[Kazan]

Spanish-Language channel TeleFutura annouced that in starting in 2007 CONCACAF will have a Champions League - they have exclusive broadcast rights (   english mother****er, do you speak it?)

great news for CONCACAF countries!

[Shade]

Hey, they're stealing my idea from the WC thread! I should demand royalties. The US courts being the US courts, a baseless claim based on a message board post should be more than enough for a couple mils in compensation

Either way, definitely great news for football in the Americas - Well, except for the it all being in spanish part at least. Really high end games have a way of stimulating interest in a way local matches just can't do, and will give the top clubs something bigger to aim at.

[Dark Hunter]

El espanol no es dificil a entender! 

[Kazan]

i have no idea what you saind in spanish

anyway - they better use the SAP feature to do dual language broadcasting on a single channel otherwise it'll be useless 

[Dark Hunter]

Translation: Spanish isn't hard to understand!


I would just like to point out here that I am not Mexican, just bilingual.

[aldo_14]

Shame the Mexicans are (I would imagine) sticking with the Copa Liberatadores, though.

EDIT; spanish isn't bad, really, I watched the latter stages of '98 in florida and stuck with Televista or whatever it was.

[Kazan]

mexican football (soccer) league is one of the annouced participants in the CONCACAF Champions League

I also speak a second language, but it's not spanish

[aldo_14]

Ah, but what happens if a team qualifies for both?

[Kazan]

they're at different times of the year

[aldo_14]

they're at different times of the year

So?

Point stands; if, say, America qualify for both, are they going to send a full-strength team to both, knowing how much havock it wreaks on players' fitness?

That's what I mean; I can't see the Mexicans 'dropping' the Liberatadores, because it's the 2nd biggest (international) club competition in the world (IMO; I guess some could rate the EUFA Cup as higher).  And it's going to weaken the tournaments' appeal if they don't;  what i think would be better would be the (very unlikely) extension of the Liberatadores, with a CONCACAF feeder tournament. 

What I mean is, how many Cuban, or Panamian, etc club teams are big names?  That's why it's a shame; it's undoubtedly a great thing (why it's not there already baffles me), but surely unless the Mexicans are putting their best teams out there it'll be more or less a US whitewash?

[Kazan]

USA doesn't participate in Libs

mexico has already said they're going to participate in the CCL according to TeleFutura

[Shade]

Playing times don't have to mean anything anyway. In the European cups, a team can only participate in one. If you're in the Champions League for example, you don't play in the UEFA cup unless you get knocked out in the 3rd qualifying round, even if you might be qualified to play in both due to having won both a national championship (qualifies for Champions League, actually as many as the top 4 teams do for certain countries) and a national cup (qualifies for UEFA cup, as does being runners up for a champions league place).

So they're mutually exclusive here, even if a team could play both in theory.

[aldo_14]

USA doesn't participate in Libs

mexico has already said they're going to participate in the CCL according to TeleFutura

I know the US doesn't participate in the Copa; I'm asking if we are to expect full strength, i.e. top notch Mexican sides, or a depressing repeat of the sort of Carling-Cup style 'shove the reserves out for the first few rounds' type scenario, which to me would be a major disappointment.  Unfortunately, I can see the Copa being superceded, which is why I expect - unfortunately - the Mexicans to shove reserve teams in the event of a team being in both.  The last thing you want, after all, is a situation where the tournament becomes as superfluous as, say, the CWC became.

[Kazan]

i doubt they'll do that.  more international expirience = better world cup showings

even if it means playing your players for more dates in the year

OH GNOES! they play more dates in non-world cup years

the humanity!

[aldo_14]

i doubt they'll do that.  more international expirience = better world cup showings

even if it means playing your players for more dates in the year

OH GNOES! they play more dates in non-world cup years

the humanity!

Why would a Mexican club side give a **** about the national team?  Especially when there's a strong arguement playing too many games is bad for the national team too (players are tired and jaded).  Plus, the Copa is great experience, and surely from that perspective you'd direct your efforts to going as far as possible in it? (not to mention the financial benefits)

[Kazan]

people who whine about tired national teams are completely insane... other than during the world cup

"oh my god, they played 5 more games in the year, they're going to be soo tired"

[aldo_14]

people who whine about tired national teams are completely insane... other than during the world cup

"oh my god, they played 5 more games in the year, they're going to be soo tired"

Er, except top-level players will have played closer to 50 (excluding internationals).

[Kazan]

exactly.. 1 game per week isn't too freaking hard - afterall they're PAID to do that

when i played we had 2 games a week minimum - in our OPENING TOURNAMENT we had three games in one day and that was the only time fitness became an issue at all (the host would seed themselves into the second round.. bastards)