2019/20 Apertura: The finals Week 18: Football was overshadowed by the death of a player, much too young: En honor a Diana González QEPD www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lvTpbz4VvM "The week was marred with tragedy however as Club América forward Diana González passed away due to hypoglycemia. The 26 year old passed away on Friday, with men’s and women’s teams across Mexico observing a moment of silence in her memory. The match between América and Cruz Azul was postponed, with a heart-wrenching tribute taking place prior to the match." - (fmfstateofmind.com) América Femenil 1 - 1 Cruz Azul - (Espinosa 31' - Enciso 59') www.youtube.com/watch?v=x99ju85LzU0 Week 19: The end of the regular season. Re-entering the playoffs, Toluca marked their return with a win and took 6th place, but Chivas finished 5th on goal-difference with an impressive victory at Pachuca (3rd). Toluca 2 - 0 Santos - (Silvia López 51', Becerril 83') www.youtube.com/watch?v=EywxPn2-szw Pachuca 1 - 2 Chivas Guadalajara - (Yaritzi Rodríguez 90'p - Rubí Soto 56', María Sánchez 73') www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZVw4ObVMX8 So, it's time for the playoffs, the Liguilla, with the final of the Apertura likely to be in December. The top 8 finishers were Monterrey 48pts, Tigres 43, Pachuca 36, América 32, Guadalajara, 31, Toluca 31, Tijuana 29, Atlas 28pts. Goal difference denied 9th-place Morelia (28pts). Who'll win? The new 19-team league format has really made Monterrey look strong - they've had a great 2019/20 so far, with 16 wins, 0 draws and 2 losses, and Espinosa scored almost a goal per game. Tigres, defending their title, won every game for 2 months - Tigres' playoff opponents, Tijuana, are in their first playoffs. And, as luck would have it, there's another Súper Clásico too... This weekend: Quarter finals: Atlas (#8) v Monterrey (1) Tijuana (#7) v Tigres (2) Toluca (#6) v Pachuca (3) Guadalajara (#5) v América (4) 1st leg: NO GOALS in the first two games!??!?? QF 1st leg: Atlas 0 - 0 Monterrey www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1bepPRsSvA 1st leg: Xolas Tijuana 0 - 0 Tigres UANL Full match: youtu.be/VqEIWKD5avI&t=3m25s (Contains flashing lights - video should skip past that) The other two games have gone with the favourites: 1st leg: Toluca 1 - 4 Pachuca - (Abud 36' - Salazar 18', 35', Madrid 66', López 83') www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYDyahphkUs 1st leg: Chivas Guadalajara 0 - 2 América - (Espinosa 1', Muñoz 26') www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnFczQEEIC4 The return match of Tigres-Tijuana might be streamed live on Sunday night.
The quarter-finals are finished - Monterrey were very lucky to advance. The 8th seed Atlas had good chances to score an away goal, which would have knocked Monterrey out. QF 2nd leg: Rayadas Monterrey 1 - 0 Atlas, 1-0 agg. (Diana Evangelista 49') The 3rd seed Pachuca completed a 5-3 aggregate QF victory, despite Toluca's 2-1 win in the return game. The América-Chivas 2nd game was rather badly organized at the small Coapa ground. Semi-finals from Thu 21 Nov Pachuca (#3) v Tigres UANL (2) América (#4) v Rayadas Monterrey (1)
Semi-finals: Another quiet week with almost no incident 1st leg ! Pachuca 3 - 1 Tigres UANL ! (Mónica Ocampo 53', Lizbeth Ángeles 58', 82' - María Elizondo 12') Match report: Milenio.com América had it. América blew it!... 1st leg América 2 - 2 Rayadas Monterrey (Valera 9', Espinosa 52' - Bernal 73'p, Aviléz 90') The first finalist will be decided on Sunday evening, Tigres v Pachuca - can the home side make a 2-goal comeback?
