Mexican League for Dummies FMM21

Mexican League for Dummies

Disclaimer: This articles is an edition of an article I posted one year ago. Said article was meant to describe why the mexican league would be a great addition to FMM20. Since then, as you may know, we have found out that the mexican league will be appearing in FMM21, and also, which you might not know, the mexican league structura has changed a lot. In this series of articles I pretend to expand on my past article and update it to recent changes. Here is said article: 

 

The article, will cover the same topics as the last one in addition to a couple more:

1. How the league works? (It is a complex one)
2. Some (not so fun) facts
3. Relationship with MLS and Canadian League (another new addition) (article expansion)
4. Expansion (Second Division) League (article expansion)
5. Historic and best teams
6. Former players
7. Best youth prospects
8. Recommended Challenges

I will be editing my original article and posting the updates here. Until then!

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by S4NCH0

[S4NCH0]

How Liga Mx works?

 

Liga Mx (Mx League) is complex. No, Liga Mx is very complex. So read carefully if you wish to understand.

 

The league currently has 19 teams, although it has recently started an expansion project which saw them add a team this season and which most probably will see them add a 20th team before long. The league has 4 important aspects to be discussed in today’s article:

 

1.- Short Season format

2.- The “liguilla” (or playoffs) 

3.- Continental Qualification

3.- Relegation 

4.- Promotion

 

1.- Short Season Format

 

The first curiosity Liga MX has to offer is the format. Contrary to european leagues, where seasons go from the last days of August to the last days of May, in Mexico every year two seasons are played, the Clausura (Closure) and Apertura (Opening ) seasons are played from January to May and from July to December, respectively (yes the names seem out of place to me too). 

Both are what’s called a Torneo Corto (or Short Tournament) and each has its own champion. Therefore, Liga Mx has a new titleholder every 6 months or so. The champions of the Clausura and Apertura of each year, play each other in a recently created and mostly insignificant, Campeón de Campeones (which roughly translates to Champions among Champions). 

As a side note, and also following the Short Season format, we have Copa MX (Which last edition will be played in November 2020 so it will most probably only appear one season in FMM21) . Copa Mx is an Interdivisional cup which faces First and Second Division teams against each other. First Division teams who don't qualify for international competitions (more on that later) and the worst positioned Second Division teams are not included in the tournament. The Cup is played in a group format which then turns into knockout rounds. The winner then plays an also recent and also insignificant Super Cup, against the winner of the corresponding Torneo Corto. 

 

Coming back to the league format, each team (there are 18) plays each other once. The point system is normal, with three points for each win, 1 point for each draw and 0 per defeat.

 

The teams play 17 games in total for the regular season. I say regular season since the top 12 teams at the end of the 17 games, qualify to the Playoff round, known in Mexico as the Liguilla (“little league”). Hold tight because things, will start to get complicated.

 

2.- La Liguilla (The Little League)

The league format was changed in August 2020. It got even more complicated. 

As I was saying, the top 12 teams qualify for the Liguilla, which directly transalates to Little League. But this Liguilla (or playoff) is divided in two. The Repechaje (which also translates to playoff, but is more a pre-playoff) and the Liguilla. The Repechaje is a playoff to enter the final playoffs. To it qualify the teams who end in the positions 5 to 12. The games are two legged and are played in layers which means the 5th plays the 12th, the 6th the 11th, the 7th the 10th and the 8th the 9th. The winners of these mathces qualify to a new playoff where the first for teams of the regular tournament are already seeded. The 1st place plays the winner of the 5vs12, the 2nd placed plays the winner of the 6vs11 and so on. 

 

This final playoff is also two-legged and it starts with Quarter Finals. Each encounter from the Quarter finals all the way to the Final, consists of two legs, with the highest ranked team playing at home for the closing match. In case of a draw, the first tie breaker is the Away goals scored. In case both scores are the same, and hence both away goals, the next sorting criteria will be position on the regular season, with the higher placed team going through. So, there’s no place for penalties neither in the QF nor in the SF. The Final is a slightly different story since the two aforementioned criterion do not apply. If the Grand Finale finishes in a global draw after 180 minutes, regardless of goals scored and position of each team, the teams will have to play an Extra Time and, if necessary, penalties. 

 

3.- Continental Qualification

 

Mexico is situated in North America (hope you already knew that) and hence its part of CONCACAF. Said confederation hosts the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) every year, in which teams from Mexico, USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other North American/Caribbean countries participate. 

