Well, our season is over, and I think I am somehow the first one to get a post up on here after Sunday’s pathetic result in LA. What was not pathetic was our incredible road support.
We managed to sell 284 tickets in the away section in 2 minutes. We had a rocking night before party that apparently got 100+ complaints from Westin hotel guests in the 20 minutes when La Murga was playing. While we probably should have rented buses to drive people to the Banc instead of taking public transit with no safe, viable route option for a march, we learned some lessons. We also learned that many of you don’t know how to stay calm and keep walking ahead with your head held high, but that’s a story for another day.
In the meantime, we are no longer California dreaming, but we are CONCACAF dreaming since Philadelphia also won on Sunday night, clinching our spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Since it’s our first time in one of the greatest and most bizarre competitions in the world, this article will give you a preview of the 8 teams that we could face in the first round of the tournament.
The draw is on Monday November 7th (just 4 days away) at 6 PM CT on TUDN (in Spanish) or YouTube (in English), and we’ll find out the entire bracket then (which makes travel planning much easier). For CCL, each match has two legs, so there will be a home and away match in every round. The first round will likely have us on the road March 7-9 and then back home at McKalla (included tickets for season ticket holders!) March 14-16. The subsequent rounds will be in April, May, and the second leg of the final will be on Sunday June 4th (a rare weekend CCL match).
The rest of this article will rate the 8 potential opponents on a 1 to 9 scale on the following 5 factors:
a) Strength of Team
b) Ease of getting there from Austin (don’t expect any charter flights)
c) Fanbase
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby
e) Quality of Stadium (We already know the quality of officiating will be awful even with VAR)
UNAL Tigres (Monterrey, Mexico)
a) Strength of Team-9
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-8
c) Fanbase-9
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-5
e) Quality of Stadium-6
There is no doubt that Tigres is the best team in Pot 2 and would be the most challenging opponent for Austin FC. It is also the easiest potential opponent for us to reach as people (with valid passports) could either take a bus ride to Monterrey or take the direct Spirit flight (even though return flights the week of 3/8 are very expensive due to SXSW).
My personal gut is that I would much rather have a match against an inferior opponent in the first round so that we could advance in the tournament. Playing Tigres in a later round of the tournament would be a monumental event in Austin FC as I would imagine that we would have hundreds travel south of the border, and they would show up by thousands at McKalla.
I’ll admit that I have never been to Monterrey and I would love to do some hiking and rock climbing in the area. However, this industrial city is not at the top of most peoples’ vacation bucket list.
At least the pitch is usually nice at Volcan, even if it the stadium itself isn’t up to modern standards. It gets really loud in there and would without a doubt be the most hostile environment Austin FC has ever played in.
Finally, I believe that Tigres will need to play a non-Mexican opponent in the first round, so there is a 20% chance they could be our first opponent, where the odds are between 11% and 12% for everyone else. Personally, I would love to see a first round match between LAFC and Tigres as a rematch of the closed door 2020 CCL final with incredible legs in LA and Monterrey.
Violette (Port-au-Prince, Haiti)
a) Strength of Team-Legit Unknown
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-1
c) Fanbase-Unknown
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-2 (Haiti does have beaches)
e) Quality of Stadium-1
We go from a team in Tigres that has already played a friendly at Q2 where we know a ton about them to Violette, who is clearly the most unknown team in the field. The Haitian side won the Caribbean Club Championship (was really pulling a Jamaican side to win but we didn’t get what we wanted here), and it’s unclear to me if they have played a match since winning that tournament in May.
Since May, there has been gang violence in Haiti that’s so bad their Prime Minister wants the US to help (probably the first time the False Nine has ever linked to Foreign Policy), a cholera outbreak, and general unrest/government instability. Last year, the Haitian side had to forfeit in CCL due to visa issues, and it would not surprise me if the same happened this year.
Even though both American and Jet Blue fly to Haiti, I think this match would not have any visiting fans in attendance due to health, safety, and travel concerns. It’s possible that Violette could host their home leg in Florida (or somewhere else in the US) if visas are approved for their players.