Oh my word Tigres are leading Pachuca and will probably win the semi-final. With a few minutes to go it's 5-3 on aggregate. Gol de L. Rangel | Tigres 2-0 Tuzos | Apertura 2019 Semifinales www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-SwXP9PIKM A word about attendances in the Apertura: the average is up to 2,200 per match (more than the previous high of 2,000 in the Clausura in early 2018), despite the extra clubs and matches now. Tonight's semi-final game at Tigres has attracted over 33,000 fans, and for the first time, three clubs had 5,000 every game on average: Tigres, new club Atlético San Luis, and Pachuca. But some blemishes were the terrible numbers at Veracruz, and the lowest for a single match at Tijuana.
A double for Katty Martínez, the hotshot goalscorer - Tigres turn it around, and reach their 4th final in a row: Semi-final 2nd leg: Tigres UANL 4 - 0 Pachuca (Agg: 5-3) Martínez 24', 81' Rangel 45', Santellan og 48' www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l5IcE7gmr4 Full match video: 1st half / 2nd half (Tigres Youtube) Match report: Milenio (Archive) El Color Tigres vs Pachuca. Semifinal VUELTA Liga BBVA MX Femenil. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFDHc8M4x7k Today is the 2nd semifinal decider, on Monday night (20:00 CT, 02:00 GMT) Monterrey's Rayadas have home advantage and lead on away goals, but can América possibly find a way through?
It's Monterrey, but not by much! Their top scorer Desiree Monsiváis didn't get a goal, but forced an own goal that swung the match: Semi-final 2nd leg: Rayadas Monterrey 2 - 1 América (Agg: 4-3) (Valeria Valdez 12', Jaidy Gutiérrez og 18' - Lucero Cuevas 46') www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZIU61UPJhY Goals with commentary: Fox Sports MX Match report: LaTarde.com.mx If América had equalized and the game ended totally level after 180 minutes, Monterrey would have still advanced as the higher seed - AFAIK that rule has been used several times in the men's Liga MX, but never in the women's... So, the final is a Clásico Regio, a Nuevo Leon derby again! Tigres UANL (#2) v Monterrey (#1)Last time Tigres took the honours. The 1st leg is at UANL's stadium on Friday night (Nov 29).
Final - Apertura 2019 #lafinalesdeellas It's all over now - the 1st leg is available to watch in full in two halves, the 2nd leg isn't because they sold it to Fox Sports ... Enjoy! Tigres vs. Rayadas (Final de Ida, Apertura 2019, 1er. tiempo) www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWK5BTQ9PY0 Tigres vs. Rayadas (Final de Ida, Apertura 2019, 2do. tiempo) www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxVpAkaVazs Both matches' highlights: 1st leg: Tigres UANL 1 - 1 Rayadas Monterrey (Belén Cruz 4' - Annia Mejía 53') www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MxYYHwDo_M And the vuelta... New name on the ! 2nd leg: Rayadas 1 - 0 Tigres - (Agg: 2-1) (Diana Evangelista 31') www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyRr78sYc-I Video of the winning goal is on the Liga page - someone else posted longer highlights that may not survive. Match reports 1st leg - https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2019/11/29/20988688/2019-liga-mx-femenil-final-first-leg-match-recap-tigres-uanl-1-monterrey-1-belen-cruz-annia-mejia (Archive) 2nd leg - https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2019/12/7/21000687/2019-liga-mx-femenil-final-match-recap-monterrey-1-tigres-uanl-0-raydas-champions (Archive) Apertura regular season table https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneo_Apertura_2019_(Liga_MX_Femenil)#Tabla_General Liguilla (playoffs) bracket https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneo_Apertura_2019_(Liga_MX_Femenil)#Liguilla Interviews after the final: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sciahQDkd0
