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Liga MX-MLS rivalry stoked by player movement

By Thomas Buckley

Midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro left reigning Liga MX champ Monterrey in February to play for MLS expansion team Inter Miami. His move led to lots of grumbling about Liga MX losing ground to its neighboring league. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro left reigning Liga MX champ Monterrey in February to play for MLS expansion team Inter Miami. His move led to lots of grumbling about Liga MX losing ground to its neighboring league. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX vs MLS
Cruz Azul players lift trophy. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Rivalry between neighboring leagues has been very one-sided

Liga MX and MLS officials are conscious of the value of the rivalry and the mutual benefits that can be derived. The Campeones Cup – pitting the reigning MLS champ against the Liga MX Champions Cup winner in a one-game playoff – was created in 2018, and 40,000 people jammed into Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium to watch the home town United upset América 3-2 on Aug. 14, 2019.

That same summer, the inaugural Leagues Cup – designed specifically to provide additional inter-league matches – played out across the United States, pitting four MLS teams against four Liga MX teams. MLS teams failed to win a single match (0-2-3) though the LA Galaxy advanced out of the quarterfinals after a penalty kick shoot-out.

Cruz Azul hoisted the first-ever Leagues Cup trophy on Sept. 19, 2019, just a little more than four months after Monterrey extended Liga MX dominance in the Concacaf Champions Cup to 14 straight titles. Liga MX teams posted a 5-0-3 record against MLS clubs in Concachampions matches and both tournaments saw all-Mexican finals.

So, why all the hysteria?

The Round of 16 stage of 2020 Concacaf Champions League kicked off in mid-February, a full six weeks after the ball started rolling in Liga MX’s Clausura 2020. To their disadvantage, MLS teams were still in training camp, 10 days away from season openers.

Still, pundits cautioned that this could be the year MLS broke through. Only one first-round series offered a Liga MX-MLS clash and when LAFC emerged triumphant after a 3-0 second-leg win over León, there were lots of “I told you so” columns.

Unfortunately, after two big Liga MX wins over MLS rivals the Cruz Azul-LAFC quarterfinal contest was postponed and the tournament suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Liga MX enjoyed a 3-0-1 advantage in the head-to-head record.

Then came the “explosive” comments by Aguirre and “Hugol.” Except neither really said what the critics suggested they said.

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