MIAMI, Florida – As winners of MLS Cup 2021, New York City FC arrive into the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with a mindset of wanting to take things to the next level.

NYCFC kick off their second SCCL campaign on Tuesday in the Round of 16 versus Santos de Guapiles of Costa Rica and there is no question that the hunger for more hardware is still intact.

“It is always special to play in Champions League, in this kind of competition. That’s why you compete all season long, to get qualified for the Concacaf Champions League,” said DF Maxime Chanot in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.

“Obviously, our objective is to go as far as we can and it would be important to us to be the first team from MLS to win this competition. We learned a lot from the last time we played in it in 2020, so now we are ready and prepared to compete and I’m pretty sure we’ll do well this season,” added Chanot.

Coincidentally, when NYCFC made their maiden voyage in Concacaf in 2020, they faced SCCL debutants AD San Carlos of Costa Rica in the Round of 16. Now, two years later, another Costa Rican club making their SCCL debut stands in NYCFC’s way of the quarterfinals.

“If they have qualified for the Champions League, it means they are a good team. We have to be careful because we know they have a lot of pace in their squad. We are there to try to win the game and to qualify for the next round. Two years ago, when we played against [San Carlos] it was not an easy game, so we are ready for [Santos],” said Chanot.

That 2020 SCCL run ended in the quarterfinal stage with NYCFC losing 5-0 on aggregate to eventual 2020 champions Tigres. The two legs were played nearly nine months apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making for a very difficult situation.

“It was a little bit frustrating because it was also the start of having a new coach at this club, a new cycle. Now we are a totally different team in the way we play, the way we attack and defend together. [Head Coach] Ronny [Deila] has brought different tactics in this team and he was proved right because we won MLS Cup. Two years ago, we had to wait nine months between legs in the quarterfinals against Tigres. We didn’t get the chance to play away in Mexico, so I felt a bit frustrated about that situation and I hope this year is different,” said Chanot.

Despite that quarterfinal elimination, Chanot says that the highlight of that 2020 tournament for him was going up against Tigres and fellow Frenchman Andre-Pierre Gignac.

“Tigres is such a big team in Concacaf and the world. Everybody knows Tigres. It was something special because their striker is Gignac, who is from France like me. It was a good memory, but we felt frustrated at how it happened and that we had to wait nine months because of Covid was weird, so I’m looking forward to being successful in this Concacaf Champions League,” said Chanot.

On a personal level, no player has enjoyed a longer tenure at NYCFC than Chanot, who joined the club prior to the start of the 2016 MLS season, just the second in club history. With an MLS Cup achieved, Chanot now wants to make even more history with NYCFC.

“I’ve been at this club the longest of anyone. I’m very proud of that. I’m proud of being here for such a long time. This club means a lot to me. Winning the cup last season was very emotional. I love this club so much. I’ve had the chance to go back to Europe, but I always decline. My objective when I signed was to win MLS Cup. I’ve now done that so my next objective is to win something else and winning the Concacaf Champions League would be special for me,” concluded Chanot.