After the upheavals at Veracruz and its money troubles, the entire club ceased to exist in late 2019 - so, the women's league is back to 18 teams. About Mexican players, a good post-season article: Playing soccer in the NCAA is a difficult (but not impossible) choice for Liga MX Femenil players - https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2019...impossible-choice-for-liga-mx-femenil-players "While Liga MX Femenil continues to gain renown as one of the better leagues throughout the world, it’s inevitable that we’ll see more players move from Mexico abroad. We’ve seen this already as Cecilia Santiago moved from Club América to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands in the summer of 2019 as well as more recent rumors surrounding Katty Martínez and Jackie Ovalle heading to the Houston Dash." - (FMF State of Mind) But Martínez and Ovalle remained as Tigres players when the season re-started in January 2020! The full list of signings and departures is in this web page, made by Amelia Lopez and Melissa Hernandez: Liga MX Femenil Clausura 2020: Preseason Moves & Rumor Tracker - http://futmexnation.com/2019/12/24/liga-mx-femenil-clausura-2020-preseason-moves-rumor-tracker/ (Archive) Moves included forward Stephany Mayor and centre-back Bianca Sierra (to Tigres), and the exit of América striker Lucero Cuervas on loan (to Xolos Tijuana). Mayor, Sierra and Cuervas(photos: Jamie Smed cc-by / Hmlarson cc-by-sa eleven legends cc-by) 2020 Clausura Week 1 No goal for Cuervas on her Tijuana debut... but Renae Cuéllar opened the year with a hat-trick! Full match here: Xolos Tijuana vs Querétaro - Jornada 1 - CL2020 | En vivo www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKnotkushk&t=7m05s Chivas played an unbelievable 3-3 match at Cruz Azul last year, and the clubs drew 2-2 in the opening game of 2020 in Guadalajara. Also, the beaten semifinalists Pachuca won their opening game 3-1 v León, with goals by Paola López, Viridiana Salazar and Karla Nieto (and Diana García for León). Those two matches: ¡Revive los goles de la Jornada 1 de la Liga MX Femenil! www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoFJL6ZYWbg A strong start for América against Juárez, who'll hope to improve on finishing 18th in their first season América 3 - 0 Juárez Estefania Fuentes 20', Daniela Espinosa 58', Jana Gutiérrez 78' www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsk3O6zjYuY Atlas began with a win after their impressive playoff performance in November: Gol de Joana Robles | Necaxa 0 - 3 Atlas www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKdjopuziqc Monarcas upset last season's 6th-place finisher: Monarcas Morelia 2 - 0 Toluca Maria Cruzaley 45'p, Michell Guerrero 68'p ^ Two penalty kicks were the only highlights (...Why would you not trust your 1st penalty scorer to take the 2nd?) And 2 teams outside the playoffs last time, Puebla won their opener, with Mirelle Arciniega scoring 2, away at Pumas UNAM at the university: Pumas Femenil 0 - 3 Puebla Femenil www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkvP_PsA1ds Also a win for San Luis: ATLÉTICO DE SAN LUIS 3-1 SANTOS LAGUNA Estefania Izaguirre 26', 85', Daniela Carrandi 81' - Cinthya Peraza 64'p As usual, the matchday was summarized by Eugene Rupinski: https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2020/1/8/21055845/2020-liga-mx-femenil-clausura-recap-week-1 (Archive)
It's not that "they got that many" to join/buy in. The idea when the league launched was that every DI men's team were required to field a DI women's team. So it was mandated from the FMF. Liga MX Femenil is odd in that sense, since their league's composition depends on the pro/rel and financial realities of a different league.
