Watching the Campeones Cup, and I wonder, what’s the point? Something I believe would be more entertaining is to assign a rival MLS team with a rival Mexican team. One game in Mexico during the MLS preseason and one game in USA during Mexican preseason. League with the most club wins is the winner of the tournament. For instance Atlanta - America Toronto - UANL Galaxy - Chivas LAFC - Tijuana NYRB - Pachuca NYCFC - Cruz Azul Seattle - Santos Laguna Portland - UNAM Dallas - Juarez Austin - Leon Houston - Monterrey Etc Let a little history build up between MLS and Mexico to make this game more interesting.
Shouldn't that be "Intracontinental Rival Game"? If it was with South America or Europe then it would be "Intercontinental".
If it's going to a league priority, why not block out two in season weekends. There are more top flight MLS clubs than LigaMX, so it would mean one of those MLS-lite weekends for those in MLS without a dance partner, which makes it a bit odd.
It feels as if it's being negotiated right now. We started seeing the stories a year ago, and there is a consistency to them that smacks of PR. this is a new one.
Let me give my club credit for being in 19th place, instead of the actual 22nd place they're sitting in. Veracruz is currently 19th in Liga MX. I wouldn't watch a Veracruz/Columbus match if it was being played on my front lawn. And I'd have a really hard time taking a competition seriously if the result of that match, and others like it, mattered in terms of the result.
Really? I mean, if they were playing that match on my front lawn ( i don't have a front lawn, apartment in the middle of town, but if I did) I'd watch that. If nothing else, I'd wonder how the lawn would hold up to a professional match. I'd also be interested in seeing how they worked around the size of the yard, the shrubs, the gnomes, the water feature. In my mind, my front lawn is really weird.
I heard about a month back that the Liga MX wanted to seriously consider a League with MLS. I like this idea, a lot, and if I could be Dictator in chief, what I’d do... MLS has 20+ teams, Liga MX has only 19 teams which is odd but whatever... to make it 20, I would give a spot to either the best in CONCACAF outside of US/Mexico, USL, 1st place in Mexican second tier, or CPL. From there, top ten teams in the MLS east and MLS west qualify. Liga MX teams all automatically qualify. Do away with the CONCACAF champions league... as it is a pointless tournament. And make a 8 group, 5 team, home & away, 8 league games total before knockout rounds, style league tournament between MLS and Liga MX. Get the games either on ESPN or FS. And, that’s a pretty good tournament that would add prestige to the two leagues.
This is where we might actually see some form of promotion and relegation. 10 of 30 MLS sides play in a 20 team MLigaXS. the other 20 play in MLS. Okay, probably not, but I could see this as far more of a possibility for MLS agreeing to a form of pro/rel, creating a league above MLS, that clubs can aspire to, rather than one below to which it can be dragged down.
I agree. MLS wants playoffs. They don’t want relegation. Personally, I favor this system over the traditional promotion/relegation format. Every team is working hard to get into the main show, but if they fail, there’s always next year. What I envision... MLS West -Conference Champion, Playoffs (bye, home), Super League 1. Los Angeles FC -Playoffs (home), Super League 2. LA Galaxy 3. Seattle Sounders 4. Portland Timbers -Playoffs (away), Super League 5. FC Dallas 6. Minnesota United 7. Sporting Kansas City -NO playoffs, Super League 8. Real Salt Lake 9. San Jose Earthquakes 10. Houston Dynamo -NO playoffs, NO Super League 11. Colorado Rapids 12. Vancouver Whitecaps 13. Saint Louis 14. Austin FC 15. ~TBD 16. ~TBD (possible further expansion) 17. ~TBD 18. ~TBD *repeat the same formula for the East. *at 16/18 teams, teams would just play in their Conference, home/away, for 30/34 games total. Teams outside of conference could meet in the playoffs or in the Super League. Example of a possible group (1 out of 8) in the SuperLeague 1. CD Guadalajara 2. Pachuca 3. LA Galaxy 4. New York Red Bulls 5. DC United teams play 8 extra games, home/away.
Late to the party but going back to the Campeones Cup. I like the idea and all just don't like that it is only played in the US. Maybe have the Copa MX and USOC winners play too another "cup" but have that game in Mexico instead. Then keep on alternating every year (Campeones Cup in Mexico and Copa MX vs OSOC winners in US and so on and so forth change every year). Something similar to this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi-Egyptian_Super_Cup This year it could have been Atlanta United vs America in the Campeones Cup in the US. And Necaxa (Copa MX winner) vs Houston Dynamo (USOC winner) in Mexico.
I think that defeats one of the primary advantages LigaMX sees out this deal. they're kind of maxxed out in Mexico, and while popular there is room to grow in the US. Also, they need MLS to win a fwe of these things so that it will seem important when they begin beating MLS again. In an ideal world for both, MLS would win a CCL or two.
According to Bonilla of Liga MX they are planning on doing Leagues Cup home and away series. A Campeones Cup/US Cup & MX Cup home and away is no different than what they are trying to do. I agree, MLS needs to start winning some of these to make it interesting. A CCL would help too but MLS has so many things against it (some are of its own doing) that it will be difficult to achieve.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...e-santos-atlas-president-sees-mutual-benefits Well it seems like this thread might see some life with this news. Reading some of the views was interesting as they were from a year ago but some I think aren't far from what might happen. . Personally I look at pro/rel as something that would never happen in MLS because you would lose the ability to protect the investment so many expansion teams made. How could you justify a team from USLC getting promoted in the future and an expansion teams losing their investment? Of course if you started a super league with Liga MX well that could protect that investment and possibly even increase the value even more. . One of the things about MLS I've believe after following for so many years is when you hear a rumor it's probably going to happen eventually. Thinking outside the box I look for ways this could happen and hints of things that lead in that direction. Leagues Cup I believe is a hint as well as Campeones Cup. . Looking at Liga MX and the fact that they are paying teams that reached the criteria to get promoted makes me wonder if there is more to that. At the same time they basically said their D2 will be used much in the same way as USLC is with MLS in developing young players. What if the idea is to give the twelve teams five years to build up infrastructure to move up to a thirty team Liga MX? The two leagues could create a twenty team super league of two divisions of ten with pro/rel while protecting expansion investment. . Set it up so teams from the new league would qualify for CONCACAF except Canadian teams who would stay with their current qualification process. This would leave Leagues Cup for MLS & Liga MX and Open Cup for both. Obviously Campeones Cup would go away but not until the new league starts. I look at these new competitions and scratched my head a little but now I wonder if it's too get more fans in both leagues more familiar with different teams from the other league. . Stream lining everything with the two leagues and playoffs would be necessary. You could play a 38 game season with home and away against every team now as you've broken up some schedule congestion. Next is six team one and done playoffs with division winners getting a first week bye.. MLS & Liga MX champions are promoted to their respective division as the last place team goes back down to MLS and Liga MX. Stagger the season a week apart with the new Super League of North America finishing last. (Didn't want to doom it with the NASL abbreviation) . I think this could check a lot of boxes at the same time keeping some of the ideas that work here in North America. Protects investment while at the same time might generate way more revenue. You would probably need to get rid of single entity but a switch to some sort of franchise model with revenue sharing. Keep the cap but maybe more like baseball where they spend what they want but with a tax if you go over the cap. Summer season will be hard to change but you'll have a little longer season. Since both leagues have playoffs that shouldn't be a problem. . So league announced say 2025 to start in 2028 just in time to take advantage of the North America hosted World Cup bump in 2026.