I was halfway kidding a few weeks ago when I suggested that CONCACAF would do what CONMEBOL had done to ensure that their club final would pit teams from different countries.
The way group play ended up, it would be easy for them to do so, as two Mexican teams ended in first, and two others ended in second (the two MLS teams that qualified also grabbed a first and second as well). Would the draw magically pit the Mexican teams on the same side of the draw?
Surely not.
Then again…
Not only are the 4 Mexican teams on the same side of the draw, the two MLS teams will also face off in the quarterfinals in the other half of the draw. That will then ensure that the final will be played by clubs from different countries.
The other odd announcement was that the first leg of the Final will be played in Mexico no matter what. Shouldn't that be based on Merit, or at the very least, by chance?
It’s Toluca-Monterrey and Cruz Azul-Santos on one side; Crew-Real Salt Lake and Saprissa-Olimpia on the other.
I wanted to watch the draw on concacaf.com to see this mathematical anomaly play out, but for some odd reason, the draw was not available on their website. They did post a very thorough review, though.
If that’s how the draw worked out, that’s fine. It would have been nice to see it happen, though.