León is on the verge of elimination in the Concacaf Champions League in its 2022 edition. The Guanajuatenses are in search of a feat like the one that the UNAM Pumas did in their series by coming back against New England . However, history plays against the Mexican team that has never been able to beat an American in a direct elimination phase.
The team led by Argentine Ariel Holan is close to being left out of the international tournament once again. After losing the first leg of the round of 16 against Seattle Sounders for a score of three goals to nil, León has the obligation to achieve an equal result to, at least, tie the overall.
A task that ranges from the difficult to the impossible, because in the history of the Panzas Verdes participating in Concacaf they have never been able to leave out a club from the Major League Soccer in phases of elimination. There are three antecedents: the first of them dates back to the tournament of 1998 when he faced the D.C. United in the semifinals, which was able to beat him by two scores to nil.
The second is in 2020 when they became the only Liga MX team (of four) that did not qualify for the quarterfinals in that edition. In the round of 16, León started the series at home winning two-nil, but The Angels they traced the score by scoring three goals in the second leg, already on US soil.
The third record is from just a year ago. On 2021Once again, it was in the round of 16 instance that the emeralds were eliminated and also the only Aztec representative to not advance. This time for him toronto Canadian (which belongs to the MLS) that gave him a defeat of three touchdowns to two in the global result.
It is then that the outlook for the Mexican team does not look favorable at all. Also the stat is worse when expanded to a balance sheet. In history, León has been able to play six Concacaf tournaments (between the Cup and League format), of which he has not been able to win any title. The closest he has come is a runner-up finish in 1993 when he finished second in the final round.
Leon in Concacaf:
2021 tournament: eliminated in the round of 16 against toronto (overall 2-3).
2020 tournament: eliminated in the round of 16 against The Angels (overall 2-3).
2014-15 tournament: eliminated in group stage, behind Herediano (second in group seven).
1998 tournament: eliminated in the semifinals against D.C. United (only match 0-2).
1993 tournament: lost in the final round, finished second behind Saprissa (runner-up).
1973 tournament: Eliminated in the semifinals against Águila de El Salvador (global 1-3).
With the minimum objective of achieving three touchdowns, León seeks to overcome the series against the Seattle Sounders and thus cut the historical statistics. If successful, he will join Cougars and Blue Cross who are already waiting in the prelude to the final. At stake is the hegemony that the Mexican clubs have maintained in Concacaf, specifically during the last 16 years in which only tricolors have been crowned champions.
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Source-www.infobae.com