 

As a quick fact, Mexico has always dominated North American soccer and the CCC is no exception. Let’s have a look at the Overall performances by club and by country, and well see Mexico comes out on top of them both:

 

So, who qualifies for the CCC? 

 

The winners and runner-ups of both Clausura and Apertura, which subsequently loose the chance to play that year’s Copa MX. 

 

Now in FMM2021, winning the CCC would be fairly easy with most Mexican teams. However, after winning the CCC, you’ll qualify for the Club’s World Championship, which regardless of the countless times Mexico has been represented at said tournament, no Mexican team has ever been crowned as World Champions. There’s a nice challenge for you. 

 

4.- Relegation

Here’s where things will get very complicated. Contrary to other leagues around the world where the teams placed at the bottom of the leagues get relegated to the second division, in Mexico there is no Relegation for the next 5 years. This was established in August 2020 after the creation of the Liga de Expansion (Expansion League; more on that later) which aims to develop the team sin the First and Second divisions for 5 years, helping them develop young talent and a strong economic infraestrcuture. However, there is a penalty for the worst teams. And it get compicated. 

 

Each 12 months, after one Clausura and Apertura are played, the team placed last in the Quotient tables is punished and is forced to pay 10 million dollars to the FA (FMF in Mexico). But what’s the Quotient table? 

The Quotient table is a table which ranks the teams by their points-per-game-played ratio from the last 6 tournaments (3 years). What this means is that the points a team obtains in the last 6 tournaments as divided by the games that teams plays to give us a quotient or ratio, usually between 0 and 2, with which the teams are ranked. A higher ratio means a better performing team. As for teams recently promoted, they play less game (only 2 or 4 seasons) and therefore they have a highly volatile Quotient which can play for or against them. After 12 months the team placed last in this table goes down the leagues. Or at least that’s what supposed to happen. Let’s look at some exceptions:  

 

5.- Promotion

As said in the last point, Promotion was suspended for the next 5 years. I will be talking about the Liga de Expansion further into this series, which in 5 years will become the promotion league (don't think this update will be added to FMM21) or if we will see the original format which you can find in the original post. 

 

Conclusion

 

Liga Mx is a mess, but nevertheless a very fun league to watch and try to understand. 

 

This is the first post of a 8 post series. If you liked it and appreciate the work put into it, please leave a like. 

 

Thank you, and until next post. 

 

[Rich]

Nice guide mate, I’m sure this will come in handy for a few of us when the new game comes out 😁

[Aaron Thornton]

Great article mate 👍

Trying to figure out Liga MX is going to be harder than anything else a manager does. Nonetheless it looks to be a very interesting league

[Scratch]

Very interesting. I wonder if they will implement all of that or take some shortcuts (like they did with foreign player limits in China).

[broodje kip]

Nice work mate I know you’ll come and help us with all this

[George Traistă]

12 hours ago, Scratch said:

Very interesting. I wonder if they will implement all of that or take some shortcuts (like they did with foreign player limits in China. 

• Let's hope not. The league system is a cool one. And if they can do it, then they can replicate to other countries with the same system like Colombia to have the second league in South America because, let's fsce it, Argentinian league is way too small with a low number of games

[S4NCH0]

*NOTE: Long post ahead, with mostly numbers. You might want to jump ahead if you are not that into raw data. This could be a useful post to come back to for challenges and mini games if  ever Liga Mx is added to the game. 

                                                  Some Interesting Records

You may find yourself asking: why would I care about some “fun facts” (or as my mom calls fun facts: “garbage culture”) if that doesn’t have anything to do with FMM2021? And maybe you are right, what do some facts change about the way you play the game?  

Maybe they change nothing, but I’ve always enjoyed breaking appearance records, goals record, title record, etc. to make the game a little bit more realistic or maybe as side challenges for when I tackle bigger ones. Also, I love statistics and data (I'm currently studying that), so get ready for some numbers. So, today I bring you some fun facts, some stats, some stories which I hope, once again, get you excited about Liga MX and it’s addition to the game.

