As the defending repeat champions, the Seattle Sounders are headed to a second CONCACAF Champions League appearance later this summer. The Columbus Crew represented the 2002 US Open Cup in the 2003 edition of the event. But before them there was the New York Pancyprian Freedoms who themselves have three appearances in CONCACAF’s club championship event in its numerous formats through the years.
The other two pre-MLS amateur clubs to advance into the confederation’s championship were the AAC Eagles, who made one appearance in 1991, and the Brooklyn Italians, the team the Freedoms knocked out in the opening round in a showdown of two three-time Open Cup champions and three-time CONCACAF participants.
And as if representing the Open Cup more than any other club other than New York Greek American Atlas (four appearances) is not enough, the Freedoms are only bested among the 2011 US Open Cup field in overall CONCACAF appearances (courtesy of qualifying via MLS) by the Los Angeles Galaxy, who have played in the regional championship seven times. The Chicago Fire have also represented MLS three times, although none were via their four US Open Cup titles.
But that is just the numbers. The history of the Pancyprian Freedoms in the CONCACAF Championship is a whole other story unto itself.
The club first qualified for the 1982 tournament as the 1980 US Open Cup champions and was slated to face Mexico’s Pumas UNAM in the first round of the North American Zone, but withdrew prior to the series just as two of its three predecessors had done (both with Mexican opponents in opener). Perhaps it was a wise decision as Pumas cruised to the title.
A year later though the Freedoms took the leap and proved, though amateurs, they were no push-overs against some of the top professionals teams in CONCACAF with the leadership of Greek great Mimis Papaioannou, who had 61 caps with the Greece national team and 234 goals in 481 games in league play with eight domestic championships. After falling in the opening leg, 2-1, of its First Round series in the North/Central American Zone (NCAZ) against CD Motagua (Honduras), New York stunned many with a 3-1 victory in the second leg to move on.
In the Second Round, Mexico’s Atlante FC found out how difficult an out the Freedoms would be, playing to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the series and needing a 3-2 victory against New York in the second to move on en route to winning the 1983 CONCACAF championship, defeating its further opponents easily 8-2 and 6-1.
While the 1984 tournament turned out to be a peak for the club, and arguably one of the best performances by an American side to this day given the circumstances, it also proved to have a tragic conclusion.
The Freedoms advanced from the NCAZ First Round when Bermuda’s Hotels International withdrew, setting up a Second Round meeting with Puebla FC. For the second consecutive year the Freedoms proved to be much more than an amateur club playing against Mexican opposition, earning 0-0 and 2-2 draws to send the series to penalties. New York prevailed from the spot 4-2 in what was only the second time an American club had advanced against Mexican opposition. In the second edition of the tournament in 1963, New York Hungaria defeated Deportivo Oro 5-4 on aggregate (3-2, 2-2) before falling to Guadalajara 2-0 (0-0, 0-2).
Honduran opposition was in New York’s path again, and a third consecutive draw, 1-1, in the tournament allowed the Freedoms to advance past CD Vida with a 2-1 victory in the second leg, advancing the team to the Final Round of the NCAZ.
That was when tragedy struck. New York and Guadalajara were unable to come to agreement on dates for their series, which essentially were the equivalent of the CONCACAF Semifinals. As a result, the pair were disqualified by the confederation, giving the title by default to the Caribbean champion from Haiti,Violette.
With at least three berths hailing from MLS for quite some time, the list of teams that have appeared in the CONCACAF Championship has exponentially grown from the previous formats that only featured one or two American sides. With that, DC United (10), LA Galaxy (7) and Houston Dynamo (4) have all surpassed the Freedoms in appearances while the Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes also have three.
Who is New York’s Team?
Perhaps given one of the themes of the current US Open Cup though is, who is New York’s team? The city’s two professional clubs and a pair of its all-time great amateur sides were all paired into the same three-round opening bracket.
While all four are in the shadow of the super-popular Cosmos, it could be argued the Freedoms are New York’s most successful club given its history not only in league play, but in the US Open Cup and at the confederation level. While the Brooklyn Italians have advanced to CONCACAF three times, its two series victories were both against competition from Bermuda, losing handily to Mexican opposition twice. FC New York, while performing well in USL Pro are literally in their first season of play.
Most importantly, the Red Bulls’ best performance was a 2008 MLS Cup runners-up finish that qualified them for the Champions League where they were summarily dismissed in the opening Preliminary Round, 4-3 on aggregate, by W Connection of Trinidad.
The Cosmos, who are coming back to life, were finalists in league play six times with five championships (plus one indoor), but never competed for the CONCACAF title or, as was league-wide policy, played in the US Open Cup.
Not to be forgotten, the four-time Open Cup champion and one-time runner-up New York Greek American are still alive and well in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League with the Freedoms. Though they have played for the CONCACAF title one more time than the Freedoms, they did not enjoy nearly the same fortunes, winning only one series versus a club from Bermuda. They were eliminated in their first two appearances by eventual champions from Mexico and knocked out in the next two by teams from Bermuda and the United States.
US Open Cup Representatives in the CONCACAF Championship
Appearances | Open Cup Club Entry / CONCACAF Events Appeared In |
4 | NY Greek American Atlas 1968, 1970, 1986, 1990 |
3 | Brooklyn Italians (Dodgers) 1980, 1982, 1991 |
3 | NY Pancyprian Freedoms 1982, 1983, 1984 |
2 | NY Inter-Giuliana 1976, 1977 |
2 | Seattle Sounders 2010-11, 2011-12 |
1 | Columbus Crew 2003 |
1 | New England Revolution 2008-09 |
1 | DC United 2009-10 |
1 | AAC Eagles 1991 |
1 | Chicago Croatian 1985 |
1 | Elizabeth SC 1971 |
1 | Greek-American (San Francisco) 1989 |
1 | Maccabi LA 1978 |
1 | New York Hungaria 1963 |
1 | Philadelphia Ukrainians 1967 |
1 | Richardson Rockets 1992 |
1 | San Pedro Yugoslavs 1987 |
1 | Seattle Mitre Eagles 1988 |
1 | St Louis Kutis SC 1987 |
1 | St Petersburg Kickers 1990 |
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