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Columbus Crew and Pachuca: Unexpected but deserving finalists in the Concacaf Champions Cup

Columbus Crew and Pachuca: Unexpected but deserving finalists in the Concacaf Champions Cup

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Monterrey is a football-obsessed town in the north of Mexico. Its two clubs, CF Monterrey (also known as Rayados for their striped shirts) and Tigres, are fervently supported. With that support comes deep-pocketed ownership and expectation.

By Jon Arnold

Both of them were felled by the Columbus Crew in the Concacaf Champions Cup, an MLS team that represents a city of around one million people that is far better known for Ohio State University and the American football team associated with it than for soccer.

With a 3-1 win Wednesday night at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, the Crew won their series with Rayados 5-2 on aggregate. The result means they move into the final of the CCC, heading to Mexico once again, this time to meet Pachuca.


Pachuca is traditionally a city in love with soccer. A museum there bills itself as the International Hall of Fame of the sport, and the club’s history dates back all the way to the late 1800s.

Last season’s crowds were much more reflective of a fan base tired of losing than one hoping to carry on any sort of sporting tradition. But crowds are back after manager Guillermo Almada engineered a turnaround that has Tuzos fighting for a place in the Liga MX playoffs (the Liguilla) and one win away from an additional continental title.

In this season’s Concacaf Champions Cup regulations, the governing body inserted a stipulation that the one-leg final could be played at a neutral site. For moments during the tournament, it appeared that things were headed toward a final between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Club América, the Mexico City giant that is one of the region’s most popular teams.

Putting a match like that in Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York would’ve created significant demand, but when Monterrey saw off Messi and Co. 5-2 on aggregate over two legs in the quarter-finals, the confederation announced the match would be hosted at the home stadium of the best-ranked team still in the competition.

Tuzos’ upset of Club América in the semi-finals means they’ll be hosting the final at the Estadio Hidalgo, around 20 kilometres from where what is believed to be the first football match ever played in North America took place in 1824.


While much more recent, Columbus has history, too. One of the original teams that started Major League Soccer in 1996, the city has just one other major professional team, the National Hockey League’s Blue Jackets. And, for a moment in time, the club’s owners agreed it didn’t make much sense to have a club in Columbus, looking to relocate from the capital of Ohio to Austin, the growing capital of Texas.

Fans led an effort to #SaveTheCrew, and MLS was able to find a compromise that saw the former owner Anthony Precourt awarded an expansion team in Austin while regional owners were found in Columbus. Not only did they keep the Crew in town, they built a new stadium and have invested to bring in Wilfried Nancy, the coach that led them to the MLS Cup triumph in 2023, plus build a squad featuring standout players like Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi, and Darlington Nagbe.

“When I signed for this club, after maybe one week I said to my wife, ‘This club deserves something because, yes, this is a good club, yes this is really good people and players and so on but the history behind it and the way they fought to keep the club in the city.’” Nancy said Wednesday. “Listen, all the time when I see the fans behind us, this is a soccer town. There is no doubt about this.”

So, the final may be one for purists – soccer town vs. soccer town rather than big city vs. big city or superstar vs. superstar.

This is how a tournament works, though. The better team over two legs moves on. Nancy’s team clearly has been in that camp, twice facing second legs in hostile environments and twice emerging as the victor. Few picked the reigning MLS Cup champion to advance. Yet, here they are, with the mentality they can win the continental title and secure the Club World Cup place that comes with it, too.

“When we start a competition we want to go as far as possible. When we start the game it’s 0-0, so why would I tell my players that they are losing already? It’s impossible to say that,” he said. “The idea is to respect ourself and compete. That’s why I’m not surprised we could do that.”

The staff and players may be among the only ones who aren’t surprised they were able to shrug off MLS’ historic struggles in Mexico and get into the final.

Yet, there they are, looking to kick off celebrations in the city they’re proud to represent. They aren’t as soccer-crazed as Monterrey, as populous as Mexico City, or as glitzy as Miami, but Pachuca and Columbus love their clubs and are ready to party come June 1st.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Concacaf Champions Cup on FotMob. Download the free app here.

