Not only did Montreal packed the Stade Olympique like it was 1994, the Impact, the supporters and the fans created a moment that will forever be associated with this city and this club with the great mosaic, definitely an accomplishment knowing the logistics, implication and shear luck involved in pulling off a stunt of this scale. On top of how the club and the city treated the final itself, management did everything in its power to put all the chances on their side with massive investments on training, team travels and altitude acclimatization, especially with the 17 days stay in Pachuca before the first leg of the quarter finals at Estadio Hidalgo. All that added up, it shows just how seriously the Montréal Impact approached that tournament and it paid off in the end.
This year was the biggest year in the tournament's history and the buzz surrounding the CCL was not felt just in Montréal but in Mexico City as well. Club America , the 2014-15 Scotiabank's Concacaf Champions League winners were really invested in this year's continental cup. The biggest club in Concacaf did not just field a team worthy of almost any team in the world, but they invested as well on travels and accommodations, traveling with a contingent of staff that ranged from chef to handlers, that would not only pamper, but keep an eye on the young players to make sure that no one enjoyed the famous Montréal Night Life more then they should! For club President Ricardo Pelaez, winning this tournament is considered one of the greatest achievements a club can do in Concacaf and he views the FIFA Club World Cup as a true opportunity for his club to establish their brand on a global level.
With the two club and cities that wanted this cup the most in the final and two venues that hosted many historical events in the pass involved, the 2014-15 Scotiabank's Concacaf Champions League Final was the most attended finals in its history, with a combined number of 117,787 !
Here is the Concacaf Press Release:
Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2014/15 Wraps up Season with New Champion and New Records
Club America Lifts Trophy amidst New Attendance Records and High TV Ratings; Two-Leg Final Attendance a Historic 117,787
Montreal, Canada (Wednesday, April 29, 2015) - The Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Football Association (CONCACAF) crowned tonight Club America from Mexico as the new champion of its premier regional competition, the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, and announced the highlights of the 2014/15 tournament, including new attendance records for both the group and championship stages.
“The Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League continues its growth at an exponential rate thanks to the increasing support of our fans, our teams, our leagues and our commercial and TV partners,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “We would like to thank all of them for their passion and commitment to the game and to our premier competition.”
The 2014/15 edition of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League – with Club America defeating Impact de Montreal, 5-3 on aggregate in the final -- was highlighted by record-breaking attendances in both the group and the championship stages.
The championship rounds saw total attendance increase to 393,216 fans attending 14 matches, averaging more than 28,000 per game.
Impact de Montreal established this evening its own Canadian attendance record with a sellout crowd at Olympic Stadium of 61,004 fans. The first leg of the Finals at Azteca Stadium was attended by 56,783 fans, summing to a total of 117,787 for the two-leg final.
In group play, attendance also demonstrated a similar spike of more than 50% compared to the 2013/14 edition, establishing a new tournament high at 369,006 total attendees.
The single game attendance record was broken as well, with Club America establishing a new one-game mark when 66,208 fans turned out for the club’s semifinal match at Azteca Stadium against Costa Rican side Herediano.
Television ratings have also been on the rise this season. The first leg of the Finals in Mexico averaged 1,763,000 viewers across three networks in the United States: UniMas, UDN and Fox Sports 2. On the pitch, average goals per game increased to 3.48.
Other remarkable statistics from this historic tournament included:
582- The total number of accredited media members representing 12 nations who attended the two legs of the 2014/15 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Finals,
48- The amount of hours it took for Montreal to sell 45,000 tickets to this evening’s championship match at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
With its triumph in the Finals, Club America has now earned the right to represent CONCACAF at the FIFA World Club, to be played this December in Japan.
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So not only did the championship match lived up to the hype off the pitch with record crowds and records ratings, on the pitch both team delivered a performance that will go down in history as one of the best CONCACAF game of all time. The classic David versus Goliath story with David striking first and then facing the wrath of that now angry and hungry giant, gaining respect and admiration in the process and making a worldwide fan base. The Club America of the second half, is for me the best team I have ever seen play soccer live. The way they were dissecting the fullbacks and creating pressure and panic out of nothing plays was truly beautiful to see, painful but still beautiful. Montréal were able for 135 minutes to corner the beast, but a cornered beast always comes out fearless, with nothing to lose and is the most dangerous of them all. At the end of the day, the best team won, they were able to face adversity, overcome a deficit and win on the road, of course there were some questionable calls either way, with dodgy gamesmanship and hard non sanctioned fouls, but it is part of it.
The venues, the crowds, the record attendances, the games, the goals ( that scissor kick goal!) , the press ( media from all over the world were present at the game Wednesday night) made the the 2014-15 Scotiabank Conacacaf Champions League a success.
The Montréal Impact and Club America made the 2014-15 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League/Cup Final the best of all time!
Off the Woodworkx #95 CCL Final Post Game with Frank Klopas, Nigel Reo-Coker and Jason Devos