Municipal
Hometown: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Manager: Guilherme Farinha (Portugal)
Qualification Method: 2009 Guatemalan Apertura champions
Champions League Appearances: 1; 2008-’09 Group Stage
Honors: 1974 CONCACAF Champions Cup, 28-time Guatemalan league champions
The most storied team in Guatemala has a new manager in charge after Uruguayan coach Manuel Keosseian moved on to head up legendary club Peñarol. With new Portuguese manager Guilherme Farinha at the helm, the defending Guatemalan champions are a relatively young team that will contribute 10 players to the Guatemalan national team’s September matches in the USA and Japan.
The squad features a few names American fans will be familiar with: former LA Galaxy midfielder Guillermo “El Pando” Ramirez, whose MLS Cup golden goal captured MLS Cup 2002, and former Guatemalan internationals Pablo Melgar and Juan Carlos Plata, who will retire at the end of the season. Municipal, the only Guatemalan side to win the old Champions Cup (1974), are just four games into their Guatemalan Apertura season and their fitness level still has room for improvement.