Photo Credit: Club Queretaro
By: Jonny Rico
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The 2015-16 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League ( CCL ) kicks off its knockout stage on Tuesday Feb.23 at Estadio Corregidora in Queretaro, Mexico at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern) / 5:00 p.m. (Pacific). LIGA MX side Club Queretaro hosts Major League Soccer’s (MLS) D.C. United in the first leg of the quarterfinal series.
The entire quarterfinals series in this year’s CCL pits one LIGA MX team against one MLS side.
Naturally all LIGA MX teams are favorites to win its respective series against the MLS teams. But Club Queretaro could be the one weak point in the LIGA MX contingency. Its mere presence in the CCL was unexpected.
Queretaro qualified to the 2015-16 CCL with its Runner-Up finish in the 2015 Clausura season of LIGA MX. It made the championship series which it lost to Santos Laguna. But having Queretaro in the final was a big surprise.
The ‘Gallos Blancos’ kicked off the 2015 Clausura with only one win in its first seven matches (41 percent of the regular season). It had accumulated four losses, two draws and the lone win over the eventually relegated Leones Negros. It was at this time that the club directors decided to let go of its current manager Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Ambriz.
In came Victor Manuel Vucetich, one of (if not) the most successful LIGA MX managers of all time. Vucetich took the radical decision of benching Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho and using him as a sub. Vucetich lost his first match in charge but then proceeded to win seven of the remaining nine regular season matches. This good run in form late in the regular season was enough to push Queretaro into playoff positions in sixth place of the league table.
From there Queretaro brought down Veracruz (another surprise entry into the playoffs) in the quarterfinals and a very young Pachuca side in the semifinals.
The magic of Vucetich did not last too long at Queretaro and the squad limitation have begun to show. It has since followed up with an 11th place finish in the 2015 Apertura season. And a slow 2-4-1 start to the 2016 Clausura placing it well into the lower part of the league table.
NEVER RULE OUT VUCETICH
While Queretaro is clearly the weakest of the four LIGA MX participants, a manager like Victor Manuel Vucetich can never be ruled out; especially in CCL.
Vucetich is a wise and experienced manager that knows exactly what it takes to win the CCL. On top of his overwhelming domestic success, Vucetich is the manager that won the CCL three years in a row with CF Monterrey.
INSPIRING RESULT HEADING INTO CCL
Club Queretaro might have found some out-of-the-blue confidence heading into the first leg match against D.C. United. On Friday night it hosted reigning LIGA MX champions Tigres UANL in Week 7 action of the domestic league. The final score was a 2-2 draw but very few people gave the Queretaro squad any hope against the champs.
SCHEDULE AND BROADCAST INFO (USA):
Club Queretaro vs D.C. United – CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals First Leg
Tuesday Feb. 23 8:00 p.m. (Eastern) / 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) – Estadio Corregidora
TV (USA): Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision Deportes Network (Spanish)
Radio (USA): ESPN Deportes Radio
MLS