Columbus Crew and Pachuca: Unexpected but deserving finalists in the Concacaf Champions Cup

Monterrey is a football-obsessed town in the north of Mexico. Its two clubs, CF Monterrey (also known as Rayados for their striped shirts) and Tigres, are fervently supported. With that support comes deep-pocketed ownership and expectation.

By Jon Arnold

Both of them were felled by the Columbus Crew in the Concacaf Champions Cup, an MLS team that represents a city of around one million people that is far better known for Ohio State University and the American football team associated with it than for soccer.

With a 3-1 win Wednesday night at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, the Crew won their series with Rayados 5-2 on aggregate. The result means they move into the final of the CCC, heading to Mexico once again, this time to meet Pachuca.


Pachuca is traditionally a city in love with soccer. A museum there bills itself as the International Hall of Fame of the sport, and the club’s history dates back all the way to the late 1800s.

Last season’s crowds were much more reflective of a fan base tired of losing than one hoping to carry on any sort of sporting tradition. But crowds are back after manager Guillermo Almada engineered a turnaround that has Tuzos fighting for a place in the Liga MX playoffs (the Liguilla) and one win away from an additional continental title.

In this season’s Concacaf Champions Cup regulations, the governing body inserted a stipulation that the one-leg final could be played at a neutral site. For moments during the tournament, it appeared that things were headed toward a final between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Club América, the Mexico City giant that is one of the region’s most popular teams.

Putting a match like that in Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York would’ve created significant demand, but when Monterrey saw off Messi and Co. 5-2 on aggregate over two legs in the quarter-finals, the confederation announced the match would be hosted at the home stadium of the best-ranked team still in the competition.

Tuzos’ upset of Club América in the semi-finals means they’ll be hosting the final at the Estadio Hidalgo, around 20 kilometres from where what is believed to be the first football match ever played in North America took place in 1824.


While much more recent, Columbus has history, too. One of the original teams that started Major League Soccer in 1996, the city has just one other major professional team, the National Hockey League’s Blue Jackets. And, for a moment in time, the club’s owners agreed it didn’t make much sense to have a club in Columbus, looking to relocate from the capital of Ohio to Austin, the growing capital of Texas.

Fans led an effort to #SaveTheCrew, and MLS was able to find a compromise that saw the former owner Anthony Precourt awarded an expansion team in Austin while regional owners were found in Columbus. Not only did they keep the Crew in town, they built a new stadium and have invested to bring in Wilfried Nancy, the coach that led them to the MLS Cup triumph in 2023, plus build a squad featuring standout players like Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi, and Darlington Nagbe.

“When I signed for this club, after maybe one week I said to my wife, ‘This club deserves something because, yes, this is a good club, yes this is really good people and players and so on but the history behind it and the way they fought to keep the club in the city.’” Nancy said Wednesday. “Listen, all the time when I see the fans behind us, this is a soccer town. There is no doubt about this.”

So, the final may be one for purists – soccer town vs. soccer town rather than big city vs. big city or superstar vs. superstar.

This is how a tournament works, though. The better team over two legs moves on. Nancy’s team clearly has been in that camp, twice facing second legs in hostile environments and twice emerging as the victor. Few picked the reigning MLS Cup champion to advance. Yet, here they are, with the mentality they can win the continental title and secure the Club World Cup place that comes with it, too.

“When we start a competition we want to go as far as possible. When we start the game it’s 0-0, so why would I tell my players that they are losing already? It’s impossible to say that,” he said. “The idea is to respect ourself and compete. That’s why I’m not surprised we could do that.”

The staff and players may be among the only ones who aren’t surprised they were able to shrug off MLS’ historic struggles in Mexico and get into the final.

Yet, there they are, looking to kick off celebrations in the city they’re proud to represent. They aren’t as soccer-crazed as Monterrey, as populous as Mexico City, or as glitzy as Miami, but Pachuca and Columbus love their clubs and are ready to party come June 1st.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Concacaf Champions Cup on FotMob. Download the free app here.