Impact look to surprise at Estadio Azteca in CCL Final

Montreal Impact are representing the league
Photo: Thomas Gosse (Prost Amerika)

Just one more upset to go for the Montreal Impact. While the club has certainly had a memorable run in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League, their tournament is not yet complete. On Wednesday night the Impact will look to overcome the odds once again as they travel down to Mexico City to play Club America in the CCL Final. The match will take place at Estadio Azteca at 9pm EST and will be shown live on Fox Sports 1 and Univision.

There are a couple of things that are a little deceiving when talking about this CCL final. First, while Liga MX teams might be historically successful in CCL play, America is not one of them. The club has only made two appearances in the modern tournament and has never actually won the tournament. Matter of fact, this is actually their first appearance in the final. So while the CCL final might be a new experience for the Impact, this is also uncharted waters for America too.

If there is one lesson that the Impact can take from previous forays south of the border it is that they must try and survive the road match. MLS teams have a fairly terrible record in Mexico and have doomed themselves by poor showings in places like Estadio Azteca.

Historically, America is a much better team at home (5 wins, 1 Loss, 0 draws +12 goal differential) in CCL play than they are on the road (2-3- 1, +9 goal differential). These numbers are corroborated by their play in the 2015 Clausura: at home they are 5-1-2 and on the road they have a record of 1-3-2. If Montreal can keep this close they will need to get at least a goal on the road and not be down by 3-4 goals.

So how do they do this? How do they go into Estadio Azteca and register a serviceable result? The key is not allowing a goal early. America, as evidenced by their 5-0 thrashing of Herediano, like to score quick and early. Of America’s 30 goals scored in CCL play, 11 have come within the first 15 minutes of the match and 19 have come in the first-half. America’s attacking combination of Oribe Peralta and Dario Benedetto will look to use their speed on the outside to free their other up at the center of the pitch.

The Impact defense will be tested early and often. If they are to succeed in this match then they will need a dominant performance from Laurent Ciman. In the previous two rounds of the CCL, Ciman has proven to be a difference-maker, stopping several quality possessions and providing patience and stability. This is still a team that is learning to play with one another and having veteran leadership along its spine like Ciman and Nigel-Reo Coker helps.

Teams that have succeeded at Estadio Azteca at both the club and international have done so by slowing the pace down and forcing the home team to chase. Even for small increments of time it frustrates the supporters which in turn causes turmoil for the home team. The Impact have to win the small battles to achieve the greater result.

On the attack, Montreal will have their opportunities. America likes to throw the kitchen sink into their attack. While this can be tremendously effective, it does leave them susceptible to counter-attacks. Although losing Justin Mapp to injury does hurt, the Impact do have speed on the outside with winger Donny Toia and midfielder Dilly Duka. Forward Jack McInerney is at his best when a winger can draw the attention of the defense and he can find small pockets of space in the box.

One other to keep an eye on is midfielder Ignacio Piatti. Like Ciman, Piatti can control the pace of the match with little passes and dribbles. He also has very little trouble with playing dirty, an attitude that will come in handy against America. The atmosphere at Estadio Azteca should be of little concern to him since he did win the Copa Libertadores with San Lorenzo last year.

Given the history between Liga MX and MLS it may seem like the Impact are doomed to second-place in this year’s CCL Final. But if they get a decent result in this match then they have a chance to make history.