There is a hallway that leads away from the locker room and towards the parking lot, where visiting teams exit the Estadio Corregidora after game nights and answer reporters' questions. On Tuesday night, following D.C. United's 2-0 loss to Querétaro F.C. in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal round, the Black-and-Red players walked through the walkway, past the young ball boys and girls, reporters speaking both Spanish and English and countless security guards outside the bus parked on the other side of the corridor. While the scoreline didn't reflect the type of game that United played for over an hour, the players' remarks, repeated time and again and echoing off the white stadium's walls, were positive.
"There are plenty of positives we can take from this game; we had our chances," veteran defender and 2008 MLS Rookie of the Year Sean Franklin said. " Credit to them with their defending and their goalkeeping making big plays that kept them in this game."
Third-year center back Steve Birnbaum agreed: "Obviously we’re not happy with the result, but there were some good moments out there," he said. "It’s the beginning of our season and the guys defended well I thought for most of the game..."
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That positive mentality, mirrored by United Head Coach Ben Olsen, has the Black-and-Red excited for the second leg, on Tuesday, March 1 at 8 PM at RFK stadium. Faced with overwhelming odds (MLS teams have never won the regional competition since its rebrand as the "Champions League"), United are not backing down. Rather, they are welcoming the opportunity to overturn the two-goal deficit in front of the home fans.
"It [the first leg] was a good effort, but disappointing to give up that second goal," Olsen said. "But that’s the game and we now have to go back to D.C. and score a couple of goals on our own."
For Querértaro, being in season has its advantages and disadvantages. While los Gallos Blancos have the luxury of being in season, they also have to manage a busy schedule and strategize accordingly. Saturday night, Querétaro faced Liga MX side Monarchs Morelia, and had to make a difficult decision: rest the starting XI or play for the win. Head Coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich chose the former and sat 7 starters from Tuesday’s match. Only GK Tiago Volpi, CB Juan Forlin and midfielders Marco Jimenez and Angel Sepulveda featured in both the SCCL match and Saturday's 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, United are still in preseason, giving the entire team a chance to rest and regroup. Bolstered by the fact that Emanuel Villa, los Gallos Blancos' strong dangerous forward, is dealing with an injury and may not be ready to play on Tuesday, Franklin knows what he and his teammates have to do in order to make the semifinals for the first time since 2008.
"We're down 2-0 at halftime, so we have to make sure we handle business at home...it's all to play for in the second leg," he said.
The most storied club in MLS history, United will look to continue their run to CONCACAF glory Tuesday night and get one step closer to a 14th overall trophy.
