The Houston Dynamo were drawn into Group 3 of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League at the official draw at the confederation’s headquarters in New York earlier today and will face C.D. Olimpia of Honduras and C.D. FAS of El Salvador.
The Dynamo qualified for the tournament by advancing to the 2011 MLS Cup Final. Olimpia won the Honduran Apertura and Clausura and C.D. FAS of El Salvador finished second in the Salvadoran first division to qualify for the tournament.
“This is a difficult group,” said Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “Both Olimpia and FAS are teams with great history in their respective countries. They are definitely not pushovers, so we can’t take them lightly when we face them in the group stage.”
This is the fifth appearance for the Dynamo in the regional championship, including semifinal runs in the 2007 and 2008 Champions' Cup tournaments. The Dynamo advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008-09 edition, but failed to advance past the group stage in 2009-10.
Olimpia is the most successful club in Honduras, with 25 domestic league titles in club history. In regional action, they have won two CONCACAF Champions' Cup tournaments, in 1972 and 1988, as well as two runner-up finishes in 1985 and 2000.
Similarly, FAS has won 17 domestic league titles in El Salvador, more than any other club. Their only Champions' Cup championship was in 1979.
The group stage of the tournament will take place July 31-Oct. 26. Each team will face each other twice in a home-and-home series with the first place team in each group advancing to the quarterfinal round, which will take place in March 2013.
Group stage matches against Olimpia and FAS are included in Dynamo full season ticket packages. Individual match tickets along with the exact dates and times of all matches will be announced in the coming weeks.
Click here to view the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League Draw
