cup on six occasions, while D.C. United (1998) and LA Galaxy (2000) are the only clubs from the USA (and from MLS) to have won the competition.
· No club outside of Mexico has won the competition since it became known as the Concacaf Champions League.
· The most successful club is America of Mexico, with seven titles, but not since 2016.
· Since 2005, the winner of the Champions League has qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup. This involves the winners from FIFA’s six confederations, as well as the national champions of the host country.
· Three clubs (one being Comunicaciones) were declared champions in 1978, due to administrative issues and organizers being unable to agree on dates for games. Comunicaciones
· Comunicaciones has a long history with the competition. They were runners-up of the inaugural Champions Cup in 1962, losing 6-0 on aggregate to Club Deportivo Guadalajara, and again in 1969 when defeated 1-0 over two legs by Cruz Azul.
· For mascots, the Rapids have Rapidman and Comunicaciones have GasparÃn the ghost. He has been the club mascot since 1985. The original costume was purchased in New York City by a former member of staff.
BOX SCORES
June 28, 1998:
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Club Leon (Mexico)
Concacaf Champions Cup - Qualifying Playoff, first leg
Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO
Marcus Hahnemann; Sean Henderson, Peter Vermes, Steve Trittschuh, Chris Martinez, Chris Henderson, Tahj Jakins, Ross Paule (Joey DiGiamarino 87’), Adrian Paz, Waldir (Marcelo Balboa 71’), Wolde Harris (Marquis White 71’).
RAPIDS’ SCORER: Marcelo Balboa 83’
July 15, 1998:
Club Leon 4-2 Colorado Rapids - Leon win 4-3 on aggregate
Concacaf Champions Cup - Qualifying Playoff, second leg
Estadio Nou Camp, Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Marcus Hahnemann; Sean Henderson, Peter Vermes, Steve Trittschuh, Chris Martinez, Chris Henderson, Marcelo Balboa, Paul Bravo, Ross Paule (Marquis White 70’), Jason Boyce (Joey DiGiamarino 58’), Wolde Harris (Waldir 60’).
RAPIDS’ SCORERS: Steve Trittschuh 45’, Paul Bravo 69’
August 17, 2011:
Colorado Rapids 3-2 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador)
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Matt Pickens; Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne (Mike Holody 78’), Kosuke Kimura, Scott Palguta, Joseph Nane, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson, Sanna Nyassi (Quincy Amarikwa 46’), Macoumba Kandji (Brian Mullan 72’), Andre Akpan.
RAPIDS’ SCORERS: Macoumba Kandji 16’ & 45’, Andre Akpan 50’
August 23, 2011:
Real Espana (Honduras) 1-1 Colorado Rapids
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
Estadio Francisco Morazan, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Steward Ceus; Kosuke Kimura, Danny Earls, Mike Holody, Scott Palguta (Drew Moor 69’), Joseph Nane, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson, Ross LaBauex (Sanna Nyassi 80’), Omar Cummings (Quincy Amarikwa 71’), Andre Akpan.
RAPIDS’ SCORER: Jeff Larentowicz 45’
September 13, 2011:
Colorado Rapids 1-4 Santos Laguna (Mexico)
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Steward Ceus; Danny Earls (Miguel Comminges 46’), Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne, Scott Palguta, Sanna Nyassi, Jeff Larentowicz, Pablo Mastroeni (Joseph Nane 70’), Wells Thompson (Brian Mullan 57’), Macoumba Kandji, Omar Cummings.
RAPIDS’ SCORER: Brian Mullan
September 21, 2011:
Colorado Rapids 1-2 Real Espana
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Steward Ceus; Tyrone Marshall, Kosuke Kimura, Scott Palguta, Mike Holody, Joseph Nane (Jamie Smith 65’), Brian Mullan (Omar Cummings 80’), Wells Thompson, Ross LaBauex, Macoumba Kandji (Sanna Nyassi 69’), Andre Akpan.
RAPIDS’ SCORER: Andre Akpan 18’
September 28, 2011:
Isidro Metapan 1-3 Colorado Rapids
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
Estadio Jorge Calero Suarez, Metapan, El Salvador
Steward Ceus; Mike Holody, Scott Palguta, Tyrone Marshall, Danny Earls, Eddie Ababio (Davy Armstrong 63’), Joseph Nane, Ross LaBauex, Wells Thompson, Andre Akpan (Omar Cummings 73’), Quincy Amarikwa (Macoumba Kandji 90’).
