Club América owns Providence Park

Club America from Ciudad de México (Mexico City), or just commonly named “DF” (Distrito Federal), picked up three valuable points from Providence Park in a 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers.

It is a known fact that the US public has traditionally shown apathy toward continental tournaments like the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but since the start of the Leagues Cup, which features clubs from just Mexico’s Liga MX and MLS, it has been growing in popularity. However, when it comes to the public in Mexico, they always love a challenge up north. Latin America values these international tournaments above or equal to the local leagues and cups, and Sunday it showed.

Portland was the convergence a different storent Club America point for diffea supporter groups from all corners of the West Coast, generating a perfect storm when three-quarters of the stadium was a sea of “Azulcremas” in the yellow and blue of their home kit. The “Aguilas” (another moniker for the Mexican club) literally nested in Portland.

The spectacle had already begun as fans paraded to the stadium, singing, waving flags, and celebrating at street parties, even though the game hadn’t started yet. The atmosphere is regarded as one of the best, but they might not feel humiliated, for once. The Timbers worked hard, and the 3-1 result felt harsh given the run of play

Portland’s game atmosphere is widely regarded as one of the best in MLS football. Club América’s following, however, is comparable to that of bigger clubs in South America or Europe. Paraphrasing a post on social media, “What are you going to do? If a club with worldwide following like Real Madrid comes to a city like Portland, it would be easy for them to find so many people willing to pay $100 for a seat.”

Portland fought hard, especially in the first half. A goal by the rebellious Kristoffer Velde equalized the game in the 20th minute, after América had led from a masterfully executed free kick by Biran Rodríguez in the 6th minute. América showed more consistency in their physical display and played with discipline and a deeper bench than Portland, eventually regaining the advantage in the 63rd minute with a goal from Isaías Violante. A counterattack in the 88th minute gave the visitors the “coup de grâce” and rounded out the final result.

The Leagues Cup format gives only three matches in the qualification round. The teams are grouped by league, one for the Liga MX and one for MLS with 18 teams each. They play only teams from the opposite group, and the top four in each group go on to the finals. It’s a particular system: a much briefer variation of the UEFA Champions League’s league system (3 games instead of 8, with the same number of teams), rather than the group-and-playoff system of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which is much like the FIFA World Cup.

The result and the fashion of the loss were tough for Portland, and while it complicates their qualification to the final phase, Portland still has a chance when they receive Club Tijuana this coming Thursday, August 13th. They will need a big win against a team that ranks last in their table. They will need enough goal difference to challenge any of the teams leading the group phase with two victories that might slip in the last game.

Follow us on bluesky

Follow us on Twitter