As the Seattle Sounders resume 2022 Concacaf Champions League play, the club faces a fellow MLS heavyweight in New York City FC in the Semifinals, which starts with a Leg One opener at Lumen Field on April 6 (7:00 p.m. PT; FS1, TUDN, 1090 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS).
It’s a true clash of the titans between two of the league’s most successful clubs on the field. NYCFC are a formidable foe as the reigning MLS Cup champions, boasting a loaded roster featuring the likes of 2021 MLS Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos, ageless playmaker Maxi Moralez and more.
The winner of the upcoming Semifinals series will advance to the CCL Final and earn an opportunity to make history as the first MLS club to win the continental tournament.
“You’ve got a chance to play New York City, a really, really good team,” said Sounders General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey. “These are two of the absolute very best teams in MLS. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge.
“This is a cross-continental fight in between a couple of games while we’re trying to stay forward in the league as well. It’s not easy but it’s a great opportunity. And look, it’s an opportunity to make history. That is, in and of itself, really exciting and something we’re really looking forward to.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINALS TICKETS ON SALE NOW
We take on reigning MLS Cup champions New York City FC on April 6 at Lumen Field in the Leg One of Concacaf Champions League semifinals. Get your tickets today!
It will mark Seattle’s first CCL Semifinal appearance since 2013, with this year’s run featuring successive victories over Honduran side FC Motagua and Liga MX side Club León.
The weight of the opportunity at hand isn’t lost on anyone in the organization, Lagerwey said, with the knowledge of the historical implications that would come with a CCL title.
“It doesn’t come around every day,” said Lagerwey. “It is really exciting to have this opportunity and we’re all really looking forward to it, really preparing with all our resources focused on trying to advance to the Final.”
It isn’t just about history or bragging rights.
The winner of CCL earns a spot at the FIFA Club World Cup, where regional Champions League winners from all around the world will face off against one another. Recent finalists at the Club World Cup include Chelsea FC, Bayern Munich, Liverpool FC, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Real Madrid, Barcelona and River Plate.
The chance for an MLS team to compete on that stage can only serve to push the game in the United States further forward, something Lagerwey said would be a massive boon with an eye down the line to the 2026 World Cup slated to be hosted in North America.
“We’re talking about competing for the championship of not just America and Canada, but America, Canada, Mexico and eventually the world,” noted Lagerwey. “What an opportunity to go play against the champions of Europe and Asia and Africa and South America. To have a truly global competition.
Seattle’s very proud of itself, rightly so, as an international city,” he continued. “It’s not just a little provincial outpost anymore in the corner of North America, it’s very much part of the global landscape and this is a global sport. When we’re playing in these international competitions and become the champion of all of the Americas, and then to play in an actual literal World Series in the Club World Cup, I think those are things that a lot of Seattleites will get behind.”