 

Let’s star with the basics:

 

Inauguration Date: October the 17th, 1943

 

Games Played: 23,004 

 

Goals scored: 65,554

 

Seasons played: 101

 

Total teams: 57

 

Team Records

Game Records:

Spoiler

 

Most seasons played: 101 (Guadalajara and Club America)

 

Most consecutive seasons played: 91 (Toluca)

 

Least seasons: 1 (Colibríes de Cuernavaca) 

 

Most victories: 1054 (America)

 

Most consecutive victories: 12 (Club León, 2019)

 

Least Victories in a season: 0 (Veracruz, 2019)

 

Most defeats: 886 (Club Atlas)

 

Least defeats in a season: 0 (Club Puebla, 1985) 

 

Most unbeaten games in a row: 28 (America, 2005)

 

Goal records:

Spoiler

 

Most goals in a season: 55 (Toluca, 2002) 

 

Most Goals received in a season: 45 (Puebla, 2002)

• Points records: 

 

Most points in a season: 43 (Club America, 2002)

 

Least points in a season: 0 (Veracruz, 2019)

 

 

 

 

Other Records:

Spoiler

 

Most league titles: 13 (Club America)

 

Teams with consecutive Short Season titles: UNAM (Apertura and Clausura 2004); León (Ap and Cl. 2013)

 

Teams with Cup and League doubles: Necaxa (2) , Asturias, León, Cruz Azul, Guadalajara (2), Puebla

 

Teams that have lifted the title: 24

 

Youngest team to become champion: Xolos Tijuana won the league just 5 years after its birth.

 

Teams that have never been relegated: America, Guadalajara, UNAM, Toluca, Cruz Azul and Tiuana. 

 

Most Promotions: Veracruz with 6 (4 promotions by buying a franchise, 2 by league expansions, 0 by sport merit)

 

Most Relegations: Veracruz with 5

 

Most goals in a match: 11 (Pachuca 9-2 Veracruz, 2019)

 

Most finals played: América 17

 

Most finals lost: Cruz Azul 10

 

 

 

 

 

Individual records 

Goal records:

Spoiler

 

Most goals: 312 goals (Evanivaldo Castro Cabinho with UNAM and Atlante)

 

Most goals in liguillas: 43 goals (José Saturnino Cardozo, for Toluca)

 

Most goals in finals: 9 goals (José Saturnino Cardozo

 

Most Goals in a Match: 7 (Isidro Lángara, 1946 with Club España)

 

Most goals in a single Liguilla: 9 (Jared Borgetti, 2001)

 

Most goals in a single final: 4 (Javier Orozco, 2015 with Santos Laguna)

 

Most Top Goalscorer titles: 8 (Evanivaldo Castro Cabiinho) 

 

Most games in a row scoring: 15 (José Saturnino Cardozo)

 

Appearance Records:

Spoiler

 

Most League appearances: 740 (Oscar Perez) 

 

Most games with a single club: 608 (Cristobal Ortega, Club America)

 

Most Liguilla appearances: 94 (Oswaldo Sanchez)

 

Most consecutive minutes with clean sheet:  772 (Hernan Cristante, 2008)

 

Youngest debutant: Martín Galván (15 years, 7 months and 3 days)

 

Oldest player to play a game: Salvador “Chava” Reyes (71 years, 4 months, it was a special occasion and he only played 2 minutes) and Oscar Perez (44 years, 9 months)

 

Oldest debutant: Humberto Filizola (44 years old, the Dean of the UAT university, he debuted for them in a First Division match in 1994)

 

Coach Records: 

Spoiler

 

Most League titles: 7 (Ignacio Trelles and Ricardo Ferretti). 

 

Most league matches: 1107 (Ricardo Ferretti) 

 

Most finals: 12 (Ricardo Ferretti)

 

Most games in a single club: 505 (Ricardo Ferretti) 

 

Most years coaching the same club: 13 (Ricardo Ferretti and Javier de la Torre)

 

Oldest coach: Ignacio Trelles (75 years old), he just died aged 104. Rest in Peace.

 

Active Players Records:

Spoiler

 

Most Goals: 165 Oribe Peralta 

 

Most Appearances: 507 Oribe Peralta

 

 

Hope you enjoyed. If you did it would be very nice from you if you could drop a comment and a like. 

 

Until next time. 

Adios.

[Aaron Thornton]

13 minutes ago, S4NCH0 said:

*NOTE: Long post ahead, with mostly numbers. You might want to jump ahead if you are not that into raw data. This could be a useful post to come back to for challenges and mini games if  ever Liga Mx is added to the game. 

                                                  Some Interesting Records

You may find yourself asking: why would I care about some “fun facts” (or as my mom calls fun facts: “garbage culture”) if that doesn’t have anything to do with FMM2021? And maybe you are right, what do some facts change about the way you play the game?  