RAPIDS’ SCORERS: Eddie Ababio 31’, Quincy Amarikwa 49’, Omar Cummings 77’
October 19, 2011:
Santos Laguna 2-0 Colorado Rapids
Concacaf Champions League - Group Stage
Estadio Corona, Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico
Steward Ceus; Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne (Eddie Ababio 79’), Miguel Comminges, Kosuke Kimura, Scott Palguta, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson, Ross LaBauex (Sanna Nyassi 59’), Caleb Folan, Macoumba Kandji (Omar Cummings 63’).
February 20, 2018:
Colorado Rapids 0-2 Toronto FC
Concacaf Champions League - Round of 16, first leg
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Tim Howard; Deklan Wynne, Tommy Smith, Kortne Ford, Edgar Castillo; Marlon Hairston, Jack Price, Bismark Adjei-Boateng, Enzo MartÃnez; Jack McBean, Dominique Badji.
Subs not used: Zac MacMath, Niki Jackson, Sam Hamilton, Danny Wilson, Johan Blomberg, Stefan Aigner, Dillon Serna.
February 27, 2018:
Toronto FC 0-0 Colorado Rapids
Concacaf Champions League - Round of 16, second leg
BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Zac MacMath; Danny Wilson, Tommy Smith, Kortne Ford, Johan Blomberg (Edgar Castillo 66’), Enzo MartÃnez, Jack Price, Deklan Wynne, Marlon Hairston, Dominique Badji, Jack McBean (Niki Jackson 66’).
Subs not used: Tim Howard, Micheal Azira, Eric Miller, Sam Hamilton, Dillon Serna.
FUN FACTS
· Colorado Rapids’ overall record in the Concacaf competition is 3-5-2.
· They have scored 12 goals in 10 games. The last of those goals was scored by Omar Cummings in a 3-1 win at Isidro Metapan of El Salvador on September 28, 2011.
· Steve Trittschuh scored for both teams when the Rapids lost at Club Leon in the second leg of the qualifying playoff tie in 1998. His own goal on 42 minutes made it 3-0 to Leon on the night. He scored at the other end three minutes later. Leon won the match 4-2 and the tie 4-3.
· The Rapids’ leading scorers in the Concacaf Champions League, with two goals apiece, are Macoumba Kandji and Andre Akpan.
· Davy Armstrong was the Rapids’ first Homegrown signing. He made three MLS appearances between 2012-14, all as a substitute. His MLS debut came versus Houston Dynamo on October 27, 2012. His Rapids debut came in the Champions League came on September 28, 2011 when he came on for Eddie Ababio in the 3-1 group stage win at El Salvador club Isidro Metapan.
· Ababio made his professional debut in that match in El Salvador and opened the scoring for the Rapids. He came on as a sub in the following Champions League game, for Marvell Wynne. These were his only two senior appearances for the club. He never featured in an MLS game during his two seasons (2011-12) with the club.
· Goalkeeper Steward Ceus played in five of the Rapids’ six group stage games in 2011, over a two-month period. That was one game more than he managed in MLS for the Rapids during five seasons in Commerce City.
· When the Rapids hosted Toronto FC in the Round of 16 first leg on February 20, 2018, the temperature was a bone-chilling 3 degrees at kickoff, with a wind-chill of -16F. Making their Rapids debut in that game were Johan Blomberg, Edgar Castillo, Enzo Martinez, Jack Price, Tommy Smith, and Deklan Wynne.
· This will be a first visit to Guatemala for the Colorado Rapids. Their previous visits to Central America have taken them to Honduras and El Salvador.
· The Rapids play on the road against Comunicaciones on February 17. The night before, Club Leon open their Champions League bid at Guatemala’s other hopeful, Club Deportivo Guastatoya. Both matches will be played at Comunicaciones’ Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, 25 hours apart. This stadium as a 26,000 capacity, whereas Estadio David Cordón Hichos, the home of Guastatoya, holds just over 3,000.
This year’s Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League will include sides from the USA, Mexico, Canada, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Haiti. Last year’s winners, CF Monterrey, did not qualify for the 2022 edition, though as reigning champions they did represent Concacaf at the FIFA Club World Cup, from February 3-12 in the United Arab Emirates.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday, February 17
Comunicaciones vs. Colorado Rapids (5pm MT)
Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League - Round of 16, first leg
Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City
Available on FOX Sports (USA-English), TUDN (USA-Spanish)
Wednesday, February 23
Colorado Rapids vs. Comunicaciones (6.15pm MT)
Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League - Round of 16, second leg
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Available on FOX Sports (USA-English), TUDN (USA-Spanish)
