This was already tried last decade, and it went absolutely nowhere. The start for that version was like 100x more popular than this version. This tourney is DOA. I wouldn't be surprised if it's cancelled next year.
They already expanded it to 16 teams next year and talking about making it a 32 teams tournament in 2021.
You may be right but I doubt they consider this year a failure. Money made out of nothing with decently attended matches with reasonable tv viewership. They should give it an honest effort next year (better mls scheduling and promotion) and see what it looks like. If it’s not better competitively (ie the mls team’s actually try) then cancel it.
Playing their starting 11 from league matches is not trying? Interesting. Would love to see what trying looks like.
They didn't play their starting 11s, plus they took it easy on the pitch since these games were meaningless. If you want to see what happens when both leagues play best XIs, and try, check out the CCL results.
All Liga MX teams did play their starting 11. I follow both leagues but for those that don't follow Liga MX all you have to do is Google the line ups. Tijuana had the exact same line up they used against Puebla to go up against LA Galaxy. Enrique Bonilla did advise that all Liga MX teams take the cup seriously and to play with their best line ups. The entire point of this Cup is for Liga MX to replace it with Copa Libertadores.
What? I think you watched something else. Normal starting 11's were played. LA Galaxy C squad beat Tijuana starting 11. Club America only started 2 or 3 different guys against Houston than their league starting 11. Same for Cruz Azul against Chicago. Tigres had the most difference but still played most of their normal starting 11.
Go for it, but it was the exception, not the norm. LOL, I can't think of a non-offensive analogy here to describe how ridiculous this is. A mega prestigious continental tournament with a friendly kickabout on par with the ICC. My word. But whatever, the point is that this tourney is an exhibition, and does not prove anything. The CCL is the only proving ground.
You are right, it is an exhibition just for Liga MX teams. That is why they risked their starting players of injury and fatigue for a meaningless tournament. Unlike MLS who took it very seriously and fielded teams who had second stringers and academy players.
Lost in the Cruz Azul drama from last night, a gem of a quote about the @LeaguesCup from Victor Garcés:"It's a minor trophy. Our federation doesn't even care about our fans, because they went to play in the United States."— Eric Gomez (@EricGomez86) September 6, 2019
Yeah, he's right. If we had games in Mexico this would be a great tournament, though MLS probably wouldn't be able to deal with the travel.
I saw that. But what was also interesting was what Ricardo Pelaez replied to Victor Garces. The goal of every institution is to win titles, the league being the most important one. If you can't win the league then you try to win whatever presents itself. If you don't care about the Leagues Cup or any other Cup (Copa MX) just request to have Cruz Azul play and compete only for the Liga MX title. (Which this last part caught my attention as I wasn't aware teams could actually decline to compete in any extracurricular tournaments). Good point of views from both sides. One from the Sports Director and the other from one of the owners of Cruz Azul. I guess it just depends on the ambition each person in charge has. It is a big club, small club mentality.
They didn't risk, the players didn't give their all. Rewatch the games. No one said this league took it seriously either. Read the posts fully before responding. Both leagues treated it like the friendly kickabout it is. That really wouldn't change much, because it would still be a friendly, nonofficial tourney. Nothing is at stake. The CCL is where it's at, and that's never going to change.
You don't get to decide what's real and what isn't. Games are played with official rules, and with some kind of money and trophy at stake. Only history gets to decide what matters and what doesn't.
lol, you're right, I don't, FIFA and CONCACAF does. The CCL is the official club championship, the only way to the official world championship. That simply cannot be trumped, history has and will continue to prove this. This tourney isn't even Europe League level, it's not even the official tier 2 CONCACAF tournament, which will probably never exist. This is on par with the ICC, and will never prove anything, just like the ICC doesn't. The CCL shows which league is better, and that's that.
Probably true. Also probably true to say that nobody outside North America gives a monkeys about the Mexican league - I love the sport and yet didn't even know the league's name until I came onto these boards. It's a tin-pot backwater league that is light-years behind the big European leagues and has produced one (or maybe two?) world class players in living memory. You've never won a Copa Libertadores in 20 years of trying. So you getting all uppity about how much better it is than MLS - played in countries where soccer is maybe #4 team sport in terms of popularity, is pure chuckles. In fact it probably won't be long before MLS is better than the Mexican league, just as the rest of Latin America already is.
Since when has the rest of Latin America passed Mexico? Brazil and maybe Argentina...and who else? The answer is no one. And we can, and have, made massive strides to get closer to Liga MX but there is a way to go before we pass them as a league. So so far.