SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis knew the question was coming at some point in the post-game press conference following his team’s 2-1 loss to Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday night, which was enough to guarantee a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League finals, the first such berth for an MLS club.
Who would you rather face in the final? Cruz Azul or Monterrey? Kreis rubbed his face with both hands a few times before responding with a revealing statement.
“I don’t care,” Kreis said. “I think that both of them are very different teams."
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“It was really exciting to play against Cruz Azul [during the group stage] because I think they play a very similar style to the way we do," Kreis continued. "And I think it would be very exciting to play against Monterrey because I think they play the exact opposite style we do. In some ways it maybe would be nice to have a new challenge and not have team we played in the first round.”
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RSL had their path to the Champions League finals clear of Mexican clubs, who were all on the other side of the bracket. Monterrey have a narrow 2-1 lead heading into Wednesday night’s semifinal return leg at Cruz Azul in Mexico City.
“It doesn’t’ matter,” captain Kyle Beckerman said. “We had fun going down to Cruz Azul. Either one. It doesn’t matter.”
Both Mexican clubs have practically identical records in the current 2011 Clausura season, sitting fourth and fifth in the overall table separated by a single point.
One big difference between the two is that Monterrey are defending Mexican champions and has been the country's top club since mid-2009, winning two titles and finishing with the best record in the only season they didn't claim the crown. Cruz Azul, meanwhile, have a tradition of choking in the big games. In recent years, they've lost three Mexican league titles and two CONCACAF finals at the final hurdle.
When MLS teams face Mexican clubs the common theme is the altitude. That advantage would be erased should Monterrey, at an altitude of nearly 1,800 feet, face RSL. By comparison, Salt Lake City is situated at a dizzying 4,200 feet above sea level.
The altitude in Mexico City, where Cruz Azul’s home is located, stands at nearly 7,400 feet, although that did not appear to cost RSL too much in their group match at the Estadio Azul in August of last year, when they held a 3-1 lead heading into the final 15 minutes before losing 5-4. An MLS club has still not won in Mexico in official competitions.
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“I think there’s not that much of a difference with Mexican teams,” RSL forward Alvaro Saborio said earlier this week. “We went to Mexico and played a great game and then we beat Cruz Azul [at home] … I think that it’s not that marked a difference.”
The one aspect of the upcoming CONCACAF final that has generated differing opinion in RSL’s camp is the fact that Real Salt Lake host the second leg on April 27 after traveling to Mexico on April 20. Conventional wisdom is that it is an advantage, but there is an alternative perspective.
“To be able to close out at home is something beautiful for the club but first we have to get a good result on the road,” forward Fabian Espindola said.
“Maybe I would prefer it the other way,” Kreis said. “Our guys come out with such aggression and passion when we play at home. … I really liked having the first game at home in this [semifinal] round.”
The upcoming trip to Mexico for the first match of the home-and-home already has RSL players thinking about the key to success in the series opener: preventing goals.
“We know we’re very strong at home but we’re going to have to take care of business in Mexico where we can’t concede many goals,” playmaker Javier Morales said.
Added defender Nat Borchers, “That first game is going to be very important not to give anything up. And maybe we can get an away goal and come back home to Rio Tinto where we play strong and hopefully finish things out and get that championship.”
What Kreis cannot deny is that the chance to hoist the Champions League trophy in front of a sold-out Rio Tinto Stadium is a prospect that is tough to pass up.
“That would be special,” he said with a smile. “No doubt. No doubt.”