I cannot find any evidence so far if they have played a match since winning the CCC in May. Their stadium is most famous for having a turf pitch and being used a refugee camp after their various earthquakes. I am usually down for an adventure, but Haiti is the one place on this list that’s too much of a stretch for me.
Alajuelense (Alajuela, Costa Rica)
a) Strength of Team-7
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-6
c) Fanbase-8
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-7
e) Quality of Stadium-7
I had the chance to watch the next two teams on this list play last night in the CONCACAF League final in Costa Rica. Alajuelense hosted the match, and the atmosphere was electric. From the pre-match pyro show (run by fans, not professionals) to the constant streamers and the persistent chanting, Alajuelense has one heck of a home field advantage.
Getting to the match itself, Alajuelense were masters of set pieces last night. They scored 2 first half goals one as a sneaky free kick and another as a classic corner. However, there were bested by an Olimpia set piece that hit off the wall and into the goal. It was a tragic way to lose a two-legged draw where they were slightly the better side at home in Costa Rica.
In terms of reaching the destination, San Jose is likely the easiest Central America capital city to reach from Austin. In addition to American flights from DFW and United flights from IAH, you can also fly Southwest through Hobby. The Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto is located within a 20 minute drive of the airport, so we would likely base out of a resort near the airport before heading busing to the match. The stadium is about the size of an MLS stadium with a solid pitch. While San Jose is a flight away from the Costa Rica beaches, it would still be a very fun away trip.
Olimpia (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
a) Strength of Team-7
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-3
c) Fanbase-8
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-2
e) Quality of Stadium-Well about that
On the other end of last night’s tie was Olimpia, the most storied football club in Honduras, which is now the final champion of the CONCACAF League ever (that tournament is being abolished with the 27 team CCL format launching in 2024). As a frequent CONCACAF Champions League participant, they would be a difficult first round opponent for us. Like Alajuelense, they have a great fanbase and playing away in Honduras would be quite a challenge for us. However, the Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles’ pitch is so bad that the Honduras government is spending over a million dollars to fix it immediately. Olimpia is moving their weekend clasico with their stadium coinhabits Motagua (see below) all the way to San Pedro Sula since they have a stadium that can host the match. Apparently, these repairs are costing more than to repair Real Madrid’s pitch at Bernabeu.
In theory, these repairs should be done by late February or early March. These matches would likely be played March 7-9. However, we are talking about construction in modern times with supply chain crises, in Honduras. If we draw either Olimpia or Motagua, I believe there is a very high likelihood that we may go to San Pedro Sula rather than Tegucigalpa for this match. Playing either of these clubs in San Pedro Sula over Tegucigalpa would be easier but we would have to deal with the insane jungle humidity of San Pedro Sula rather than the smoggy mountainous air of Tegucigalpa.
Another challenge of playing in Tegucigalpa is that the new international airport for the region is a 90 minute drive away from the capital city. There are flights on American via DFW, United and Spirit via IAH (in theory but most routes on Spirit go through FLL), but we would need quite the charter bus crew to make this trip work. Additionally, there aren’t many great vacation options in this part of Honduras.
Motagua (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
a) Strength of Team-6
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-3
c) Fanbase-8
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-2
e) Quality of Stadium-See Olimpia
Motagua is Olimpia’s archrival. I am sadly not an expert on Honduran politics to understand the implications of this derby. The most noteworthy thing in recent years was a pre-match riot that killed 3 fans before a 2019 match. If anyone wants to add anything on the politics of this derby, please let me know, and I am happy to add it in here.
Both Motagua and Olimpia are the best and most supported clubs in Honduras. Olimpia won the clasico in CONCACAF League 1-0 over two intense, sold out legs in Tegucigalpa earlier this year. For the most part, a Motagua away day would be similar to an Olimpia one with the same caveats as above.