Maybe they change nothing, but I’ve always enjoyed breaking appearance records, goals record, title record, etc. to make the game a little bit more realistic or maybe as side challenges for when I tackle bigger ones. Also, I love statistics and data (I'm currently studying that), so get ready for some numbers. So, today I bring you some fun facts, some stats, some stories which I hope, once again, get you excited about Liga MX and it’s addition to the game.

 

Let’s star with the basics:

 

Inauguration Date: October the 17th, 1943

 

Games Played: 23,004 

 

Goals scored: 65,554

 

Seasons played: 101

 

Total teams: 57

 

Team Records

Game Records:

  Hide contents

 

Most seasons played: 101 (Guadalajara and Club America)

 

Most consecutive seasons played: 91 (Toluca)

 

Least seasons: 1 (Colibríes de Cuernavaca) 

 

Most victories: 1054 (America)

 

Most consecutive victories: 12 (Club León, 2019)

 

Least Victories in a season: 0 (Veracruz, 2019)

 

Most defeats: 886 (Club Atlas)

 

Least defeats in a season: 0 (Club Puebla, 1985) 

 

Most unbeaten games in a row: 28 (America, 2005)

 

Goal records:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most goals in a season: 55 (Toluca, 2002) 

 

Most Goals received in a season: 45 (Puebla, 2002)

• Points records: 

 

Most points in a season: 43 (Club America, 2002)

 

Least points in a season: 0 (Veracruz, 2019)

 

 

 

 

Other Records:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most league titles: 13 (Club America)

 

Teams with consecutive Short Season titles: UNAM (Apertura and Clausura 2004); León (Ap and Cl. 2013)

 

Teams with Cup and League doubles: Necaxa (2) , Asturias, León, Cruz Azul, Guadalajara (2), Puebla

 

Teams that have lifted the title: 24

 

Youngest team to become champion: Xolos Tijuana won the league just 5 years after its birth.

 

Teams that have never been relegated: America, Guadalajara, UNAM, Toluca, Cruz Azul and Tiuana. 

 

Most Promotions: Veracruz with 6 (4 promotions by buying a franchise, 2 by league expansions, 0 by sport merit)

 

Most Relegations: Veracruz with 5

 

Most goals in a match: 11 (Pachuca 9-2 Veracruz, 2019)

 

Most finals played: América 17

 

Most finals lost: Cruz Azul 10

 

 

 

 

 

Individual records 

Goal records:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most goals: 312 goals (Evanivaldo Castro Cabinho with UNAM and Atlante)

 

Most goals in liguillas: 43 goals (José Saturnino Cardozo, for Toluca)

 

Most goals in finals: 9 goals (José Saturnino Cardozo

 

Most Goals in a Match: 7 (Isidro Lángara, 1946 with Club España)

 

Most goals in a single Liguilla: 9 (Jared Borgetti, 2001)

 

Most goals in a single final: 4 (Javier Orozco, 2015 with Santos Laguna)

 

Most Top Goalscorer titles: 8 (Evanivaldo Castro Cabiinho) 

 

Most games in a row scoring: 15 (José Saturnino Cardozo)

 

Appearance Records:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most League appearances: 740 (Oscar Perez) 

 

Most games with a single club: 608 (Cristobal Ortega, Club America)

 

Most Liguilla appearances: 94 (Oswaldo Sanchez)

 

Most consecutive minutes with clean sheet:  772 (Hernan Cristante, 2008)

 

Youngest debutant: Martín Galván (15 years, 7 months and 3 days)

 

Oldest player to play a game: Salvador “Chava” Reyes (71 years, 4 months, it was a special occasion and he only played 2 minutes) and Oscar Perez (44 years, 9 months)

 

Oldest debutant: Humberto Filizola (44 years old, the Dean of the UAT university, he debuted for them in a First Division match in 1994)

 

Coach Records: 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most League titles: 7 (Ignacio Trelles and Ricardo Ferretti). 

 

Most league matches: 1107 (Ricardo Ferretti) 

 

Most finals: 12 (Ricardo Ferretti)

 

Most games in a single club: 505 (Ricardo Ferretti) 

 

Most years coaching the same club: 13 (Ricardo Ferretti and Javier de la Torre)

 

Oldest coach: Ignacio Trelles (75 years old), he just died aged 104. Rest in Peace.

