Union to face Costa Rica’s Saprissa in Concacaf Champions League debut

The Union’s inaugural foray into the Concacaf Champions League will start with a matchup against longtime Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa.

Saprissa will host the first leg sometime between April 6-8 in San Jose, Costa Rica, and the Union will host the second leg between April 13-15. Both games will be before the MLS regular season kicks off on April 17, a date commissioner Don Garber confirmed Wednesday after the conclusion of collective bargaining. It’s not known yet whether fans will be allowed to attend.

Saprissa’s roster includes a number of familiar faces who’ve played in MLS: centerback Kendall Waston (Vancouver and Cincinnati), midfielder David Guzman (Portland and Columbus), and winger Christian Bolanos (Vancouver). There’s also left back Walter Cortes, who played for the Union’s former USL team in 2019 when it was called Bethlehem Steel. But he’s been out of action since last August due to a torn ACL in his left knee.

The club is best known to American soccer fans for its bandbox of a stadium, where the U.S. men’s national team went 0-7-1 in World Cup qualifiers from 1989-2009. Many American players of that era called the stadium, nicknamed “The Monster’s Cave,” the hardest visiting venue they played in — even tougher than Mexico City’s famed Estadio Azteca. Costa Rica’s national team now plays at a newer stadium across town, but Saprissa still calls the old venue home.

No current Union player has played there, but Union manager Jim Curtin did in 2004. In the semifinals of what was then known as the Concacaf Champions’ Cup, his Chicago Fire team lost, 2-0, at Saprissa, then won by 2-1 at home, which wasn’t enough to overturn the aggregate deficit.

“An intimidating atmosphere to play in, but also, this is the challenge our club wanted as we take the next step,” Curtin said after the draw Wednesday night. “The experience of playing in a hostile environment against a very good team in Saprissa will only make us better.”

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The Union qualified for the Champions League by having the best regular-season record in Major League Soccer last year. The Supporters’ Shield trophy that the team won for the achievement was the first piece of silverware in Union history.

Though the tournament is called a “league,” it’s not really. It’s a knockout competition, with every round except the final played over two legs. There are 16 teams in the competition, which makes it too small for a group stage like what takes place in Europe. Concacaf will expand the field to 20 starting in 2023, which will be big enough to add a group stage.

The other matchups in the round of 16 are Cruz Azul (Mexico) vs. Arcahaie FC (Haiti); Toronto FC or Forge FC (Canada) vs. Club Leon (Mexico); Monterrey (Mexico) vs. Club Atletico Pantoja (Dominican Republic); Columbus Crew (U.S.) vs. Real Esteli (Nicaragua); Atlanta United (U.S.) vs. Alajuelense (Costa Rica); Club America (Mexico) vs. Olimpia (Honduras); and Portland Timbers (U.S.) vs. Marathon (Honduras).

Toronto will play Forge (of Hamilton, Ontario) in the delayed final of last year’s Canadian Championship tournament sometime before the CCL starts.

If the Union advance, they’ll play Atlanta or Alajuelense in the quarterfinals in late April and early May. The semifinals will be played in August and September, and the one-game final will be played in October. The winner gets a berth in the next edition of FIFA’s Club World Cup.

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Former Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson scored his first goal for Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday in a 3-1 win over Austria Wien. His 72nd-minute tally was the game-winning goal, and it was a pretty one: The Medford native took a pass from Mergim Berisha in the 18-yard box, cut to his left, then beat two defenders with some shimmies and a curling shot to the far post.

Aaronson has a chance to play in his biggest game yet this Thursday when Salzburg hosts Spain’s Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League round of 32. The game kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and will be available to watch online at cbs.com/all-access in English and TUDN.com in Spanish.