đ CCC thoughts: Different approaches, open series & MLS teams' growth in the competition
Are MLS teams getting deeper? Are CentAm/Caribbean teams getting worse? And what happened in Panama?
At the halfway point of the second âwaveâ of Concacaf Champions Cup first-round series, most MLS teams are feeling pretty good.
While the CCC can put plenty of trap games in your path, all six of the MLS sides entering the competition this week avoided defeat. Four won. Overall, the combined score was 18-2 in favor of MLS outfits.
But it goes a bit deeper than that - and at least two series still hang in the balance.
Letâs dig into three thoughts I was pondering during and after the first legs this weekâŠ
First, some other stuff I did as the MLS season begins:
I wrote Sports Illustratedâs Digital Cover MLS preview, making the case that Inter Miami is the leagueâs new villain - and thatâs a good thing.
I also wrote about some MLS storylines to watch this season for ESPN and took part in their team-by-team previews, looking at the teams who will be competing for Copa Tejas, the Atlantic Cup and perhaps not much else.
My buddies and I chop it up every Monday with a lot of MLS talk. Hereâs our season preview episode of The Hex.
Oh, and allow me to remind you the best way to support the newsletter, which allows me to write 1,000+ words about the CCC on a Friday afternoon, is subscribing for $5 a month:
OK, on to the thoughts:
Different approach for different folks
With MLS teams building stronger and stronger rosters - and better understanding what will be required to have success in the Concacaf Champions Cup - most managers opted to field full-strength teams. That turned the most heads in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Even with a talent advantage and Saturdayâs marquee matchup against Inter Miami to open the season, LAFC manager Marc dos Santos started star attackers Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga, winter addition Stephen Eustaquio in the midfield and his usual first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
It paid off, as LAFC took the lead over Real España in the third minute, went into the halftime break with a 5-0 advantage and returned to LA with a 6-1 first-leg victory.
Surely, LAFC couldâve started more of their depth pieces and still returned home with a win ahead of this weekendâs big game, but the club wanted to leave nothing to doubt.
âI think it starts because we respect the opponent a lot,â Dos Santos said after the match. âWe watched a lot of them. We knew the opponent had a winning run in the league, and we didnât take this game like an easy game.
âWe took it on humbly, we started well, we pressed, we attacked and you only can start like that when you respect your opponent.â
âI donât think I lied to anybody here, saying (before the game) this match is serious, itâs important,â he said later. âThatâs how we came out. Now, the next match is serious too, and weâve got to be ready.â
It was a different approach from the one Nashville SC manager B.J. Callaghan opted to take earlier in the night. Likely starters Cristian Espinoza, Andy Najar and Patrick Yazbek came into the Coyotesâ contest with AtlĂ©tico Ottawa just after the hour mark. Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge joined them later.
It also worked for Nashville, which found the opening goal just after the first wave of changes, added a second in stoppage time and will take a 2-0 lead into the second leg at home next week.
âAll of us are balancing the regular season of MLS and Concacaf, so I thought we were able to put out a balanced lineup with experienced guys and also a good opportunity for some of our young players,â Callaghan said.
The right approach is the one that works, and both MLS teams in action Tuesday had relatively painless nights.
But it is interesting to watch MLS teams have the same debates many Liga MX teams have long had when preparing for this competition.
Is it a signal MLS teams are finally starting to have the same type of depth their Mexican rivals have in the squad? Are teams from outside North America slipping, unable to keep up with the money being pumped into the rest of the region? And how will MLSâ calendar switch change the calculus for managers as they enter play during the season rather than before theyâve played any games?
The long-term trends will be worth keeping an eye on to see if we can definitively answer any of those questions.
Maybe that bus trip paid off?
Well, thereâs one tie that does still seem to be hanging in the balance.
Despite getting the best draw in recent memory and many offseason moves made in the name of bouncing back from a dreadful 2025, the LA Galaxy trailed in the 37th minute and needed another half-hour to find the equalizer that sends the series to Southern California knotted at a goal a piece.
The Galaxy were chasing the game in the first half after a goal from Rodrigo Tello. The 22-year-old worked himself totally free at the back post and headed in the opener in the 37th minute.
Yes, his competition patch is flapping in the wind as he celebrates, seconds from coming off. This is Concacaf Champions Cup heritage
We talked in the lead-up to the game about Sporting San Miguelitoâs choice to take this game from the capital - where its stadium and namesake district sits - to PenonomĂ©, more than two hours away by bus.
A crowd announced at around 4,000 provided a strong atmosphere - though many were more interested in seeing Marco Reus thanks to his Borussia Dortmund days rather than rooting on Sporting.
It seems that a number of factors may have combined for the Galaxy to not be as sharp as they were hoping.
âI felt like toward the end of the game, itâs our first game as a group. I felt like some of the guys who had been playing the longer stretch of the game were starting to get a bit tired, heavy, travel, whatever you want to call it,â Vanney said. âI felt like we were starting to make some poor decisions, losing some balls and having to defend some counter-attacks that were coming fast that cost a lot of energy and recovery.â
Still, Vanney said, the team has an advantage with an away goal scored, plus it will also have its own travel edge, staying in Southern California after Sundayâs MLS opener against New York City FC and enjoying the comforts of home.
Plus, as he looks at the tape, heâll see a game in which his team, though still coming together, was able to create a fair number of opportunities. The Galaxy ended the night with three shots on target and 18 total shots but were only able to beat veteran shot-stopper Jose Calderon once. The Galaxy had 22 sequences of 10 or more passes. San Miguelito had four, and none ended in a shot.
There are things to clean. The defending on the goal was hardly high-level soccer, and thatâs something that bit the Galaxy plenty last year. But while Vanneyâs group wasnât able to convince like their MLS rivals this week, they still have control of the series and plenty of reason to believe they can earn a place in the next round.
Nothing won yet for MLS teams - even though some ties seem over
Like the Galaxy, the Vancouver Whitecaps failed to win their opener on the road but also go back ahead of leg two confident in advancing.
Like the Galaxy, the Caps dominated possession, had more opportunities and went home mostly happy with their performance in a 0-0 draw with Cartaginés.
âOverall, in a first-leg away, I think itâs an OK result,â Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said. âOf course, we hoped to win here, but we were up against a team that fought really hard and also was very well organized. It was difficult for us, but I think the result was fine.â
This is not a team or a manager who does not understand how to handle the CCC. Sorensen led his team to the final of last yearâs competition. That was before the arrival of Thomas Muller, who made his CCC debut in the 66th minute of the stalemate.
Everything is hanging in the balance there, with the Costa Rican squad knowing theyâd advance with a win or a scoring draw in Canada.
But everything hangs in the balance in every series. LAFC, FC Cincinnati and the Philadelphia Union bought themselves breathing room - and the chance to rest stars - with their big first-leg triumphs.
Yet, if they were able to win big, they know their opponent is too on their day.
âWeâre in front after one leg, but thereâs a second leg,â said Dos Santos, who takes a five-goal cushion into that second leg. âThe job is not done. We took a good step, but itâs not done yet. We have to first regroup, recover ⊠and be ready for that second leg.â
From there, it only gets tougher and tougher with more Liga MX v. MLS matchups, teams who earned a bye with their performance in qualifying tournaments entering the fray and fansâ expectations growing as the trophy draws closer.