Who Is Real Salt Lake’s Champions Cup Opponent CS Herediano?
Dec 11, 2024, 11:30 AM
MONTERREY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 27: Jairo Arrieta of Herediano celebrates with teammates after scoring the first goal of his team during the second leg match between Tigres UANL and Herediano as part of round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League 2018 at Universitario Stadium on February 27, 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY- Real Salt Lake qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup via their third-place finish in the Western Conference last season. The Claret-and-Cobalt will compete in the championship for the first time since 2016. Real Salt Lake drew Costa Rican side CS Herediano, who qualified as 2024 Central American Cup semifinalists.
The CONCACAF Champions Cup Draw occurred on Tuesday night where 22 teams from North, America, Central America, and the Caribbean were assigned their bracket position and opponents. Real Salt Lake was in Pot 1 with seven other higher-ranking teams and was matched up with one of the 11 lower-ranking teams from Pot 2.
Round One matchup is set 🔒
Bring it on, @csherediano1921!! pic.twitter.com/CvCe89atn8
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) December 11, 2024
Who Is Real Salt Lake Opponent CS Herediano?
Liga FPD’s round-robin regular season called the “Torneo de Apertura”, which stretches from July to December, just wrapped up at the beginning of this month with Herediano placing fourth out of 12 teams. They finished with 35 points, 11 points back of the Torneo de Apertura winners, Alajuelense, who had 46. They had ten wins, five draws, and seven losses with a goal differential of +6. Herediano’s top scorer during the Apertura was Marcel Hernandez Campanioni who had 10 in 16 appearances.
RELATED: Real Salt Lake Await MLS Expansion Draft In Busy Week For The Club
Their top-four finish earned them a spot in the Torneo de Clausura, Liga FPD’s post-season tournament, where the league’s top-four teams play each other in six additional match days. The winner of the Torneo de Apertura and the winner of the Torneo de Clausura play each other to determine a national champion unless the same team wins both tournaments.
Herediano defeated table toppers Alajuelense in the two team’s first leg of the Apertura semi-final 2-0 last Sunday, and they will play their second leg on Wednesday, December 11.
¡Hoy jugamos! ¡Vamos Team! 🔥❤️💛#SomosÚnicos #CSH pic.twitter.com/vkt08ZK5k5
— Club Sport Herediano (@csherediano1921) December 11, 2024
In the 2024 Central American Cup, Herediano was in Pot 1 as one of the four highest-ranking clubs in the competition. They went on to win their group, receiving a bye to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage. In those quarter-finals, Herediano defeated Honduran side Motagua by an aggregate score of 3-0.
In the semi-finals, Herediano met Real Estelí from Nicaragua. They drew 0-0 in the first leg and 2-2 in the second leg, but the away goal rule pushed Real Estelí past Herediano. Regardless, their finishing position in the competition qualified them for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
This will not be the first time that Real Salt Lake and CS Herediano have met. In fact, they faced off in the 2012 edition of this same competition. Real fell 0-1 at Herediano and drew 0-0 in Sandy.
Real Salt Lake vs CS Herediano
The first legs of Round One of the CONCACAF Champions Cup will be held between February 18 and February 20, exact dates still to come. Since Real Salt Lake is the higher-ranking squad, they will get the return leg.
The first leg between RSL and Herediano will be played at Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia, Costa Rica, with the second leg returning to America First Field.
