SEATTLE - When you raise the question of what does the UEFA Champions League and the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals have in common, it might sound crazy at first but both continental finals share something beyond just a berth in FIFA's Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cups scheduled for next year.
On June 1, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will clash at the legendary Wembley Stadium to decide this year's UCL winner. A few hours later, Pachuca and Columbus Crew will do the same but for title in CONCACAF. For the first time in history, soccer fans all over the Americas will be able to enjoy the two continental finals on the same day.
But despite being polar opposites in terms of quality and importance, both finals share a common theme between two of the participating teams.
European royalty
Funny enough, 2024 will be the third time that two of the finalists, Real Madrid and Pachuca, reach their respective continental finals the same year. This happened in 2002 and then again in 2017 and both ended with the same outcome: Real Madrid and Pachuca lifting the trophy.
Since the turn of the century, both clubs have reached a long list of continental finals without losing a single one. Since 2000 and including this year, Real Madrid has reached eight Champions League finals and won the previous seven. 'Los Blancos' have made it a tradition that every time they get to a UCL final, they tend to win it. In fact, they have done it eight times in a row and the last team to best them in this instance was more than 40 years ago, a 1-0 loss to Liverpool in 1981.
A win against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley will make it nine for nine for Real Madrid since 1998.
The CONCACAF side of things
Liga MX team Pachuca also has a respectable record in final games. Granted that CONCACAF does not have the flair of the European Cup, 'Los Tuzos' have made a name for themselves in their region with a perfect record in final matches.
If we include all the continental finals played by Pachuca since 2000, Mexico's oldest soccer club would have five in CONCACAF and one in CONMEBOL. In 2006, Pachuca beat Colo-Colo in the Copa Sudamericana final, the one and only time that a Mexican team has won a CONMEBOL tournament.
It won't be an easy task for 'Los Tuzos' as they will have to get past the Columbus Crew. The 'Crew' is the sixth different MLS side to reach the final since the CONCACAF Champions League era (since 2008) but only one has been able to win it. In 2022, Seattle Sounders broke the curse for MLS teams and earned the league's first continental award since 2000.
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