The CONCACAF Champions League returns after a four-month hiatus on Tuesday, with the first of four quarterfinals as the Columbus Crew host Toluca in the opening leg Tuesday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The second leg will be played at Estadio Nemesio Diez on March 17.
Since becoming the only Major League Soccer squad to advance to the group stage, Columbus re-signed Argentine legend Guillermo Barros Schelotto and also brought in Colombian forward Sergio Herrera from Deportivo Cali.
Schelotto, the Crew's top player, will miss Tuesday's home leg, serving a one-game ban because of accumulated yellow cards. He was booked in the 89th minute of the Crew's final group stage match.
Also serving a one-game suspension is American international fullback Frankie Hejduk, while Columbus central defender Chad Marshall will miss both legs and possibly the Major League Soccer opener against Toronto FC after suffering a hamstring injury in preseason. Also out is defender Jed Zayner with a knee injury.
"It's a strain, but you could see an area that was torn," Marshall told the Columbus Dispatch. "Hopefully I'll be back by the [MLS] opener, but we have [a bye week] after that, so maybe no later than the second game."
The Crew wrapped up the 2009 Major League Soccer season losing to eventual MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake on aggregate in the quarterfinals. In Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday, Columbus tied the Kansas City Wizards 1-1 in its final preseason tune-up before its CONCACAF Champions League tilt.
While the Crew is winding down its preseason, Toluca is in the middle of its Clausura campaign, having won two of its last three games and is unbeaten in four straight. On Saturday, Toluca battled Atlas to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara. Hector Mancilla put Toluca in front in the 31st minute, but Herbert Alferez equalized with six minutes remaining.
Last Sunday, Mancilla dedicated a goal in a 3-0 victory against Indios to his native Chile and those affected by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake. He lifted up his jersey to display a shirt that read "Animo, Chile."
"Family members closest to me were fine, thank God," Mancilla said. "There is no water, food or power, but friends and family a bit more distant lost their houses and that makes me sad. So that's why I dedicate the goal to them."
The Diablos Rojos are fourth in Clausura's Group 1, two points behind third-place Atlas.
Since winning Group B in the CONCACAF Champions League, Toluca, which will be without Edgar Duenas, who will serve a one-game suspension, has added Chilean defender Osvaldo Gonzalez. The 25-year-old previously played for Universidad de Chile after coming up through Universidad de Concepcion's youth system.
A positive result in the opener at Crew Stadium is critical for Columbus because Major League Soccer clubs have struggled mightily in Mexico over the years. In fact, D.C. United's group stage draw against Toluca at Estadio Nemesio Diez in October was only the second time an MLS team has earned a point on Mexican soil.