Matchday 2 Fuentes headed América to their 2nd win Cruz Azul 1 - 2 América Marylin Díaz 47' / Marlyn Campa 35', Estefanía Fuentes 58' www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8rTBLkOZc0 A good result for Juárez after their difficult apertura rookie season. The former champions Chivas visited in a very exciting 0-0 Juárez v Chivas Guadalajara Finalists Tigres and Rayadas had their 2020 opening games after a bye week - each won by a single-goal margin (v Leon and Pachuca) Los goles de la Jornada 2 de la Liga MX Femenil www.youtube.com/watch?v=S38gBxO96L4 First win for Toluca, first defeat for Xolas, a 2019 playoff pair Toluca 2 - 1 Tijuana Mariel Román 68', 74' / Lucero Cuevas 80' www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzr4TTyo5v4 Another W for Atlas, but only late: Atlas 3 - 2 Monarcas Morelia - (Fabiola Ibarra 49'p, Fabiola Ibarra 84', Ana Anayeli Rodríguez 92' / Liliana Hernández 20', Alejandra Calderón 57') - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppDTxUfoAkw ↓ Does this commentator say "Kikiriki"? The end is also confusing - I dunno if the handball penalty appeal (96') and freekick (101') were related. Puebla 1 - 1 Querétaro Karym Iturbe 15' / Lupita Worbis 45' ATLÉTICO SAN LUIS 1-2 PUMAS UNAM Ramona Paredes 70' / Laura Herrera 40', Dania Padilla 44' Santos Laguna 2 - 2 Necaxa Isela Ojeda 15', Cinthya Peraza 85'p / Paulina Castro 7', Saira López 14 And the weekly roundup in the form of writingshttps://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2020/1/15/21064581/2020-liga-mx-femenil-clausura-recap-week-2 (Archive)
Another one from January: Matchday 3 Some goals Chivas Guadalajara 4 - 3 León Yashira Barrientos 17', 55', Miriam García 76', Rubí Soto 90' - Diana García 54', Claudia Cid 65', Joselyn De La Rosa 87' www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agtwksp1T3U The champions were held to a draw at the university (with The Singing Commentator) Pumas UNAM 2 - 2 Rayadas Monterrey Deneva Cagigas 23', Daniela García 85' / Desirée Monsiváis 35', 50' www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg48f848MzQ ↓ These two were in very close playoff contention last time, but Atlas' record has been a whole lot better in 2020, 2nd place now. (WARNING: more singing) Cruz Azul 0 - 1 Atlas Alison González 12' / RC: Cinthia Huerta - Zellyka Arce www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q88xDxD5eQ Santos Laguna kept this one close, but are still winless in their first 9 games in 2020 América 3 - 2 Santos Laguna Alexia Villanueva 23', Marlyn Campa 61', 63' / Cinthya Peraza 55', Andrea Hurtado 65' www.youtube.com/watch?v=onLjaxCOiek And there were away wins for the previous bottom two clubs, Juarez and Necaxa. The club half-owned by Atlético Madrid, Atlético San Luis, won surprisingly 2-1 at Pachuca. Toluca got a point in a tough venue at Tigres in Monterrey. But from Toluca reaching the last playoffs, they've struggled this year. Only 7pts in 10 games. Tigres UANL 1 - 1 Toluca Blanca Solís 22' - Mariel Román 45' And the live game at Xolas: Tijuana - Puebla | En vivo www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E2GbAhSZwk&t=6m45s Rupinski's write-ups https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2020/1/22/21074701/2020-liga-mx-femenil-clausura-recap-week-3 (Archive)
⬤ Horrible news in Mexico at the moment - coronavirus deaths doubled in a day to more than 1,000 people on 3 June 2020. https://www.msf.org/msf-opens-two-covid-19-centres-northeastern-mexico ⬤ The football season was abandoned on 15 March - the Liga MX/Femenil have mercifully announced its cancellation, rather than try to persevere in this mess. The women's 2019/20 Clausura had played 9 weeks. https://www.fmfstateofmind.com/2020...il-announce-cancellation-of-the-2020-clausura Of course there were some great games in February and March I'd like to post later, but now isn't the time.
Upheavals at two clubs – preparing to leave their home cities. ⬤ 'Monarcas' Morelia is no more, after 70 years of history in the central city. The club is moving to the northwestern coastal city of Mazatlán. https://www.transfermarkt.com/monar...ub-wants-to-play-in-mazatlan/view/news/361884 (Archive) ⬤ And Querétaro may move, if it accepts a takeover bid by club Atlante, which would move it to Cancun or Mexico City, maybe in 2021/22. Atlante has a 2nd division men's club, but now they can't get promoted because promotion/relegation will be cancelled for 5 years and Liga MX is hoping to merge the men's league with the American one because that makes perfect sense ... What, did the Guatemala league turn them down?
