1996 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

32nd edition of premier club football tournament organized by CONCACAF August 2025 1996 July 15 – 20 Guatemala City Guatemala 4 3 MEX Cruz Azul 4 MEX Necaxa 6 29 1995 1997 The 1996 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 32nd edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of association football in the CONCACAF region and was played from March 9, 1996, through July 20, 1997. The teams were split into 2 zones (North/ Central and Caribbean). The North/Central zone was split into 3 groups, qualifying each winner to the final tournament. The winner of the Caribbean zone, earned a place in a playoff against the U.S. representative for a spot in the final tournament. All qualifying matches in the tournament were played under the home/away match system, while the final tournament was played in Guatemala City. That final stage composed of four teams which played each other in a single round-robin tournament. Mexican team Cruz Azul won their fourth CONCACAF trophy, after finishing 1st. in the final table with 7 points over 3 matches played.Goloboy James July 25, 2019 Central American Club Competitions 1996 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/cacups96.html RSSSF August 1, 2025 North/Central American Zone Group 1 First Round Alajuelense CRC 6–3 FAS SLV 4–2 2–1 Árabe Unido PAN 2–1 Real Estelí NCA 1–1 0-1 La Victoria BLZ 3–7 Victoria HON 1–3 4-2 |} Cruz Azul on bye to the Third round. March 9, 1996 1st leg Alajuelense CRC 4–2 SLV FAS Rónald Gómez Mauricio Montero Luis Marín Murillo Rodríguez Mayén Alajuela, Costa Rica 2,000 Y March 31, 1996 2nd leg FAS SLV 1-2 CRC Alajuelense Bolsonello 6 56 González89 Miso El Salvador Y Alajuelense won 6–3 on aggregated. March 15, 1996 1st leg Árabe Unido PAN 1–1 NCA Real Estelí Clarke 58 35 pen. Oliva Panama Y March 17, 1996 2nd leg Real Estelí NCA 0–1 PAN Árabe Unido 74 Chiari Panama Y Árabe Unido won 2–1 on aggregated. March 17, 1996 1st leg La Victoria BLZ 1–3 HON 1949 Victoria Belize Y April 14, 1996 2nd leg Victoria HON 1949 4–2 BLZ La Victoria Honduras Y Victoria won 7–3 on aggregated. Second Round Victoria HON 3–2 Árabe Unido PAN 1–0 2–2 |} Alajuelense on bye to the Fourth round. June 16, 1996 1st leg Victoria HON 1949 1–0 PAN Árabe Unido Honduras Y June 18, 1996 2nd leg Árabe Unido PAN 2–2 HON 1949 Victoria Abdul Chiari Carlos Brown Renán Aguilera x2 Colon, Panama Roberto Mariano Bula Stadium Y Victoria won 3–2 on aggregated. Third Round Victoria HON 1-2 Cruz Azul MEX 1–0 2–0 |} October 23, 1996 1st leg Victoria HON 1949 1–0 MEX Cruz Azul Aguilera 32 Honduras Y November 5, 1996 2nd leg Cruz Azul MEX 2–0 HON 1949 Victoria de Oliveira 45Zamora 87 Mexico Y Cruz Azul won 2–1 on aggregated. Fourth Round Alajuelense CRC 2-5 Cruz Azul MEX 0-2 3-2 |} January 4, 1997 1st leg Alajuelense CRC 0–2 MEX Cruz Azul 5 Hermosillo75 Reynoso Costa Rica Y January 8, 1997 2nd leg Cruz Azul MEX 3–2 CRC Alajuelense Hermosillo 42 58Verdirame 54 66 73 Ledesma Mexico Y Cruz Azul won 5–2 on aggregated. Cruz Azul advanced to the CONCACAF Final Group stage. Group 2 First Round Saprissa CRC 4-3 Olimpia HON 4-0 3-0 |} Necaxa on bye to second round. March 17, 1996 Saprissa CRC 4–0 HON 1949 Olimpia San José, Costa Rica Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá Y May 7, 1996 Olimpia HON 1949 3–0 3–4 CRC Saprissa Tegucigalpa, Honduras Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Y Second Round Saprissa CRC 3-4 Necaxa MEX 2-2 2-1 |} September 15, 1996 Saprissa CRC 2–2 