We can grow from challenging region’s best- Bibi

Portmore United head coach Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner says that his team will make every effort to prepare for their difficult round-of-16 match in the Concacaf Champions League.

The defending Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) champions were paired with Mexican club Cruz Azul in last night’s draw which took place in Mexico City. The new format of the competition abandons the traditional group phase and will see the 16 best teams in the region compete in a two leg aggregate goal series which will continue throughout the tournament.

Gardner says that these are the games that will test his teams’s ability to progress among the game’s elite.

“If we want to continue to grow, these are the type of challenges and opportunities that we have to be motivated for,” he said.

While he acknowledges that they will have a tough assignment against the Liga MX side, he sees the potential for his team to display their talents to the region

“It’s a very tough fixture but in the same breath it is a very good opportunity for our players to go and showcase their talents in such a very wide audience. Preparation is also key and we will leave no stone unturned in how we prepare for this tie,” he said.

Portmore United are making their tournament debut, becoming the fourth Jamaican club to participate in the competition since the tournament’s re-branding from the Concacaf Champions Cup. They last participated in the old continental tournament, the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2006, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Club America of Mexico. Previously, no Jamaican team has made it past the opening round of the Champions League.

Cruz Azul won the tournament in the 2013-14 season and finished 12th in this season’s Apuerta tournament, four points behind the play-off places. Portmore United will host the first leg of the tie between February 18-20, while they will travel to Atzeca Stadium for the return leg between February 25-27. If Portmore advance, they will play the winners of the Los Angeles FC (LAFC) of Major League Soccer and Club Leon of Mexico tie. LAFC had an impressive season in 2019, winning the regular season championship with 72 points, the most in league history.