To add to the above, the move and rebrand is complete for the former Monarcas. Enter Mazatlan FC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazatlán_F.C.
Also, Frankie Oviedo conducts first practice at Tijuana, and several teams test for C19. Some positive results over several teams. http://www.ligafemenil.mx/
also---and maybe this should be in its own thread, but I'm not sure it's followed all that well---there is apparently a second tier, but Liga MXF does not relegate to it. I can find very little about it except it is put into regions. I see no info on teams. nybody aware of this? Are there B teams of LMXF clubs? If so, does Tijuana have one?
Before LMXF was formed, there were previous WoSo leagues in Mexico, and I know they've continued aside from the one that was directly replaced by LMXF. There are no B teams to my knowledge. "Promotion and relegation" is really weird in LMXF because the idea was pro/rel would be decided not by performance in LMXF by by the performances of the associated BroSo teams in LMX itself. That's not how things have exactly worked out, but that was the original idea. (Which probably helps explain why there are no B teams.)
⬤ The biggest change for women's Liga MX players, the maximum age limit is gone after three seasons. (I think by last season the maximum age was 25?) When the 2020/21 season will get underway is still in the balance. In July, the start was pushed back to 14 August, but no schedules are released. A new Phil Neville in Mexico? Exciting stuff! Oviedo has a family connection at the club too, his daughter Valentina Oviedo has played there for a few years and was selected by Colombia in February. At Guadalajara they fired Ramón Villa Zevallos, saying the coach and club disagreed about player development - he's replaced by a familiar face from the Chivas men's team, Edgar 'Chore' Mejía. Mejía: "I'm here" The thread can probably stretch to another division I guess it's this one: Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Femenil, known as LIMEFFE – the wiki article is from 2016, but their Facebook page is still up to date. Sounds like it's divided into several zones now – it used to have the 'Superliga' (a short video from 2015 is online, with clubs Coyotas and Rio Soccer). I haven't heard about B-teams but will keep a look out..
It was officially started as a developmental league. Not only did they limit the number of players over a certain age, (initially no more than four over-23 players per roster,) all players had to be Mexican. No internationals, not even Mexican-Americans. They now allow Mexican-Americans IIRC, and the age limit got bumped up each year so players didn't "age out" until apparently now they've eliminated the age limit.
Overview of all the teams in the league. https://www.allforxi.com/2020/8/10/...-2020-apertura-preview-how-to-watch-pick-club
As mentioned before, here are a few highlights from much earlier this year - the abandoned season. (I'll catch up on current matches sometime next year ) 2020 Clausura One piece of good news was the women's Liga reaching its highest average attendance so far, 2,417 in the Clausura 'season' from Jan-March, even without playoffs. It's seemingly the third-highest in world women's football, but England in 2019/20 increased even more to 3,000. San Luis continued its great support, despite Atlético's losing record in their second tournament, with 7,316 fans per match and 17,000 at this week 4 game: Atlético de San Luis 0 - 2 Chivas Guadalajara Yashira Barrientos 49', María Velázquez 90' www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBqFaHkmsIg Who would have won the playoff final? This was as close as we got - Tigres and Atlas, the top 2, squared off in week 5: Tigres UANL 2 - 0 Atlas, 3 Feb 2020 Belén Cruz 35', Miah Zuazua 50' www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V63EargWjQ Full match on Tigres' channel: youtube.com/watch?v=PZRQsZbJZWI Juárez found it hard to win points, and their young supporters were feeling the pressure Final score 1-1 v Cruz Azul, then Juárez lost 4-3 at UNAM - and Juárez ended in 16th place after a 0-0 home draw v the last champions, Monterrey. Tigres ended the season as the top team, with wins including a 3-1 v Pachuca (6th) - two goals by Stefany Mayor, Tigres' top goalscorer. Morelia's last match under that club identity was a 3-0 win away at Querétaro. In a shock result before the league was stopped, 5th-place club América were well beaten at Tijuana, with two goals for Renae Cuéllar. Xolas Tijuana 3 - 0 América, 2 Mar 2020 (full match) www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4GF7uwgknY&t=7m Highlights: Resumen MX The rest is history, as the season was unable to be resolved. Bizarrely, the final week had a big crowd at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, before fans were banned at games the next day. On a W-D-L basis, Tigres, Atlas and Monterrey had the three best records. A couple of other stories from the off-season: ⬤ On the line: Footballers were left fearing for their careers during the prolonged break in 2020, and seventy players were still without a club in June. ⬤ Coming out: Some famous players in the league are openly gay and have faced stigma for it. With their actions now, they're hoping to change attitudes on the topic. "Labels shouldn't matter, but I think it is necessary to use them because this is how we are going to change and break stereotypes."
