If you had to pick one: MLS Cup Repeat? Or, CCL Glory?

Which would you take?

So, after cruising by Comunicaciones without any stress whatsoever, NYCFC fans can rejoice as they have reached the Semi-final stage of the Concacaf Champions League for the first time in their short history. At this stage, they’ll face another MLS side in the Seattle Sounders in a two legged tie that should make waves on both coasts.

At the semi-final stage, things start to feel a bit more real now. Yes, all four teams left are dangerous in their own ways, and few would list NYCFC as clear favorites to win the trophy, but all it takes at this stage is a few good results. So, with a handful of good performances, NYCFC could find themselves as CCL champions.

Taty and Talles Magno Embrace as NYCFC Advance to CCL Semi-finals

And, while still riding the wave of winning MLS Cup in December, expectations for The Pigeons have been flying sky high for the 2022 MLS campaign. At the moment, pundits, oddsmakers, and fans alike have pegged the side as among the favorites to lift MLS Cup again. And, while this a long season, and repeating in MLS is very difficult, few would count out NYCFC as serious contenders for the league title.

But, while the Boys in Blue would love to lift both trophies this year - which one should they prioritize? If you, as a fan, could only pick one competition to win - which would it be? Here, I’ll make a case for both competitions, and show why winning either of the two would be a huge accomplishment for NYCFC.

Making a case for Concacaf Champions League

Despite the 2022 season still feeling very new, NYCFC will now have some of their biggest games of the season coming up in the next few weeks. And, with these important games comes the opportunity to make MLS history.

Monterrey Celebrating Their 2021 CCL Victory (Via FMF State of Mind)

As crazy as it may seem, No MLS has EVER won CCL, which is just a bad look for the league in general. Given the storied soccer rivalry between the United States and Mexico, you just know that winning the CCL would not only be a huge victory for any club, but a big victory for whichever league reigns supreme at the end of the year. And, up until this point, Liga MX have been the league that has had the pleasure of celebrating such a victory every single year.

So, NYCFC having a chance to lift the CCL trophy for the first time in MLS history is a massive opportunity for the club, and really the whole league. Rival MLS teams may not like it, but they would always have NYCFC to thank as the club that finally broke the MLS curse in the competition if they were to succeed in their efforts this year. And that, my friends, is a legacy that would last forever.

NYCFC Celebrate vs Comunicaciones (Via NYCFC)

Also, compared to winning MLS Cup again, there would just be something cool about winning a different trophy, and adding something new to a trophy case that, not long ago, didn’t have a single item inside. To be honest, given our stadium situation, we might not have even had a trophy case. So, while picking up the Eastern Conference trophy, and the MLS Cup hardware last year, it would be unbelievable to add a 3rd item to this growing collection.

Making a Case for MLS Cup

Well, it was fun last time, wasn’t it? If you’re a fan of NYCFC, I don’t need to tell you how much it would mean to lift this trophy, as City fans are still celebrating their recent league title that of just a few months prior. And rightfully so, as winning MLS Cup is by no means an easy thing to do. Just take the Red Bulls for example, a club that has been in and around the playoff picture for nearly the entirety of its 25+ seasons and still haven’t lifted the cup.

NYCFC Celebrating Victory in 2021 MLS Cup (Via NYCFC)

But, you know what’s even harder than winning MLS Cup? Winning it back-to-back. While there have been 15 different clubs to lift the trophy, only three have ever celebrated victory two years in a row. Those clubs are DC United back in 1996 and 1997, Houston Dynamo in 2006 and 2007, and most recently La Galaxy in 2011 and 2012. So, NYCFC would have their odds stacked against them to repeat, but hey, it’s been done before.

David Beckham Celebrates Galaxy's 2012 MLS Cup Win in 2012 (via New York Times)

But, what I think would be the most special about a repeat MLS Cup victory is that it would effectively eliminate any trash talk, banter, or skepticism from rival clubs about last year's win. Now, I want to be the first to say that I think all of that criticism from other clubs in nonsense. But, if you’ve spent any time on MLS Twitter you’ve surely seen the comments made along the lines of, “The Revs had too long of a rest” and “Philadelphia had a covid outbreak” and whatnot. And I sympathize with the fact that those were unfortunate situations for both clubs. But at the end of the day, NYCFC played the opponents in front of them and beat all of them. Period, end of story. But, if we were to repeat and win MLS Cup back-to-back…Sheesh, I don’t know what our rivals could say at that point.

Concluding Remarks

So, both sides have their pros. Neither side has a con. Winning either of these trophies would be a huge honor for NYCFC, and would be something for its fans to celebrate all over again. But, it’s important to not get ahead of ourselves.

While NYCFC are just as likely as any other club to win either of these competitions, picking any club to win MLS Cup or CCL is still basically a crapshoot. For example, FiveThirtyEitght did their yearly SPI ratings and forecasts to try to determine MLS Cup favorites, and clocked in NYCFC and LAFC as the two most likely to win it all this year. Their chances: 14%. So, take the whole “being favorites” thing with a grain of salt: this is still MLS we’re talking about.

And as for CCL, it feels like we have as good of a shot as anyone with only a few games to play. But, coming off that away leg vs. Comunicaciones…I’d be a little cautious here as well. Even though it’s the semi’s already, NYCFC have a long way to go before they can start celebrating anything.