MEX Necaxa González 6 79 10 pen. Aguinaga16 Zárate San José, Costa Rica Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá Y January 7, 1997 Necaxa MEX 2–1 4–3 CRC Saprissa Zárate 48Peláez 84 17 Drummond Querétaro City, Mexico Estadio Corregidora Y Necaxa advanced to the CONCACAF Final Group stage. Group 3 First Round CSD Comunicaciones Guatemala 6–0 Cosmos Panama 4–0 2–0 C.S.D. Sacachispas Guatemala 5–3 Juventus Managua Nicaragua 3–1 2–2 |} BLZ Juventus F.C. on bye, to the second round. CSD Comunicaciones GUA 4–0 PAN Cosmos Y Cosmos PAN 0–2 0-6 GUA CSD Comunicaciones Y March 21, 1996 C.S.D. Sacachispas GUA 3–1 NCA Juventus Managua Gustavo Benzano Lucio Catarino Da Silva Araeli López Ivan Bravo Y Juventus Managua NCA 2–2 3–5 GUA C.S.D. Sacachispas Y Second Round CSD Comunicaciones Guatemala 5–1 C.S.D. Sacachispas Guatemala 2–1 3–0 |} BLZ Juventus F.C. on bye, to the third round. CSD Comunicaciones GUA 2–1 GUA C.S.D. Sacachispas Y C.S.D. Sacachispas GUA 0–3 1–5 GUA CSD Comunicaciones Y Third Round Juventus Belize 1–8 CSD Comunicaciones Guatemala 1–1 0–7 |} CSD Comunicaciones advance to the Final Group stage. Juventus BLZ 1–1 GUA CSD Comunicaciones Y CSD Comunicaciones GUA 7–0 8–1 BLZ Juventus Y Caribbean Zone First round US Sinnamary French Guiana w/o* SV Prakash Suriname 0–0 SV Transvaal SUR w/o** Red Star (Pointe-à-Pitre) Guadeloupe |} US Sinnamary withdrew after 1st leg* Red Star withdrew before 1st leg** Second round SV Transvaal Suriname 1–0 SV Prakash Suriname 0–0 1–0 |} SV Transvaal advance to the USA/Caribbean playoff. SV Transvaal SUR 0–0 SUR SV Prakash Y SV Prakash SUR 0–1 0–1 SUR SV Transvaal Y U.S./Caribbean Playoff Seattle Sounders USA 10–0 SV Transvaal Suriname |} Seattle Sounders advance to the Final Group stage.Rice Micah June 18, 1997 Sounders earn Guatemala trip with rout of Suriname club D6 The News Tribune https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115146307/sounders-earn-guatemala-trip-with-rout/ Newspapers.com December 25, 2022 June 17, 1997 19:30 PDT (UTC−7) Seattle Sounders USA 10–0 https://seattlepitch.tripod.com/matches/97/june17.html SUR SV Transvaal Adair 2 15 79 Gailey 32 38 Megson 42 Gelvezon 49 Crothers 70 Barton 73 82 Federal Way, Washington Federal Way Memorial Stadium 2,153 Y Final group stage Final stage was played in Guatemala City, Guatemala. July 15–20, 1997. main WDL Q CRU MEX Cruz Azul NEC MEX Necaxa COM GUA Comunicaciones SEA USA Seattle Sounders 2 1 0 14 2 1 2 0 8 5 1 1 1 6 5 0 0 3 1 17 green1 C complete RSSSF Matches All the games played in Guatemala City: July 15, 1997 19:00 CST (UTC−6) 1996 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Final Stage Round 1 Comunicaciones GUA 2 USA Seattle Sounders 0 Suazo 44 Fernández 83 Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores 25,000July 16, 1997 Sounders falter in cup opener D6 The Seattle Times July 15, 1997 Round 1 Necaxa MEX 1 MEX Cruz Azul 1 Pavón 14 Hermosillo 48 July 18, 1997 17:00 CST (UTC−6) Round 2 Seattle Sounders USA 1 MEX Necaxa 4 Hattrup 91 pen. Almaguer 32 Blanco 47 89 Vásquez 75 July 18, 1997 Round 2 Comunicaciones GUA 1 MEX Cruz Azul 2 Núñez 90 Adomaitis 33 37 July 20, 1997 Round 3 Comunicaciones GUA 3 MEX Necaxa 3 Julio Rodas 24 48 Núñez 32 Pineda 47 p Pavón 60 Montes de Oca 70 July 20, 1997 9:00 CST (UTC−6) Round 3 Seattle Sounders USA 0 MEX Cruz Azul 11 Palencia 3 Hermosillo 13 32 49 Yegros 15 53 62 Adomaitis 34 Galindo 35 Barton 72 o.g. Ramírez 74 p Champion CONCACAF Champions' Cup1996 Winners MEX Cruz Azul 4th References 1996 Champions' Cup