Arabe Unido are six-time champions of Panama and are playing in the CONCACAF Champions League for the second time.




Arabe Unido opened the Group Stage with a 2-1 defeat to Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium last week. They led 1-0 with a goal from Armando Cooper before Alvaro Saborio scored twice, including a stoppage time penalty, to win the game for RSL.




RELATED: Arabe Unido v. Toronto Broadcast Info




Arabe Unido starting 11 vs. Real Salt Lake: Jose Calderon, Nahil Carroll, Fidel Cesar, Andres Santamaria, Eric Davis, Mario Sergio Angulo, Rolan DeLaCruz, Luis Jaramillo, Jose Justavinho, Victor Mendieta, Armando Cooper.




Arabe Unido had two players sent off during the defeat in Utah. Right back Nahil Carroll and central defender Andres Santamaria will both be suspended for the match against Toronto.




Three to watch:




[inline_node:4655]Jose Calderon is A 25-year-old goalkeeper who made his debut for the Panama National Team in 2005. He was in the squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2005 and 2007 but did not play. He signed for Arabe Unido recently after three years with Chepo, based in Panama City.




Jose Justavino is a 28-year-old midfielder who signed for Arabe Unido in 2008. He scored the winner in the 2010 Clausura final as Arabe Unido beat San Francisco 1-0 to lift the trophy. Justavino started his career with Plaza Amador in Panama City and also spent time playing in Argentina, and with in Honduras with Motagua. He has seven caps for Panama national team.




Armando Cooper is a Panama international midfielder/forward who has made over 100 appearances for Arabe Unido since signing for the club in 2006. He is a 22-year-old who was in the Panama squad at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Canada in 2007.




Champions League Last Year




Arabe Unido made it out of the Group Stage in the 09/10 Champions League finishing second in Group A behind Pachuca of Mexico. The Panamanians won three of their six matches and ended with 10 points. They played Houston Dynamo of MLS in the Group, losing 5-1 in Houston and drawing 1-1 in Panama.




Arabe Unido created one of the
biggest shocks
of last season’s CCL when they beat eventual CCL champions Pachuca 4-1 in front of barely 1,000 fans in Colón.




The Stadium



The match will not be played at Arabe Unido’s home stadium Estadio Armando Dely Valdez, located in Colon as it does not meet CONCACAF requirements. Instead, TFC will face Arabe Unido at Estadio Agustin Sanchez – known as The Muquita. The stadium has a capacity of 3000 and is located 30 kilometers southwest of Panama City in La Chorerra and is the home stadium of San Francisco FC who lost to Mexico’s Cruz Azul in the CCL Preliminary Round this year.
Discuss this with Luke on Twitter