 

Active Players Records:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Most Goals: 165 Oribe Peralta 

 

Most Appearances: 507 Oribe Peralta

 

 

Hope you enjoyed. If you did it would be very nice from you if you could drop a comment and a like. 

 

Until next time. 

Adios.

There is some great ideas for challenges to be made for the Mexican League once the game is realeased, most notably win 1 match with Veracruz 😂 Cant wait to manage in Mexico. 

[George Traistă]

10 minutes ago, Aaron Thornton said:

There is some great ideas for challenges to be made for the Mexican League once the game is realeased, most notably win 1 match with Veracruz 😂 Cant wait to manage in Mexico. 

Sadly Veracruz is long gone so... 

[S4NCH0]

 Liga Mx as a supporting feature for the MLS and Canadian League

This will be a short post, since I believe it is a pretty obvious one. Anyway, let’s discuss some points which I believe make Liga MX the best addition to complement and boost MLS and the Canadian League

 

• The three are part of CONCACAF

This point is just to give you a little context. Mexico, USA and Canada are neighboring countries and therefore they play for the same football confederation: CONCACAF. At club level Mexican teams have always dominated the zone, but Nations wise, USA has been shortening the distances and is now at the same level  as the Mexican national team, while Canada has some exciting prospects on the way. USA and Mexico play a very sparky  “derby” which always ends with many goals, fights, polemic decisions, etc. This game is also one of those golden nuggets of sports, since it is one of the most followed around the world and one that generates millions in revenue. The addition of Liga Mx in FMM2021, willgive players a chance to get closer to this rivalry and experience it through their own fingertips. Here are some points that validate the inclusion of Canada and Mexico:

• Mexico, Canada and the USA have always been very close

The three countries (maybe not so much in recent years) have had amicable relationships for most of their modern history. Mos famously the three signed the most important Free Trade treaty in the world in the 1990s called the TLCAN, and just recently renewed their vows with the TEMEC. Adding to that, Canada and the USA are the main vacation spots for Mexicans and also get a huge influx of mexican students and immigrants every year. On the other hand, Mexico is most for Canadian and American vacationers who love our beaches, and we also get a lot of their students in our universities as part of exchanges. 

 

• The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the 3 countries

As many may know by now, the 2026 World Cup will be hosted for the first time in the history of the sport by 3 different countries. They are, as you may have guessed, Mexico, United States and Canada. Mexico will be the first ever country to host this competition 3 times after doing so in 1970 and 1986. Meanwhile, USA will be hosting it for the second time in their history after doing so in 1994, and Canada will be debutting as a host. This World Cup will allow national teams to play in what is considered the most mythical stadium of all times after Wembley and Maracana, the Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) only stadium where both Pelé and Maradona lifted a major trophy (the 70 and 86 WCs respectively).  Maybe you could guide your team to become a mexican powerhouse and get your stadium picked as one of the venues or become the providing team for the national team in their 3rd world cup at home. 

 

• USA represents the second biggest audience for Liga MX

 

Even with the heated rivalry between both countries, Liga MX has its second biggest audience in United States. Why is this important? Well, I assume the MLS was added since the American market is among the richest and most consuming ones. They are willing to consume, and the video game industry is an ever-growing one in USA. Therefore, the addition of MLS to the game represented a tactic for the game to make its way into the american market. 

 

Now, if this assumptions are true, then the addition of Liga MX will boost sales massively in both America and Mexico. Why is that? USA has received millions of Mexican immigrants in its recent history, and among the older immigrants, the recent ones and their respective descendants, it is estimated that 41,000,000 Mexicans or Mexican descendants live in the USA. This number represents 16% of the American population. 

 

This number becomes evident when one watches a Mexican national team match being played in the USA. The stadium usually fills with mostly Mexicans (yes, even when playing against USA). Mexicans feel a lot of passion for “soccer” and for Mexican-americans, the addition of FMM2021 will mean a chance to come closer to their origins. 

 

As an economic decision, the addition of Liga MX doesn’t seem as a huge risk to be taken by SEGA. 

 

• Mexicans, Americans and Mexican-americans in Liga Mx and MLS

Due to their neighbor status, the massive amounts of immigrants, and the influences USA has in Mexico and Mexico has in USA; Liga Mx and MLS have tenths if not hundreds of players who carry both nationalities playing in them. Also, due to the recent growth of the MLS, teams have invested in Mexican superstars like Chicharito Hernández, Jonathan Dos Santos and Fan-favorite Carlos Vela. In recent years, many Mexican youngsters have decided to play in the MLS in order to get some experience and some have even ended playing for the American National Team. Something similar has happened the other way as well, with some American youngsters choosing the Tricolores over the Stars and Stripes. 

