MLS teams struggle with demanding CONCACAF Champions Cup schedule

The 2024 MLS season is less than three weeks old but teams are already feeling the effects of a busy fixture schedule. Ten MLS sides secured qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which has already reached the Round-of-16 phase of this year’s competition.

Eight of the league’s CONCACAF entries were in action last midweek, taking on some of the strongest teams in the continent. All of the MLS representatives are still in contention to progress to the quarter-finals, but they fared less less well on their returns to domestic action over the weekend.

Of the seven sides who played MLS fixtures after a midweek CONCACAF date, only one of them won their league game. The sole victor was MLS Cup holders Columbus Crew, who needed a late winner in the tenth minute of added time to edge past Eastern Conference strugglers Chicago Fire.

Nashville boss blames CONCACAF action for MLS struggles

One of the teams to suffer the effects of their CONCACAF exertions was Nashville SC, who played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Inter Miami last Thursday. Head coach Gary Smith made nine changes ahead of his team’s home game against LA Galaxy on Sunday and they conceded twice in the second half to let slip a two-goal advantage.

Speaking after the game, Smith said that he team were one of many who were not at their best after a tough CONCACAF fixture.

He explained: “This is a very unique season for us. If we look around at other teams that have been involved in Champions Cup as well, Cincinnati drew today, Inter Miami were losing, New England got beat today.”

“It’s very, very tough for the teams to turn around those groups [of players], physically and emotionally. They’re playing at high-level games in very tense situations, and we get very little time to turn around and to go again.”

Nashville have just three days to recover and prepare themselves for the all-important trip to Inter Miami on Wednesday. The tie is neatly-poised at 2-2 on aggregate; the winner on Wednesday will secure progression to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF comPetition.

Has an MLS club ever won CONCACAF Champions Cup?

Historically the CONCACAF Champions Cup, in all of it’s various iterations, has been dominated by Liga MX clubs. In the 58-year History of the comPetition a Mexican side has finished victorious on 38 occasions. The second-most successful nation is Costa Rica, which has produced the winner six times.

The United States sits in equal third with three CONCACAF triumphs, level with El Salvador. The three MLS victors are DC United (1998), LA Galaxy (2000) and, most recently, Seattle Sounders (2022).

Liga MX sides have dominated the tournament for more than half a century. Mexico boasts the most monied league in CONCACAF and Mexican sides are able to build rosters that most clubs in the region simply cannot. Even in MLS, which has enjoyed a boom in commercial activity in recent years, the salary cap and roster restrictions prevent teams from building squads as extensive as the top Mexican sides can afford.

Although MLS is growing as a league the financial gulf between its clubs and the Liga MX giants remains a big factor in continental comPetitions. There are, however, signs that the US teams are closing the gap and the likes of Columbus Crew and Inter Miami could well progress deep in this year’s comPetition.