Apertura 2020/21 It's nearly at the quarterfinal stage, which will start on Friday. These were some top games in the first part of the season: Weeks 1–10: Mazatlán's first home game began with a goal by Liliana Hernández in week 2, but Tigres came away from the Pacific coast with a win, 4-1 (Katty Martínez 2). Martínez had missed the previous game due to a positive Covid-19 test. Two teams who've had a great season and will meet in the Liguilla, the playoffs: Atlas [red/black] 3 - 3 Querétaro [white], 29 Aug - (Sofía Álvarez 24', Mayra Santana 48', 58' / Alison González 35', 46', Paola García 68) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3oH7X7luo Pumas UNAM are also entering the quarter-finals in 6th place, knocking Pachuca down into 8th. In their matchup in week 6, Pumas won 4-1 with two Jaquelin García goals. Club América have secured 5th place with some impressive results including the biggest score, 8-0 in week 8 against Mazatlán (in 10th place). But ahead of América by a point, it's another playoff finish for Chivas (4th), who beat the champions in week 10: Rayadas Monterrey 2 - 4 Chivas Guadalajara, 6 Oct - (Daniela Solís 29', Aylinn Avilez 93' / Alicia Cervantes 25', 48', María Sánchez 38', Norma Palafox 64') www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZTUoGi2Rbw In week 10, Tigres won 1-0 over América and were in 1st place, which they didn't relinquish in the rest of the 17-week regular season. The SB Nation blog did a club-by-club review in week 12.
So, the Liguilla quarter-finals start on Friday with four games across the day. It's the same for the return games on Monday (30th); some of the playoffs might be live online worldwide. Recent matches in weeks 11–17: Tigres have won 15 games out of 17 this season, but they suffered their first defeat since last December's final. Monterrey (3rd) got an away win on 15 Nov: Tigres UANL 1 - 2 Rayadas Monterrey Katty Martínez 31′p / Christina Burkenroad 14′, Rebeca Bernal 24′ www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hnhsoBRqJ4 But Rayadas didn't get 2nd place, because Atlas took it from them. In an action-packed match a week ago, Atlas became league runners-up, on goal difference. After their best run of results, can they ride this wave all the way to the final? Atlas 3 - 1 Rayadas Alison González 14'p, 51', 55'p / Dinora Garza 37' www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUOuTOGpKlQ In preparation for their crunch quarter-final matchup this week, América won the regular-season 'Clásico Nacional' against Chivas, 2-1, but couldn't overtake them and Chivas (4th) ended ahead by 1 point. Some teams fell from their former playoff places – as well as Tijuana (16th), who had lost their manager Carla Rossi, the past qualifier Toluca (15th) ended in a slump of 7 defeats in 8 games. Even the perennial strugglers Necaxa (18th) beat Toluca 2-1. Pachuca have taken 8th place, and so they have the hardest task in the quarter-final against 1st-placed Tigres. Rayadas 2 - 2 Pachuca, 6 Nov Desirée Monsiváis 16', 75'p / Viridiana Salazar 27', Lizbeth Ángeles 61' www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XDVgMPAZSo These were the Apertura standings at the end of the regular season. The top 8 continue today: