Last week I posted an attendance summary for all of the CONCACAF Champions League matches this season except for the two finals matches. Now it's time to extend that summary with team-by-team attendance figures, both raw numbers and attendance relative to stadium capacity. First, here are the attendance figures over all of the stages of the competition, with separate columns for group matches in the Champions League: Preliminary Group A Group B Group C Group D Knockout 18891 16862 900 12042 2632 4665 763 10626 5745 1990 3500 14062 6783 501 4700 22513 2050 11236 725 3400 2498 2899 7463.

Mexsport/Medio Tiempo Monterrey are the new club champions of CONCACAF, and it is an achievement that is well deserved. Winners of two of the last three short tournaments in Mexico, and the team with the highest point total in the Mexican League over the past two and a half seasons, the Rayados have finally added a continental trophy to their impressive two-year run.

This season's CONCACAF Champions League comes to a conclusion with the second leg of the final between Monterrey and Real Salt Lake. Both sides drew 2-2 in Mexico, and RSL enter their home match with the away-goals advantage. Can RSL become the first MLS side to win the CONCACAF Champions League? Can Monterrey overcome their recent slump and score a remarkable away win?

I have a lot of admiration for RSL GM Garth Lagerwey and the way in which he and Jason Kreis have transformed Real Salt Lake from a dysfunctional side to one on the cusp of a place in the FIFA Club World Cup. So it pains me to disagree very strongly with his statement that the match on Wednesday night could be US soccer's "Lake Placid moment".

Real Salt Lake announced that tickets for the decisive match versus Monterrey for the CONCACAF Champions League have completely sold out. It will be a packed house at Río Tinto on Wednesday and an intense atmosphere, which is nothing more than what the final of the Champions League deserves. Meanwhile, Monterrey have arrived in Salt Lake City with their full squad, including the suspended De Nigris and Zavala and the injured Luís Pérez.

This is a summary of the disciplinary and refereeing situation in the CONCACAF Champions League going into the second leg of the final. Since this is the last match of this season's Champions League competition, yellow cards in previous matches no longer matter. A red card in Wednesday's match will result in a suspension carried over to either the team's next CCL match or the first match of the FIFA Club World Cup if the player's team progresses to that competition.

[This post will get bumped to the top on CCL matchdays.] Below are collated results for the knockout stage of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. Ties are two-leg series, aggregate goals, away goals rule in effect unless the tie goes to extra time in the second leg. Winners of each round are highlighted in bold red lettering.

Joel Aguilar has a reputation for showing yellow cards often in international matches, and he has come under some criticism for the cards that he issued in the Champions League final first leg on Wednesday night. Jason Kreis was particularly incensed about the yellow card given to Kyle Beckerman which leaves him suspended for the second leg next week.

It's time for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final. Monterrey of Mexico will host Real Salt Lake of the USA. Who will be the newest winner of CONCACAF's highest club competition? Follow along below! Monterrey - Real Salt Lake 1900 Kickoff time in Arizona time (GMT -7). Commentary after the jump.

Real Salt Lake and Monterrey will meet in the opening leg of this year's CONCACAF Champions League final tomorrow night. One of these two teams will become CONCACAF club champion for the first time and earn a trip to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup, which hopefully will be a more enticing visit in eight months than it does now.

A few days ago I posted about the slow ticket sales for the first leg of the CCL final in Monterrey, but that was just among season ticket holders. The general public appear to have responded to the call from club leadership and players to make their presence felt at the Tecnológico, because now ticket sales are up to 28,000 with general and preferential seating sections sold out.

I received a couple of questions on my Twitter feed about the attendance figures for the CONCACAF Champions League, so I decided to compile a table of the attendance for all the matches. I used separate columns for the preliminary stage, the group matches, and the knockout stage. I did not compile the attendance per team; that will come later.

The obvious answer to that question for either Real Salt Lake or Monterrey is "A win". A Monterrey win with a clean sheet is the best possible outcome for los Rayados. It puts them in the driver's seat heading into the return leg in Utah and it gives them a chance to decide the Champions League within the 90 minutes of the second leg if they score a goal.

This is a summary of the disciplinary and refereeing situation in the CONCACAF Champions League going into the first leg of the final. Monterrey vs. Real Salt Lake Referee: TBA The following players are suspended for the first leg of the final: None The following players will be suspended for the second leg of the final if they receive a yellow card: Javier Morales (RSL) Kyle Beckerman (RSL) Jamison Olave (RSL) Robbie Russell (RSL) Walter Paredes (Monterrey) José Arellano (Monterrey) Jorge Basanta (Monterrey) Sergio Pérez (Monterrey) Luís Pérez (Monterrey) Sergio Santana (Monterrey) Aldo de Nigris (Monterrey) Jesús Zavala (Monterrey)

It looks like I was wrong when I tweeted yesterday that ticket sales were good for the first leg of the Champions League final: Medio Tiempo is reporting that only 6,000 tickets have been sold for the big match between Monterrey and Real Salt Lake this Wednesday. Rayados fans have filled Estadio Tecnológico for Mexican League matches, but not for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Real Salt Lake received some help from Major League Soccer in its preparations for the Champions League final next week when the league postponed its match against the Philadelphia Union that bisects both legs of the final series. The decision is in line with what MLS said they would do for their Champions League representatives when they set up that CCL subcommittee last year.

Real Salt Lake have had to slay a number of demons that have plagued Major League Soccer teams in the CONCACAF club competitions. First, they have had to navigate a home-and-away group stage against teams in three countries (albeit one of them was a fellow MLS side) and finish top of their group. Next, they had to master the subtleties of the two-leg playoff format.

A quick survey of the Costa Rican newspapers today. Collectively they viewed Saprissa's win as a Pyrrhic victory, which it was. La Nación's primary story has the headline, "Saprissa wins but dies in the waves". The article goes on to describe how Luís Cordero's lightning bolt goal gave hope to the Saprissa supporters, but Jamison Olave's strike killed off the tie.

This is a summary of the disciplinary and refereeing situation in the CONCACAF Champions League going into the second leg of the semifinal matches. Saprissa vs. Real Salt Lake Referee: Marco Rodríguez (Mexico) The following players have been suspended for the second leg: Douglas Sequeira (Saprissa) Ricardo Blanco (Saprissa) José Mena (Saprissa) The following players will be suspended for the first leg of the final if they receive a yellow card: Armando Alonso (Saprissa) Robert Wong (Saprissa) Walter Centeno (Saprissa) Jairo Arrieta (Saprissa) Gabriel Badilla (Saprissa) Javier Morales (RSL) Kyle Beckerman (RSL) Ned Grabavoy (RSL) I'll include the information for.

Welcome to tonight's decisive Champions League match between Saprissa and Real Salt Lake. RSL have a 2-0 lead going into the match in Costa Rica as they attempt to be the first MLS team to advance a CONCACAF club final in over ten years, and the first since the adoption of the two-leg format. It will be a difficult game in the Purple Cave, can they do it?

There have been some interesting news articles from Costa Rica, and I'd like to summarize some of them in preparation for the big match tonight. Saprissa believe that their home environment -- from the artificial surface to the close proximity of the fans -- will be a factor heading into tonight's match, and they may have a point.

International club football returns with the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. Real Salt Lake have a 2-0 lead against Saprissa, while Monterrey travel to Cruz Azul with a 2-1 advantage. The four semifinalists come to the decisive matches in different ways. RSL are the only side who did not have a league match this weekend.

Saprissa opened ticket sales for Tuesday's second leg of the CCL semifinal series against Real Salt Lake. Down 0-2 on aggregate, the Purple Monsters want a full house so they're offering a 2x1 deal -- two entries for the price of one, provided that the person buying the ticket comes to the match wearing a Saprissa shirt.

Welcome to the first leg of the second half of the CCL semifinals, between Mexican sides Monterrey and Cruz Azul. Can Cruz Azul advance to yet another final, or can Monterrey ride their hot streak in the Mexican league to a place in the Champions League finals? This match will be liveblogged so follow along.

It is time for the semifinal round of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. The first semifinal series kicks off tonight with what should be an intriguing tie: MLS' Real Salt Lake will put their long home unbeaten streak on the line against Costa Rican side Saprissa, who are riding a winning streak of their own in their domestic league.

This is a summary of the disciplinary situation heading into the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. I have also included the name of the match referee for the two matches. Monterrey vs. Cruz Azul Referee: TBA The following players have been suspended: Christián Giménez (Cruz Azul) The following players will be suspended for the second leg of the CCL semifinal if they receive a yellow card: Emanuel Villa (Cruz Azul) Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul) Marcelo Palau (Cruz Azul) Waldo Ponce (Cruz Azul) Walter Paredes (Monterrey) José Arellano (Monterrey) Real Salt Lake vs.

When the quarterfinals concluded a few weeks ago, I felt that the two matchups between Monterrey-Cruz Azul and Real Salt Lake-Saprissa were tossups. Any of the four possible finals would make for a compelling conclusion to the Champions League. First leg matches will be absolutely important to the hosts, but the second leg hosts cannot afford to be complacent, either.

It's time for the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, and after tonight's matches we will know half the field for the semifinals. Cruz Azul have a two-goal cushion as they travel to Torreón, while Real Salt Lake host Columbus Crew in a series that any team can still win. Here's how it went down: Santos Laguna 1-3 Cruz Azul (1-5 agg) F Real Salt Lake 4-1 Columbus (4-1 agg) F Kickoff times in Arizona time (GMT -7).

I finally arrived home from work, but not before kickoff, so we join today's Champions League matches in progress. Here we go... Columbus 0-0 Real Salt Lake 18' Cruz Azul - Santos Laguna 2000 Kickoff times in Arizona time (GMT -7). Commentary after the jump. 1826: Crew balls from the left flank have been the most trouble for the Real back line to handle.

To complete the preview of the first leg of the Quarterfinal round, here are the referees for all four matches: Columbus - Real Salt Lake: Jair Marrufo (USA) Cruz Azul - Santos Laguna: Paul Delgadillo (Mexico) Toluca - Monterrey: Francisco Chacón (Mexico) Saprissa - Olimpia: Walter López (Guatemala)

All yellow cards picked up during the Group Stage have been erased for the Knockout Stage. Players who received red cards in the final matchday of the Group Stage will be suspended for at least the first leg of the Quarterfinal Round series. The only player in this situation is Al Robinson of Saprissa, who was sent off in the match against Seattle.

Monterrey and Toluca meet in the quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League in a matchup that not only pairs the northern and central Mexican teams, but also the last two Mexican league champions. Monterrey, winners of the last two Apertura tournaments, have been one of the two hottest teams in Mexican football over the last two seasons (only Cruz Azul have won more league points since the 2009 Apertura).

The four Mexican representative in the CONCACAF Champions League have been drawn in the same bracket, and both quarterfinal ties involve a northern Mexican club against a southern (or rather, central) one. Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna will meet in the first of these series. Cruz Azul have been free-scoring in the Champions League over the past two seasons (25 in 2008-09, 27 in 2009-10, 24 in 2010-11), and Javier Orozco has scored 23 Champions League goals over the last three competitions.

The 2011 MLS season doesn't start for another month, but on Tuesday the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake will start their respective seasons with the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quartefinal series. It's a season that both teams hope runs until December at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

Saprissa of Costa Rica and Olimpia of Honduras meet in what should be a closely contested Central American derby for a place in the Champions League semifinals. But both sides will approach the first leg with inconsistent records. Saprissa have yet to win consecutive matches in the Torneo Verano, and have not scored in their last two home matches (0-2 and 0-3 losses to Herediano and Limón, respectively).

[This post will get bumped to the top on CCL matchdays.] Below are collated results for the knockout stage of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. Ties are two-leg series, aggregate goals, away goals rule in effect unless the tie goes to extra time in the second leg. Winners of each round are highlighted in bold red lettering.