| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 22, 1971 – April 19, 1972 | 
| Teams | 22 (from 12 associations) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Cruz Azul (3rd title) | 
| Runners-up |  Alajuelense | 
The 1971 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 7th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of association football in the CONCACAF region. It was played from August 22, 1971, till April 19, 1972, under the home/away match system.
The teams were split into 3 zones (North American, Central American and Caribbean), each one qualifying two teams to the final tournament, played for the first time in a group system. After the end of the group, a playoff match had to be played because two teams ended with the same points in the lead of the group. This tournament included the Rochester Lancers, the only team from the original North American Soccer League to take part.
Cruz Azul from Mexico won the final, and became for the third time in its history became CONCACAF champion.[1][2]
North American Zone
| September 19, 1971 | Rochester Lancers   | 4–1 |  Pembroke Hamilton | |
| Note: [3] | ||||
| September 26, 1971 | Pembroke Hamilton   | 3–1 (4–5 agg.) |  Rochester Lancers | |
| Note: [4] | ||||
- Cruz Azul and Rochester Lancers advanced to the CONCACAF Final Tournament.
Central American Zone
Preliminary round
| August 22, 1971 | Diriangén   | 0–5 |  Comunicaciones | |
| Omar Larrosa    Enrique Mendoza   Hector Tambasco  | 
| August 29, 1971 | Comunicaciones   | 10–1 (15–1 agg.) |  Diriangén | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Hernán Godoy    Omar Larrosa        | TBD  | 
- Comunicaciones advanced to the First Round.
First round
| August 22, 1971 | Aurora   | 2–1 |  Atlético Marte | |
| Alex Frank   Edgar Gonzalez  | TBD  | 
| August 29, 1971 | Atlético Marte   | 1–1 (2–3 agg.) |  Aurora | San Salvador, El Salvador | 
| Sergio Mendez  | Edgar Gonzalez  | Stadium: Flor Blanca Stadium | 
| September 19, 1971 | Motagua .svg.png.webp)  | 0–3 |  Saprissa | Tegucigalpa, Honduras | 
| Hernán Morales  10' Fernando Hernández  18' Edgar Marín  60' | Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Ramón Molinero (GUA) | 
| September 26, 1971 | Saprissa   | 2–0 (5–0 agg.) | .svg.png.webp) Motagua | San José, Costa Rica | 
| Odir Jacques  22'  65' | Stadium: Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá Referee: Ramón Molinero (GUA) | 
| September 26, 1971 | Comunicaciones   | 5–2 |  FAS | |
| Omar Larrosa    Oscar Molina    Hugo Torres  | David Cabrera   Ricardo “la Tuca” Gómez  | 
| October 3, 1971 | FAS   | 0–3 (2–8 agg.) |  Comunicaciones | Santa Ana, El Salvador | 
| Hernán Godoy  Peter Sandoval   Hugo Torres  | Stadium: Municipal de Santa Ana Stadium | 
| September 26, 1971 | Olimpia .svg.png.webp)  | 0–0 |  Alajuelense | Tegucigalpa, Honduras | 
| Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino | 
| October 12, 1971 | Alajuelense   | 1–0 (1–0 agg.) | .svg.png.webp) Olimpia | Alajuela, Costa Rica | 
| Walter Elizondo  | Stadium: Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium Attendance: 5,775 | 
- Aurora, Saprissa, Comunicaciones and Alajuelense advanced to the Second Round.
