Cross your fingers, burn some incense, light a candle and rub you lucky rabbits foot… We are going to talk about the FIFA Club World Cup and we don’t want to jinx it.
With Tuesday night’s result in Costa Rica, the Montreal Impact became the second MLS team in Champions League history to make the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League. On the line is the opportunity to represent the region in the FIFA Club World Cup and play against some of the biggest clubs in the world.
What is the FIFA Club World Cup?
It’s a tournament that involves seven teams, six champions from each of the regions: the winners of the AFC Champions League (Asia), CAF Champions League (Africa), CONCACAF Champions League (North and Central America, Caribbean), Copa Libertadores (South America, CONMEBOL), OFC Champions League (Oceania) and UEFA Champions League (Europe), along with the host nation's national champions.
Currently, most tournaments are in the early to mid-phases of qualification, with Oceania and CONMEBOL yet to start.
The tournament is scheduled for Tokyo, Japan in December, 2015.
UEFA - The top region
UEFA Champions League is in the knockout stages, with quarterfinals set for April 14-15 and 21-22.
The UCL is the most prestigious of the regional tournaments with over 70 teams from Europe vying for the top spot.
The quarterfinalists include some of the biggest clubs in the world:
Paris Saint-Germain (France) v Barcelona (Spain)
Atlético Madrid (Spain)v Real Madrid (Spain)
Porto (Portugal) v Bayern Munich (Germany)
Juventus (Italy) v Monaco (France)
Mexican dominance in CONCACAF
Mexican teams have historically dominated play in CONCACAF, winning every title since the tournament took the current format in 2008-2009.
In fact, of the 12 Champions League finalists, 11 of the 12 teams have been from the Tierra Azteca. The only team outside of Mexico to ever make the final two was MLS’s Real Salt Lake in 2011.
As IMFC continued to write history, becoming the first Canadian club into the Champions League finals, April 29 could mark a chapter in the history of world football.