A less common thing is for canadians to play in Mexico or for mexians to play in Canada, with the most recent case having been the canadian Lucas Cavallini playing for mexican side Puebla. 

 

• MLS and Liga Mx have been the dominant forces of CONCACAF, with Canada pushing stronger every year

As it was mentioned before, Club and Nation wise, Mexico and USA have no rivals in the zone who can challenge their Continental Superpower status. However, the surge of world class canadian talents like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Liam Millar  has cut the distance between the 3 countries. The CCC semifinals have been all Mexican-american for countless times now in recent year. And FMM2021 will be a nice way to experience that. Currently, when one plays with an MLS club, it is very easy to win the CCC in 2 or 3 seasons, imagine now having to challenge stormer Liga MX sides, the experience will get much more fun and realistic. Or maybe, you could play with a Liga Mx side and fight the ever-expanding MLS teams on your way to Global dominance. 

Due to their dominance in the zone, the officials of both the Mexican and Americamn Federations, have created a new Tournament called The Leagues Cup, where 8 teams (4 Mexican and 4 American) play each other in a Knockout format tournament. Next year, with views to keep promoting and improving Mexican and American football, the Leagues Cup will be expanded to 16 teams, with the possibility to invite canadian teams being discussed.

 

Conclussions

The addition of Liga Mx will definitely bring much more attention to the game itself. It will boost the sales over here in North America. 

Gameplay wise, It will give players a chance to experience this interesting relationship between Mexican, American and Canadian football. It will embrace and enhance the MLS experience, which the last 2 years lacked something in-game, and with this addition will make it more attractive for players around the world. 

So, in general, the addition of Liga Mx will be a very neat addition if SEGA mean to keep targeting the North American market.

 

That's all for today. If you enjoy please leave a comment and a like. See you in some days time. 

 

Gracias y Adios.

 

[Aaron Thornton]

5 minutes ago, George Traistă said:

Sadly Veracruz is long gone so... 

Just googled them and yeah almost a year ago they were dissolved, that's unfortunate, the Red Sharks will rise again..... probably not

[S4NCH0]

16 minutes ago, Aaron Thornton said:

There is some great ideas for challenges to be made for the Mexican League once the game is realeased, most notably win 1 match with Veracruz 😂 Cant wait to manage in Mexico. 

As @George Traistă said, Veracruz has now disappeared. However, their owner (a very corrupt and disgusting guy) is looking to rename on of the franchises he owns in the second division (which I will talk about later) and it is likely that we see the rebirth of the team (it would be the 3rd time they either buy or rename a franchise to be reborn). As for now, they play amateur in a league called Liga Balompie which is a newlyfound league where players and coaches who couldn't make it profesionally currently play. 

[Aaron Thornton]

1 minute ago, S4NCH0 said:

As @George Traistă said, Veracruz has now disappeared. However, their owner (a very corrupt and disgusting guy) is looking to rename on of the franchises he owns in the second division (which I will talk about later) and it is likely that we see the rebirth of the team (it would be the 3rd time they either buy or rename a franchise to be reborn). As for now, they play amateur in a league called Liga Balompie which is a newlyfound league where players and coaches who couldn't make it profesionally currently play. 

Oh so the owner is on a buy and dissolve merry-go-round, not a great business plan if you ask me, hopefully the rename isn't successful as there is too many jokers in the football ownership market and the less of them, the better

[George Traistă]

3 minutes ago, S4NCH0 said:

As @George Traistă said, Veracruz has now disappeared. However, their owner (a very corrupt and disgusting guy) is looking to rename on of the franchises he owns in the second division (which I will talk about later) and it is likely that we see the rebirth of the team (it would be the 3rd time they either buy or rename a franchise to be reborn). As for now, they play amateur in a league called Liga Balompie which is a newlyfound league where players and coaches who couldn't make it profesionally currently play. 

As I remember the Balompie is somehow a paralel league, not recognised by the Mexican FA, right? 

