MLS teams begin play in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup on Sunday.
The 2002 MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, 2001 MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes and 2002 U.S. Open Cup champion Columbus Crew travel to Central America for the first leg of their first-round series.
Here's a look at the matchups:
MOTAGUA-LOS ANGELES
The Galaxy, who won the 2000 Champions Cup title and finished second in 1997, meets Motagua of Honduras at Tegucigalpa's National Stadium at 7 pm ET.
This is the second foreign trip for the Galaxy this winter. It finished third at the La Manga preseason tournament in Spain.
Motagua is third in the 2003 Torneo Clausura after finishing fifth in last fall's 2002 Torneo Apertura. The last of its 10 Honduran league titles came in 2001.
Motagua features four Honduran internationals called up by new Catracho coach Edwin Pavon to his first camp: goalie Noel Valladares, defenders Ivan Guerrero and Mauricio Castro and midfielder Amado Guevara, who has been courted by MLS teams. The Motagua attack is headed by Honduran international Jairo Martinez and Argentine Pablo Bocco, acquired for the 2003 Torneo Clausura.
Mexican Alejandro Dominguez replaced former Honduras national team coach Ramon Maradiaga as Motagua head coach this winter.
MUNICIPAL-SAN JOSE
The Earthquakes face Municipal of Guatemala in Guatemala City at 5 pm ET. They'll have Canadian international Pat Onstad, acquired yesterday from the A-League's Rochester Rhinos, available to play in goal. Last year's starter, Joe Cannon, left for French club Lens. Backup Jon Conway was injured in practice last week.
Municipal, whose 1974 Champions Cup title is the only outright CONCACAF championship by a Guatemalan club, won four of five league titles in 2000-02 but trails Guatemala City rival Comunicaciones by two points after seven games in the 2003 Torneo Clausura.
The Reds have a Paraguayan favor with a Paraguayan coach, Ever Hugo Almeida, and Paraguayan strikers Carlos Villagra and Juan Jose Gomez.
Guatemalan national team veterans include defender German Ruano, midfielder and Julio Giron and striker Juan Carlos Plata.
ARABE UNIDO-COLUMBUS
The Crew makes its Champions Cup debut when it faces Arabe Unido, winner of the 2001 Panamanian league title and runner-up to Plaza Amador in 2002, at Colon's Armando Dely Valdes Stadium at 2 pm ET. A factor will be the poor condition of the field.
The Crew, whose only other appearance in CONCACAF play came two years ago when it lost to Saprissa of Costa Rica (0-2 and 1-1) in the quarterfinals of the ill-fated Giants Cup, acquired midfielder Ross Paule from the MetroStars yesterday in a deal for defender Chris Leitch and midfielder Jeff Matteo.
Arabe Unido, second to Costa Rica's Alajuela at the 2002 UNCAF club championship last December, is led by Colombians Jorge Zapata, John Wilson Raigosa and John Jairo Garcia.