It has been five years since the San Jose Earthquakes and CSD Municipal met in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, but when the Houston Dynamo travel to Guatemala City on Wednesday for the quarterfinals of this year's tournament, roughly half of the players in the starting lineups will have memories of that series.
Six Dynamo players were with preceding franchise San Jose in 2003, when the Earthquakes lost 5-4 on aggregate to a Municipal side that included seven players currently on its roster. Just like this year, the first leg was in Guatemala, and Municipal's 4-2 win in that game proved decisive, as San Jose could only win the return leg 2-1. Dynamo defender Craig Waibel said although the teams have changed, Estadio Mateo Flores is still a tough place to play.
"Playing them now is going to be different, because both teams are different from when we played them in 2003," Waibel said. "But the atmosphere from the crowd in Guatemala was amazing and is something that I remember. The maturity of our club is now older and smarter from when we played them five years ago."
Fellow defender Eddie Robinson said he knows what to expect thanks to the 2003 series.
"Playing against them last time will mentally prepare me for the atmosphere that we are about to encounter," Robinson said. "Hopefully it is going to be a good game, and they will not have too much of an advantage with their home crowd."
In last year's quarterfinal series, which started almost three weeks earlier, the Dynamo lost the away leg 1-0 to Puntarenas (Costa Rica), before winning 2-0 in the home leg. The Dynamo then lost in overtime in the semifinals to eventual champion Pachuca (Mexico.)
Veteran goalkeeper Pat Onstad said last year's tournament will prove more important preparation for Wednesday's game than the Dynamo's two pre-season tournaments
"I believe we are always prepared when we go into tournaments, so it does not matter too much that we have already played early in the year coming into this game," Onstad said. "With more experience, I believe that the team can expect better results."
The Dynamo will not be at full strength in the series, missing defender Patrick Ianni and midfielder Stuart Holden, who are competing with the United States U-23 national team in Olympic qualifying. Midfielder Brad Davis is also expected to miss the first leg.
Municipal, meanwhile, is currently in third place in Guatemala's 10-team Liga Nacional. Los Rojos are 5-2-3, tied with Comunicaciones for second place behind league leader Petapa. Municipal has lost back-to-back games, however, including a 1-0 loss at home to Petapa on Friday. Municipal has allowed just six goals in 10 Clausura games this year.
Municipal is led by midfielder Fredy Garcia, who has scored six of the team's 13 goals this season. The team also boasts 37-year-old legend Juan Carlos Plata, the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Guatemalan national team and domestic league, who has played almost 500 games for the club and scored the series-winner five years ago in San Jose.
Other familiar faces include midfielder Pando Ramirez, who scored the game-winning goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2005 MLS Cup final, Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and numerous members of the Guatemalan national team.
Waibel said the Dynamo and other San Jose holdovers like Richard Mulrooney, Brian Mullan and Brian Ching, will be focused on avoiding the two-goal deficit the team faced five years ago.
"Playing on the road, if you can keep it a one-goal game against a good team, then you are fine, because everyone expects you to win on your home field," Waibel said. "A better situation is if you can go down there and come out with a tie, and the best thing that could happen is a victory on their home field."
