CONCACAF Champions League is one of the big tournaments for the countries of Central and North America, including Caribbean nations. It is a competition that has been dominated by Liga MX teams since the beginning. But MLS teams have been taking a bigger role in recent years, plus a couple of Major League Soccer teams have already won CONCACAF Champions League titles.
Major League Soccer teams are offering a higher level of play within the tournament and the big favorites, Mexican teams, have witnessed thatin the last three editions (2019, 2020, 2021) of the CONCACAF Champions League where the MLS teams played in the semifinals and in the 2021 season, a Mexican team played and won the final against an MLS team.
Without a doubt the MLS teams in the confederation’s most important club competition are the second best, but other smaller teams from Central America and Caribbean countries are having good results every new season.
Which MLS teams have won the CONCACAF Champions League?
D.C. United was the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League in 1998, but at the time the tournament had another name: the ‘Champions’ Cup’. The second team to win the competition under the old name was the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000.
Which MLS teams have played in the CONCACAF Champions League final?
Aside from the two teams mentioned above, two other MLS teams that came close to winning a CONCACAF Champions League were Real Salt Lake in 2011 but lost in the final against Monterrey; and the second MLS team to lose in a final of the competition were the Los Angeles FC, they lost against the Mexican side Tigres UANL.
The 2019 CONCACAF Champions League season was magical for the MLS teams
With the new format, MLS teams have more opportunity to win games and go further in the tournament, but a couple of seasons ago, in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League season, the quarter-finals were full of MLS teams, in total four Major League Soccer teams against three Liga MX teams and one team from Panama.
But unfortunately only one of the MLS teams in 2019, Sporting Kansas City, was able to advance to the next round, the semifinals, and they lost to Monterrey 10-2 in two legs.