Second round
| November 7, 1971 | Aurora   | 1–2 |  Comunicaciones | Estadio Del Ejército | 
| Rolando Valdez  | Oscar Molina    | 
| November 14, 1971 | Comunicaciones   | 1–0 (3–1 agg.) |  Aurora | |
|  (o.g.) | 
| November 14, 1971 | Saprissa   | 1–5 |  Alajuelense | |
| Carlos Solano  52' | Mario Vega  27' Alfredo Piedra  47' Chávez  49' Victor Ruiz  65' Oscar Cordero  88' | 
| November 21, 1971 | Alajuelense   | 0–3 (5–4 agg.) |  Saprissa | |
| Francisco Hernández  5' Jaime Grant  10'  48' | 
Caribbean Zone
| September 30, 1971 | Transvaal .svg.png.webp)  | 3–1 |  Thomas United | |
|  Pierre | 
| Estrella .svg.png.webp)  | w.o. | .svg.png.webp) Aigle Noir | 
CONCACAF Final Tournament
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cruz Azul | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 8 | Forced to a playoff | 
| 2 | Alajuelense | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | |
| 3 | Comunicaciones | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 5 | |
| 4 | Rochester Lancers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | |
| 5 | Transvaal | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 4 | |
| 6 | Estrella | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | −20 | 0 | 
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| Rochester Lancers  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | 
| Comunicaciones  | 7–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | 
| Alajuelense  | 2–1 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | 
| Cruz Azul  | 1–1 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | 
| Cruz Azul  | 1–1 |  Rochester Lancers | 
| Comunicaciones  | 3–1 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | 
| Rochester Lancers  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | 
| Comunicaciones  | 1–2 |  Alajuelense | 
| Alajuelense  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | 
| Cruz Azul  | 9–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | 
| Cruz Azul  | 3–1 |  Alajuelense | 
| Comunicaciones  | 3–1 |  Rochester Lancers | 
| Transvaal .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | 
| Alajuelense  | 1–0 |  Rochester Lancers | 
| Cruz Azul  | 3–1 |  Comunicaciones | 
- After the end of the group stage a playoff match had to be played due to Cruz Azul and Alajuelense ended with the same points in the lead of the group.
- The final tournament was played in Guatemala City.
| Rochester Lancers   | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | Guatemala City, Guatemala | |
| Eli Durante   Carlos Dell’Omodarme  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 42,000 | 
| March 16, 1972 | Comunicaciones   | 7–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Héctor Tambasco       Carlos Guzmán   Enrique Mendoza   Antonio Rojas   Oscar Molina  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 42,000 | 
| March 14, 1972 | Alajuelense   | 2–1 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | |
| Emilio Valle    | Ismael Croes  | 
| March 14, 1972 | Cruz Azul   | 1–1 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Octavio Muciño  | Edwin Schal  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium | 
| March 16, 1972 | Cruz Azul   | 1–1 |  Rochester Lancers | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Manfred Seissler  | José Luis Desachy  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 25,000 | 
| March 16, 1972 | Comunicaciones   | 3–1 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Héctor Tambasco      | Edwin Schal  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 25,000 | 
| March 20, 1972 | Rochester Lancers   | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Francisco Escos   Charlie Mitchell  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 20,000 | 
| March 20, 1972 | Comunicaciones   | 1–2 |  Alajuelense | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Antonio Rojas  | Walter Elizondo    | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 20,000 | 
| March 22, 1972 | Alajuelense   | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Transvaal | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Roy Saénz   Emilio Valle  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 6,000 | 
| March 22, 1972 | Cruz Azul   | 9–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Octavio Muciño      Cesareo Victorino   Alberto Gómez   Fernando Bustos   Antonio Munguía  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium | 
| March 23, 1972 | Cruz Azul   | 3–1 |  Alajuelense | |
| Fernando Busto     Octavio Muciño  | Carlos Mejía  | 
| March 23, 1972 | Comunicaciones   | 3–1 |  Rochester Lancers | |
| Oscar Molina     Peter Sandoval  | Manfred Seissler  | 
| March 26, 1972 | Transvaal .svg.png.webp)  | 1–0 | .svg.png.webp) Estrella | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Edwin Schal  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 1,500 | 
| March 26, 1972 | Alajuelense   | 1–0 |  Rochester Lancers | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Walter Elizondo  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 40,000 | 
| March 26, 1972 | Cruz Azul   | 3–1 |  Comunicaciones | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 
| Octavio Muciño     Javier Guzmán  | Oscar Molina  | Stadium: Mateo Flores Stadium Attendance: 40,000 | 
Playoff
| Cruz Azul  | 5–1 |  Alajuelense | 
|---|---|---|
| Bustos  16' Vera  25', 60' Muciño  70', 75' (pen.) | Villalobos  43' | 
| Team details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 
 
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Champion
| CONCACAF Champions' Cup 1971 Champion | 
|---|
|  Cruz Azul Third title | 
References
- ↑ Copa de Campeones 1971 by Jim Goloboy and Karel Stokkermans on the RSSSF
- ↑ "Tercera Copa de Campeones CONCACAF 1971" on Reino Azul (blogsite), April 26, 2014
- ↑ Rickey, Jim (September 20, 1971). "Lancers Rout Bermuda, 4-1; DeRosa Says He's Quitying". Democrat and Chronicle. pp. 1D, 3D. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ↑ "Lancers Win in Overtime". Democrat and Chronicle. September 27, 1971. pp. 1D, 3D. Retrieved March 14, 2022.

















