CONCACAF Champions League

Founded back in 1962, the CONCACAF Champions League is a football competition for clubs from the Caribbean, Central America, and North America. The competition is organized by CONCACAF which stands for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. A total of 16 teams play at the championship, which is currently sponsored by the Bank of Nova Scotia and thus known as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.

Teams

Teams that play at the competition include Toronto FC, Chivas, Tijuana, Cibao FC, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, New York Red Bulls, and many others. Clubs from Mexico have 34 victories, which is the highest number so far. The club that has the most titles (7 in total) is Club America or Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V, which is a Mexican professional football team owned by Grupo Televisa. The club has many FIFA trophies and plays at international competitions such as the CONCACAF Giants Cup and Copa Interamericana. Teams with a high number of titles also include the Mexican Pachuca (5), Cruz Azul (6), Monterrey (3) and Club de Fútbol Universidad Nacional A.C. (3). Founded in 1954, Club de Fútbol Universidad Nacional or UNAM is a Mexican football team that has trained many successful players such as Eduardo Herrera, Israel Castro, Pablo Barrera, Jorge Campos, Alberto Garcia, Luis Flores, and many others. The team plays at international tournaments such as Copa Sudamericana and the CONCACAF Champions League and domestic tournaments such as Segunda División de México, Campeón de Campeones, and others. Pachuca is also a Mexican football team that was founded in 1901 and is currently owned by Grupo Pachuca. The team won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2016 – 2017, 2009 – 2010, 2008, 2007, and 2002.

The Costa Rican Deportivo Saprissa is another successful team that was founded back in 1935 and is currently owned by Horizonte Morado. The team has won more than 30 Primera División de Costa Rica championships. Deportivo Saprissa won the UNCAF Club Tournament in 2003, 1998, 1978, 1973, and 1972 and the CONCACAF Championship Cup in 2005, 1995, and 1993. Other teams that have won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup include Comunicaciones, Atlante, and Defence Force.

The 2018 Finals

Current league champions are Club Deportivo Guadalajara, a Mexican football team that defeated Toronto-based Toronto FC in the finals. Other teams that participated in the competition include Herediano, Motagua, Olimpia, Santa Tecla, Seattle Sounders, Tauro, and Tigres.

Toronto FC won against Club America and Colorado Rapids while Club Deportivo Guadalajara won against the New York Red Bulls and Cibao and lost against the Seattle Founders FC. The team of Club Deportivo Guadalajara included names such as Michael Pérez, Orbelín Pineda, Alejandro Mayorga, Oswaldo Alanís.

The 2018 finals were hosted at the Estadio Akron in Mexico and the BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. The first has a capacity of more than 48,000 and the second has a capacity of 30,000. Close to 40,000 spectators attended the finals. The referee was Óscar Moncada from Honduras. Please see http://www.tvsoccer.ca/ for scheduled games.

UEFA Champions League

Founded in 1995, the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League is a prestigious football competition that is held annually in Europe. A total of 32 teams participate in the tournament at group stage and 79 in total. The main sponsors of the tournament are Sony Active Entertainment, Nissan, MasterCard, Heineken, Banco Santander.

Teams and Stats

Real Madrid is the team with the highest number of titles or 13 in total. Founded back in 1902, Real Madrid F.C. is a Spanish club that participates in international and domestic tournaments, including the FIFA Club World Club, Intercontinental Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and others. The team won the UEFA Champions League in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1966, 1960, 1959, 1985, 1967, and 1956. Real Madrid and other Spanish football clubs have 18 victories in total, which is the highest number of titles. Italy and England come second with 12 titles each. German teams won the competition 7 times, Portuguese teams won 4 times, and teams from the Netherlands – 6 times. Romania, France, and Scotland have 1 victory each while Sweden, Greece, Belgium, Yugoslavia, and Scotland have none. Players who have the highest number of goals are Lionel Messi (100), Cristiano Ronaldo (120), and Raul (71).

During the years, 22 different football teams have won the UEFA Champions league, among which Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Milan, and others. Milan has 7 victories while Barcelona, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich have 5 victories each. Manchester United has 3 victories, Ajax has 4, and Nottingham Forest, Benfica, and Juventus have 3 victories each. Milan is an Italian professional football team that was founded in 1899 and is currently owned by Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux as a majority shareholder. The team won the UEFA Championship League in 2007, 2003, 1994, 1990, 1989, 1969, and 1963. Bayern Munich or Fußball-Club Bayern München e.V. is a German professional football team that was founded in 1900. The team competes at international championships such as the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup and worldwide championships such as the FIFA Club World Cup and the International Cup. Liverpool, which has a total of 5 victories, is an English football team that is owned by the Fenway Sports Group and is chaired by Tom Werner. The team won the UEFA Champions League in 2005, 1984, 1981, 1978, and 1977. Finally, Barcelona or Futbol Club Barcelona, which has 5 victories, is a Spanish team that competes in European competitions such as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and others. Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League in 2015, 2011, 2009, 2006, 1992. Other teams that won the tournament throughout the years include Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg, Celtic, Porto, Atletico Madrid.

The 2018 Edition

Teams that compete at the 2018 UEFA Champions League include Manchester United, Manchester City, Dortmund Borussia, Barcelona, Porto, Liverpool, and others. The two teams competing in the playoffs are PSV and Young Boys.