IFFHS NEWS AND STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 52
Picture : Tigres UANL and the Champions League !
TIGRES UANL, CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS 2020 !
Andre-Pierre Gignac scored the tiebreaking goal in the 84th minute, and Tigres UANL edged Los Angeles FC 2-1 last Tuesday at Orlando to win their first CONCACAF Champions League title.
Tigres, from San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico, had lost in the CONCACAF Champions League final in 2016, 2017 and 2019. LAFC were in the title match for the first time. A Mexican team won the competition for the 15th year in a row. The last non-Mexican side to claim the title was Costa Rica's Saprissa in 2005, and the last U.S. team to earn the championship was the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000.
On the winning goal, Tigres' Luis Rodriguez drove with the ball at his feet to the edge of the penalty box on the right side. He then dropped a pass to Gignac, who ran onto the ball at the edge of the box in the center and fired a low, bouncing shot into the bottom right corner of the net. After a scoreless first half, LAFC jumped on top 1-0 in the 61st minute when Diego Rossi chipped a short shot over Tigres goalie Nahuel Guzman. Hugo Ayala equalized for Tigres 11 minutes later, with his glancing header off a corner kick beating LAFC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer at the far post.
Tigres will represent Concacaf at the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020™ in February 2021, where they will join Al Ahly (CAF Champions League winners), Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League winners), Ulsan (AFC Champions League winners), Auckland City (OFC), the winners of the Copa Libertadores (determined in January 2021) and hosts Al Duhail.
CONCACAF Champions League Awards
Golden Glove: Nahuel Guzman (Tigres)
Golden Boot: Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres) - 6 goals
Young Player Award: Diego Palacios (LAFC)
Golden Ball: Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres)
ALEX MORGAN RETURNS TO UNITED STATES
American Women’s World Cup winner Alex Morgan won’t be staying at Tottenham for the second half of the season after deciding to return home. The forward has managed to play only five times — scoring twice — for the London Women’s Super League club as she tries to regain match fitness after giving birth in May.
“I will be forever grateful to the club, my teammates and Spurs supporters for taking such good care of me and my family,“ Morgan said on Monday. “From the moment I arrived in London, I realized I was part of a first-class organization, one that helped provide me the opportunity to immerse myself back into the game I love. Thank you to everyone who helped make this chapter in my soccer journey so special.”
Morgan was signed to the Orlando Pride before joining Tottenham in September. The striker was co-captain of the United States with Carlii lloyd and Mrgan Rapinoe when they retained their FIFA Women’s World Cup title in France last year. She was the only one of the 3 to be selected to play in the friendly game against the Netherlands in Breda, it was the first game for 261 days due the COVID pandemic.
CAMEROON WINS
The Junior Lions easily won the UNIFAC(Union of Central African Federations Championship) reserved for national junior teams of the region defeating the Central African Republic 3-0, courtesy of a brace by Junior Sunday at the 64th and 76th minutes, as well as an earlier opener at the 33rd minute through Ibrahim Sunday. The former who was unanimously voted the Most Valuable Player, MVP of the tournament was also the highest goal scorer. Cameroon National team coach, Toni Conceiçao has been swift in congratulating the players and their coach Christophe Ousmanou on the achievement.
Six countries, with Cameroon, Chad and Congo in Group B, and Central African Republic, Gabon and host, Equatorial Guinea in Group A took part in the tournament that closed yesterday. By reaching the final, Cameroon and Central African Republic qualified automatically to represent the sub-region in next year’s CANTOTALU20 tournament scheduled for Mauritania in February. It will be the tenth participation in the tournament by Cameroon who won it in 1995.