By The Numbers: Sporting KC at Real Esteli - Aug. 19, 2014

As Major League Soccer nears its final stretch, yet another major competition enters Sporting Kansas City’s docket. The MLS Cup titleholders begin group stage action in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday at Nicaraguan side Real Esteli (9 p.m. CT, Fox Soccer Plus). 

Peter Vermes’ men are no strangers to Esteli, having won 2-0 at Estadio Independencia during the 2013-14 CCL group stage. One of five MLS representatives in CONCACAF’s premier club championship, Sporting KC is the only American team competing in the tournament for a second straight year. Despite their domestic dominance, Real Esteli is still hunting its first ever CCL win. We take a closer look in our By The Numbers preview.

W/L Records

• Sporting KC is 6-4-4 all-time in the CCL (16 goals for, 17 goals against) and 3-4-0 on the road (9 GF, 15 GA).
• Real Esteli is tied for first place in the Nicaraguan Primera Division’s Apertura season with a 3-0-0 record.
• Real Esteli is seeking their first win all-time in CONCACAF competition. The club is 0-29-7 in CONCACAF matches since 1991.
• Real Esteli is 0-4-3 at home in the CCL (three goals scored, eight goals conceded).
• Real Esteli has never won in the CCL (0-9-4), but 11 of their 13 matches have been decided by one goal or less.

Players

• Soony Saad is the only player on Sporting KC’s active roster with multiple CCL goals (two) for the club.
• Jorge Claros is Sporting KC’s most experienced player in the CCL. He played nine games for Honduran club Motagua in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 tournaments.
• Jacob Peterson is the only Sporting KC player to score a CCL goal for two different teams. He scored for his current club against Real Esteli last year and scored for Toronto FC in the 2010-11 tournament.
• Dom Dwyer and C.J. Sapong were the only field players to feature in all six matches for Sporting KC in the 2013-14 CCL.
• Graham Zusi led the team with three assists during the 2013-14 CCL.

Defense and Attack

• Sporting KC registered four clean sheets in six games during the 2013-14 CCL.
• Real Esteli leads the Primera Division with nine goals scored, while Rudel Calero (four) and Samuel Wilson (three) top the league’s scoring list.
• Seven of Real Esteli’s nine league goals have been scored in the 67th minute or later.
• Reali Esteli has never scored more than one goal in a CONCACAF Champions League match.

Club bragging rights

• Real Esteli has claimed each of the last seven Apertura (fall) and Clausura (spring) titles in the Primera Division and are the only team to represent Nicaragua in the CCL.
• Since 2011, Sporting KC is one of two American teams with at least two major trophies (2012 U.S. Open Cup, 2013 MLS Cup) and the only MLS team with two conference regular season titles (2011, 2012).

Head-to-head CCL meetings