Real España (San Pedro Sula, Honduras)
a) Strength of Team-4
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-3
c) Fanbase-6
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-3
e) Quality of Stadium-3
Real Espana is not traditionally one of the big clubs in Honduras, but they did win the league title last year. Traditionally, Marathon is the best club in San Pedro Sula. Real Espana has settled down from last year’s title towards becoming a club that is in the middle of the Honduran league. On paper, it’s one of the most straightforward opponents for Austin in the tournament, but any trip to Honduras is going to be challenging with intense fans and humidity.
Getting to San Pedro Sula is similar to Tegucigalpa with flights on American, United, and Spirit. San Pedro Sula used to be the murder capital of the world. In the past decade, it has gotten safer but is not exactly a major tourist attraction. If we play in San Pedro Sula, we would have to debate between staying at one of the two nice Western hotels in town (Hyatt Place and a Hilton) or staying two hours away at a Caribbean beach resort, and just bus in for the match.
Finally, there could be a 34.28% chance of us going to San Pedro Sula if Olimpia or Motagua need to move matches there. Likely those matches would be played at Marathon’s home of the Estadio Olimpico. Whenever the US plays in Honduras for World Cup Qualifiers, it’s usually at the Estadio Olimpico on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula rather than the Morazan, which is right in the center of town. The Morazan is an MLS sized stadium with a CONCACAF pitch. It beckons for chaos.
Alianza (San Salvador, El Salvador)
a) Strength of Team-4
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-4
c) Fanbase-5
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-3
e) Quality of Stadium-4
Alianza is traditionally the best team in El Salvador, and they nearly knocked out Tigres out of Champions League in 2020. You may remember that Tigres keeper, Nahuel Guzman, had to score an insane stoppage time winner to win that tie. They play at the Estadio Cuscatlan, which is the national stadium for El Salvador. Since the stadium seats 55,000, Alianza almost never sells out the stadium so the atmosphere isn’t as strong as it is for big El Salvador matches. If we play there it won’t be like the first US match at “50% capacity” but somehow every seat was full. The pitch at the Cuscatlan isn’t great and frustrated the US Men’s National Team twice in the last 14 months to draws there.
Alianza has had a very weird fall season as the Salvadoran league start was delayed for months due to payment issues. In the short season, they got knocked out of the playoffs early and were not impressive in CONCACAF League. Sadly, they did beat Verdes from Belize in the Round of 16, which prevented my dream draw of Austin FC vs Verdes FC in Belize.
San Salvador has a decent sized airport with many connection options from Austin. The airport is pretty close to the beach so we could easily base the group out of a beach hotel there or out of the Sheraton in the city where the American Outlaws usually stay. Luckily, we have some Salvadorians in the Austin FC fanbase, who are very excited to show us around their home country if this match were to happen. Safety is obviously a concern in El Salvador, but as long as we have a good plan, this trip should be possible, unlike Haiti.
Tauro (Panama City, Panama)
a) Strength of Team-3
b) Ease of getting there from Austin-5
c) Fanbase-3
d) Other Vacation Plans nearby-6
e) Quality of Stadium-6
Tauro is traditionally one of the top teams in Panama but had a rough end to 2022 finishing in the bottom half of the Panamanian league. However, they knocked Frisco out of Champions League the last time the North Texans were in this tournament, so if Austin FC were to play them, it would be essential for us to win. Panama is a rare country in Latin America where baseball is more popular than soccer so their fanbase doesn’t rival most of the teams on this list.
Unlike most of Central America, Panama City has an insane skyline (thanks to global money laundering) with a vibrant city (thankfully they kicked out the Trump hotel) and beach life. With a very modern International Airport (lots of routes on COPA Airlines, along with the main American carriers), Panama City is easy to reach. The Estadio Rommel Fernandez, which is also Panama’s national stadium, is located within access of the city’s Metro system, and won’t be sold out for this match. With a chance to visit the Panama Canal and more, we suspect that this trip would be a popular and relatively safe one for Austin FC fans.
Overall, the CCL draw features a lot of interesting opponents and fewer cupcakes than in past seasons. We are excited for the draw here at the False Nine on Monday at 6 PM, and hopefully a bunch of our compound will be able to join us on the road in March.