MIAMI, Florida – Herediano of Costa Rica and Nicaragua’s Real Esteli will clash in one of the final two 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf League Round of 16 matches on Tuesday night with each side feeling plenty of motivation.
For Herediano, the ultimate goal is to raise the trophy just like they did in 2018 when they topped Motagua in the Final, and there is no question that the Ticos have the desire to further etch their names in the Concacaf history books by becoming the first team to win two SCL titles.
“We are really happy to start another new journey in Concacaf,” said Herediano MF Oscar Granados in Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“We are motivated of course. We have aspirations in this tournament, which is full of good teams. We want to get to the Final, but we know that Esteli is tough,” added Granados.
A year ago, Herediano entered the tournament fancying their chances of a repeat, but those hopes were dashed when they were eliminated in the Round of 16 in a penalty shootout against Waterhouse of Jamaica.
Needless to say, that match provided an important lesson going into this year’s tournament.
“We learned from our errors last year against Waterhouse. We know that every tournament we enter we have the obligation to win it, so we will be ready,” said Granados.
As for Real Esteli, the hope that the third time will be a charm. The Pinoleros were unable to advance past a round in the 2017 and 2019 editions, however there is optimism that the feat can be achieved with a victory on Tuesday night.
“I think when it comes to motivation, we had it from the very start knowing that we were in an international tournament,” said Real Esteli Head Coach Holver Flores in his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“As a coach and as players, we are all motivated to play a good game. We want to make history and we have an opportunity to earn that and we need to take advantage,” concluded Flores.