Digicel T&T Pro League duo, DirecTV W Connection and Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA were placed in tricky groups when the draw for the 24-team Sixth Concacaf Champions League (CCL) 2013/2014 competition was made at the Intercontinental Hotel, Doral, Miami on Monday afternoon. W Connection, three-time Caribbean Club Championship winner and four-time runner-up was drawn in Group One with US Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo and Panama's Arabe Unido.Caledonia, making its second straight appearance in the competition will face Guatamlans' Communicaciones and Mexico's Toluca in Group Six.Overall it's the third time that the "Savonetta Boys" of W Connection have qualified for the group stage of the competition having done so last year and in 2009/2010 alongside another local club San Juan Jabloteh while Caledonia, the 2012 Caribbean Club champions will be making their second straight appearance.
By having two T&T clubs represent CFU it marks the fourth time in six years that has happened with Jabloteh/Joe Public doing so in 20010/2011; Caledonia/W Connection in 2012/2013 and this campaign being the others.Last year, W Connection competed in Group Eight and ended bottom of the three-team group with two points after draws against Guatemala's Xelaju (2-2) and Chivas of Mexico (0-0).The Couva-based club suffered defeats by 2-3 and 0-4 margins against Xelaju and Chivas respectively.Caledonia only managed one point, in a 0-0 draw at home to Honduran club, CD Marathon while tasting defeat in the away leg, 1-2 and in both ties with USA's Seattle Sounders, by similar 3-1 margins. But despite poor showing last season and the tough competition ahead Caledonia general manager Ricarda Nelson was confident the club could advance from the group.She said, "The valuable experience gained from playing the tournament in the 2012/2013 series will go a long way in helping the team, runner-up in this year's Pro League prepare for what is to come, both on and off the field.
With regards to the group opponents, Nelson expressed concerns about playing in Mexico where the altitude at the Toluca Stadium was 8,793 feet above sea level.However, she was confident in the ability of the experienced team of technical director, Jamaal Shabazz and coach Jerry Moe to plan well for that encounter.W Connection president David John-Williams and technical director, Stuart Charles-Fevrier were happier with the draw as their club avoided a Mexican opponent for the first time in history.He said: "We managed to stay away from the Mexicans club, but we are wary of the MLS Cup runner-up Houston Dynamos while describing Arabe of Panama as an unknown element, and will not be taking them lightly.This season the Concacaf Champions League will crown a new champion after Mexico's Monterrey, which had won the previous three championships, did not qualify for a fourth attempt.
Despite Monterrey's' absence, Mexico will still have a strong presence in the competition with sides Cruz Azul and Club America, which share the record for most Concacaf club titles at five, being drawn into Group Three and Group Four, respectively while Club Tijuana is in Group Seven with Victoria (Honduras) and Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador).Two-time runner-up Cruz Azul will meet Herediano (Costa Rica) and Valencia FC (Haiti), while current Mexican champion America will face Alajuelense (Costa Rica) and Sporting San Miguelito (Panama).Both local clubs had different routes to qualifying for the Concacaf Champions League with W Connection topping a three-team round-robin series involving Caledonia and Antigua Barracuda with four points from a 4-0 drubbing of its local rival and a 0-0 draw with the visitors.
Caledonia then defeated Barracuda 3-1 for second spot and a home-and-away playoff with Jamaica's Portmore United, which it won after 1-0 in the first-leg and a 2-2 draw in the other with both matches being played in T&T.Portmore had ended second in its qualifying group which was won by first-time CCL qualifiers, Valencia of Haiti.Competition rules prohibited teams from the same country, as well as those from Mexico and the United States, from meeting in group play.Such a scenario presented itself twice during the draw, requiring adjustments to the groups afterwards.The schedule of matches will be released at a later date with August 6 set for the first round of group matches.
2013-14 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Group 1: Arabe Unido (Panama), Houston Dynamo (USA), DirecTV W Connection (T&T)
Group 2: Olimpia (Honduras), Sporting Kansas City (USA), Real Esteli (Nicaragua)
Group 3: Herediano (Costa Rica), Cruz Azul (Mexico), Valencia FC (Haiti)
Group 4: Club America (Mexico), Alajuelense (Costa Rica), Sporting San Miguelito (Panama)
Group 5: San Jose Earthquakes (USA), Montreal Impact (Canada), Guatemala #2 (Guatemala)
Group 6: Comunicaciones (Guatemala), Toluca (Mexico), Caledonia AIA
(T&T)
Group 7: Club Tijuana (Mexico), Victoria (Honduras), Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador)
Group 8: LA Galaxy (USA), Isidro Metapan (El Salvador), Cartagines (Costa Rica)