Mexico City.- Liga MX promised revenge in the second edition of the expanded Leagues Cup, but failed again by only qualifying two of its 18 teams to the Quarterfinals.
Seven teams were eliminated in the Group Stage. The most scandalous cases were those of Monterrey, which boasts one of the most expensive rosters in Latin American football, and Chivas, due to its tradition. These clubs had a farewell as premature as the modest Querétaro or Puebla.
In the Round of 32 there were more fallen soldiers, with clubs like Atlas, Santos, Juárez, Pachuca and Necaxa, the latter losing 5-0 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
With only six Liga MX representatives in the top 16, the list was further shortened as Toluca fell to Colorado Rapids, Tigres to New York City, while Pumas were thrashed 4-0 by Seattle Sounders. Cruz Azul also fell to Mazatlán.
In the previous edition, Monterrey and Querétaro were the only teams in the Quarterfinals. Once again, there is one with a high payroll like América and a modest one like Mazatlán.
A year ago, Liga MX had no representatives in the Semifinals.
América will face Colorado Rapids at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday; earlier, at 5:30 p.m., Mazatlán will face Philadelphia.
The change of rules did not work
Liga MX justified its poor performance in the previous edition of the Leagues Cup due to logistical problems, such as when León was stranded at the airport, in addition to the long transfers that affected the teams physically.
In addition, the players were not exactly happy about being away from home for a month.
The 2024 Leagues Cup established new guidelines for a more equitable competition, such as establishing home-field privileges for certain teams to play at the same venue during some rounds of the competition and not always as visitors against MLS teams.
None of this has served to increase the competitiveness of Mexican teams.
The unattractive economic prizes
Not only is the Copa Libertadores more prestigious than the Leagues Cup, but it also awards more prize money.
For example, the Leagues Cup champion receives a purse of two million dollars, while the Libertadores champion receives 23 million.
As a bonus, the Summer Cup
Six teams from the Liga MX Femenil competed against 14 from the National Women’s Soccer League.
The result? The Mexican teams made fools of themselves.
While Mexico is sweeping the board, América, Tigres, Monterrey and Chivas have shown that they are still far behind the Americans. In their defense, it must be said that the United States is a power in women’s soccer, not for nothing did they win the gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Águilas, Tigres, Guadalajara and Tijuana only won one of their three games. Rayadas and Pachuca fared worse, with three losses.
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