By Vijay Setlur
Olimpia realized last year how challenging the CONCACAF Champions League can be.
No stranger to international competition with 26 Champions' Cup appearances, much was expected from the most storied club in Honduran football.
But a meager pair of victories and outscored 8-6 in six matches left it behind eventual runner-up Atlante and Canadian second-division side Montreal in Group C.
Olimpia hopes to improve on its showing in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League when it hosts Arabe Unido of Panama Thursday at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino in a Preliminary Round series in the capital of Tegucigalpa.
The series will then shift to Estadio Augustin "Muquita" Sanchez in La Chorrera, Panama, for the second leg on August 6.
Despite qualifying automatically for the Group Stage last year, Olimpia this year was only second best of the Apertura/Clausura winners behind Marathon, which claimed the berth. That left Olimpia to slug it out through the Preliminary Round.
Olimpia, which also is dealing the death of three of its fans from clashes with supporters of rival Motagua over the weekend, will have to do it, though, without talismanic leader Wilmer Velasquez.
The 37-year-old striker, who is the Honduran league's all-time leading scorer, is recovering from a right knee injury.
That will place the offensive load on Ramiro Bruschi, who had six goals last season. He and his teammates will try to exploit an opponent that's making its Champions League debut.
Arabe Unido advanced to the Champions League after beating Tauro 3-2 in extra time to capture the 2008 Clausura.
The young club has success on the domestic front, reaching the final seven times in its 15 years in ANAPROF, Panama's top league, and will look to replicate it on the international stage.
Richard Parra will employ a two-man strike force in 24-year-olds Orlando Rodriguez and Manuel Mosquera, who combined for 29 of the team's 39 goals. Rodriguez led the 2008 Clausura with 18 goals, while Mosquera added 11 to finish tied for fourth in league scoring.
Arabe's motivation will stem from several roots, especially a willingness to make a mark internationally against one of Central America's most famous and storied clubs.
