The playing surface at Estadio Akron is anything but a field of dreams. In fact it’s worrisome ahead of the second leg Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal clash between host Chivas de Guadalajara and Seattle Sounders FC Wednesday night.
The Sounders head to Jalisco with a one-goal lead in the aggregate series and are attempting a historic sweep of MLS teams against Liga MX rivals after New York Red Bulls and Toronto FCousted Club Tijuana and Tigres UANL, respectively, Tuesday night.
Estadio Akron’s natural grass surface is in bad shape following a weekend event, which could potentially impact tonight’s second leg. Seattle won the first leg on its artificial turf at CenturyLink Field.
Sounders FC coach Brian Schmetzer was diplomatic when addressing the issue in a press conference Tuesday.
“I’m sure the grounds crew here are very good at their job and they will have it ready as best they can,” he said. “It is out of our control so we will just focus on the soccer.”
Former Chivas standout Gonzalo Pineda, a Sounders FC assistant coach, wasn’t pleased with the state of the field, but knows the playing field is still level.
“It’s not ideal, but those are the circumstances of the game,” Pineda said. “We have an artificial field and now we’ll have to play with these conditions, but it’s not an excuse, because it’s the same for both teams. We have played on fields like this. I don’t want to say that Chivas should take better care, because they have their way of working and had an event. They will know how to take take care of their house.”
