The 2015 CONCACAF Champions League Final was the final of the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, the 7th edition of the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Amer ...

under its current format, and overall the 50th edition of the premium football club competition organized by

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...

, the regional governing body of North America,

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and the Caribbean. The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Mexican team América and Canadian team Montreal Impact. The first leg was hosted by América at

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. With ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

on April 22, 2015, while the second leg was hosted by the Montreal Impact at

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

on April 29, 2015. The winner earned the right to represent

at the

2015 FIFA Club World Cup The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015 presented by Alibaba E-Auto for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament bet ...

, entering at the quarterfinal stage. After a 1–1 first leg, América won the second leg 4–2 to win their sixth overall CONCACAF club title.

Background

For only the second time in seven seasons of the CONCACAF Champions League, the final featured a non-Mexican team, with the only previous occasion where it was not an all-Mexican final being in 2011, where

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

lost to

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...

. This was the first final of América in the CONCACAF Champions League era, but they had won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup title five times (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, 1990,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

, 2006). They were aiming to equal Cruz Azul's record of six CONCACAF club titles which was set in last year's final. Montreal Impact was the first Canadian team to reach a CONCACAF club final. They were aiming to become the first non-Mexican team to win in the CONCACAF Champions League era, and the third

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

team to win the CONCACAF club title after D.C. United (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

) and

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

(

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Road to the final

''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Rules

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

would be used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

, and so the final would be decided by

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg.

Matches

First leg

Montreal Impact took the lead in the 16th minute after Ignacio Piatti received a pass from

Dominic Oduro Dominic Oduro (born 13 August 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Early career and education Oduro started his playing career in Ghana, playing for both Prempeh College and the University of Ghana before tr ...

to shoot home inside the penalty area. América equalized in the 89th minute, as half-time substitute Oribe Peralta, who was subbed on for Martinez, headed in

Rubens Sambueza Rubens Oscar Sambueza (born 1 January 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. In October 2013, he became a naturalized Mexican citizen. His younger brother Fabián is also a professional footballer ...

's free kick. Shortly after the equalizer, Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball Paul Aguilar, however, replays show that Aguilar jumped in front of the ball as Bush was kicking it away. Aguilar then proceeded to punch Bush in the face, which went unpunished. This yellow card was crucial, as it suspended Bush for the second leg of the final. Azteca entrance

Second leg

Montreal Impact took the lead in the 8th minute, after Andrés Romero received Ignacio Piatti's pass, dribbled on goal and scored. Darío Benedetto had a golden chance just a few minutes later when he had a seemingly open goal from 4 yards out, but his shot hit the crossbar and the Impact cleared the ball away. Piatti had a great chance to extend the lead for Montreal midway through the first half, but

Moisés Muñoz Moisés Alberto Muñoz Rodríguez (born 1 February 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Muñoz began his career in 1999 with Monarcas Morelia, playing in over 200 matches for the club, before eventual ...

made a great save for Club America. The lead lasted until the 50th minute, as Darío Benedetto equalized for América with a scissor kick from Osvaldo Martínez's cross. América took the lead in the 65th minute, when

Darwin Quintero Carlos Darwin Quintero Villalba (born 19 September 1987) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Categoría Primera A club América de Cali. Quintero is also known by his nickname of ''El Científico del G ...

headed the ball across goal for Oribe Peralta to head it in. Benedetto increased América's lead two minutes later as he stabbed in a cross from

Miguel Samudio Miguel Ángel Ramón Samudio (born 24 August 1986) is a Paraguayan footballer. Career In 2014, he signed for Cruzeiro on a one-year loan contract expiring at the end of 2014 with his playing rights set at an undisclosed fee.* International ca ...

, and completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute with a curling shot after another assist from Quintero.

Jack McInerney John Seamus "Jack" McInerney (born August 5, 1992) is an American soccer player. Career Youth Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, McInerney moved with his family to Colorado, Illinois, California, and Florida before finally settling in Alpharetta, ...

added a consolation goal in the 88th minute as he scored from Piatti's pass. Le Stade Olympique 3

References

External links

CONCACAF Champions League
, CONCACAF.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Concacaf Champions League Finals 2015 *Finals Club América matches CF Montréal matches 2014–15 in Mexican football 2015 in Canadian soccer 2015 in Quebec International club association football competitions hosted by Mexico CONCACAF Champions League finals