# 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

The 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 33rd edition of the annual international club football competition, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean).
The teams were split into three zones (North, Central and Caribbean). The North American zone qualified three teams direct into the quarterfinals and two teams played a play-off for the fourth spot in the quarterfinals. The Central American zone played a regional tournament to get three spots in the quarterfinal. The winner of the Caribbean zone got a place in the quarterfinals.
1997 was the first year that teams from the United States' premier league, Major League Soccer, took part in the Champions' Cup. The competitors in the MLS Cup, both winner and runner-up, were each given berths in the tournament.
All but two of the eight games played in the final tournament were played in Washington, D.C.. The final was won by Cruz Azul, who captured their fifth Champions' Cup title with a 5–3 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy. At the time, Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos was signed to the Galaxy and Cruz Azul. The Galaxy were the first American club to reach the final of a Champions' Cup since 1984.

## Preliminary Regional playoffs
### North American Zone

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 4–1 | Santos Laguna |
* Los Angeles Galaxy advance to the quarterfinal.

### Central American Zone
#### Preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| A.F.C. Euro Kickers | 5–6 | Diriangén FC | 4–2 | 1–4 |

#### First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| CS Cartaginés | 9–2 | Tauro | 5–0 | 4–2 |
| FAS | 2–2 (3–5 pen) | CSD Comunicaciones | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Xelajú MC | 2–0 | Real Verdes | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Juventus | 4–2 | Real CD España | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | 3–1 | Olimpia | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Diriangén FC | 4–5 | Alajuelense | 3–2 | 1–3 |

#### Second round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Juventus | 2–8 | CSD Comunicaciones | 0–3 | 2–5 |
| Xelajú MC | 2–3 | C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| CS Cartaginés | 2–1 | L.D. Alajuelense | 2–1 | – |
* Comunicaciones, Luis Ángel Firpo and Cartaginés advance to the quarterfinal. Cartaginés vs Alajuelense played in one leg in San José.

### Caribbean Zone
#### CFU Club Championship final

* United Petrotrin advance to the quarterfinal

## Quarterfinal Qualified teams
### North American zone

* Major League Soccer:
    D.C. United – 1996 MLS Cup winner
    Los Angeles Galaxy – preliminary round winner (1996 MLS Cup runner-up)
* Primera División de México:
    Guadalajara – 1997 Verano winner
    Cruz Azul – 1996 CONCACAF Champions Cup title holder

### Central American zone

* Central American Qualifiers: C.S. Cartaginés – Second Round Series winner C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo – Second Round Series winner CSD Comunicaciones – Second Round Series winner

### Caribbean zone

* Caribbean Football Union (CFU): United Petrotrin – 1997 CFU Club Championship winner

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| D.C. United | 1 | | |
| United Petrotrin | 0 | | |
| United Petrotrin | 0 | D.C. United | 0 |
| | | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 2 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1 |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | 0 | | | | |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | 0 | | | Los Angeles Galaxy | 3 |
| | | | | Cruz Azul | 5 |
| Guadalajara | 1 | | | Cruz Azul | 5 |
| Cartaginés | 0 | | | | |
| Cartaginés | 0 | Guadalajara | 2 | | |
| | | Cruz Azul | 3 | Third place | Third place |
| Cruz Azul | 5 | Cruz Azul | 3 | Third place | Third place |
| Comunicaciones | 0 | | | | |
| Comunicaciones | 0 | | | D.C. United | 2 |
| | | | | Guadalajara | 2 |

## Third place match

* Third place was shared.

## Final

Team details :
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Cruz Azul |

## Champion

* CONCACAF Champions' Cup 1997 Winners
* Cruz Azul Fifth title