Edited November 1, 2020 by George Traistă

[S4NCH0]

9 minutes ago, Aaron Thornton said:

Oh so the owner is on a buy and dissolve merry-go-round, not a great business plan if you ask me, hopefully the rename isn't successful as there is too many jokers in the football ownership market and the less of them, the better

Mexican owners are on a buy and disolve mentality since the early 2000s. Only in 2020 we saw two teams created from Scratch (Juarez and Mazatlan) after they bought 2 first division franchises. And since I have memory I could easily enlist 10-15 franchises aquisitions for name changes or to return a demoted team to the first division. Mexico is a place with a lot of corruption and football isn't the exception.

 

11 minutes ago, George Traistă said:

As I remember the Balompie is somehow a paralel league, not recognised by the Mexican FA, right? 

It is indeed a paralel league. It is on one hand a very positive thing since a lot of mexican cities that didn't have a football team now have one thanks to it, and since a lot of players who had lost the chance to play professionaly at least now can return to football and have some income in such difficult times. However, many in Mexico say that the league "nacio muerta" (or "was born dead") since many of the owners of these new teams are former profesional team owners who where either banned from the professional league or forced to sell the team by fan protest, and also because even before the first match had been played, their were already a lot of problems with player and coaches wages not being payed and their even was a group of players from a team who assaulted a guy in a bar and came out clean after no sanctions from their club. Either way, it is still early to judge this new league (only a couple of weeks since the first game was played) and only time will tell how things fare out. May I ask why do you know so much about mexican football? 

[George Traistă]

11 minutes ago, S4NCH0 said:

Mexican owners are on a buy and disolve mentality since the early 2000s. Only in 2020 we saw two teams created from Scratch (Juarez and Mazatlan) after they bought 2 first division franchises. And since I have memory I could easily enlist 10-15 franchises aquisitions for name changes or to return a demoted team to the first division. Mexico is a place with a lot of corruption and football isn't the exception.

 

It is indeed a paralel league. It is on one hand a very positive thing since a lot of mexican cities that didn't have a football team now have one thanks to it, and since a lot of players who had lost the chance to play professionaly at least now can return to football and have some income in such difficult times. However, many in Mexico say that the league "nacio muerta" (or "was born dead") since many of the owners of these new teams are former profesional team owners who where either banned from the professional league or forced to sell the team by fan protest, and also because even before the first match had been played, their were already a lot of problems with player and coaches wages not being payed and their even was a group of players from a team who assaulted a guy in a bar and came out clean after no sanctions from their club. Either way, it is still early to judge this new league (only a couple of weeks since the first game was played) and only time will tell how things fare out. May I ask why do you know so much about mexican football? 

1. Mexico is a very interesting league as is somehow in between the US type football and South American football. And even that many deny it, the influence of Mexico in US and Canada football is big. 

2. Culture of football in Mexico stands out in the region, they have the crowds and stadium that stand out.

3. I like to bet on football from time to time and Mexico is a fun league

4. I like to learn a lot about a lot of things

[S4NCH0]

On 01/11/2020 at 09:43, George Traistă said:

1. Mexico is a very interesting league as is somehow in between the US type football and South American football. And even that many deny it, the influence of Mexico in US and Canada football is big. 

2. Culture of football in Mexico stands out in the region, they have the crowds and stadium that stand out.

3. I like to bet on football from time to time and Mexico is a fun league

4. I like to learn a lot about a lot of things

1. I completely agree with that, it seems like we are slowly migrating to a franchise system as the one implemented in MLS, with the disappearing of relegation bringing us closer to their league system, but still using a Liguilla system with two tournaments per year as the ones used in South America. As for the influence, Mexican league I dare to say is one of the strongest in the world due to the fans. The league clubs bring hundreds if not thousands of fans to which ever country the teams plays in, making us a very important comercial partner and one which South Americans regret loosing from the Copa Libertadores.

2. In Mexico we say there are 3 cultural drivers: Soccer, the Guadalupe Virgin, and Politics.

As for the rest of your points that's awesome.

 

[S4NCH0]

The Second Division (Expansion League) 

As i have been mentioning in the last posts, the Mexican Federation just recently decided to restructure the promotion and relegation system. Before August 2020, relegation was decided by the quotient table that I explained above. The team who finished last in the Quotient Table after 1 natural year (2 tournaments) went down, or they could pay a 6 million dollar fee to stay up, or even buy a first division franchise. As for the promoted team, the Second Division also implemented two Liguillas per year, and the champions of each one would play each other in a Promotion final in which the winner got the chance to go up. If the First Division had less than 20 teams, then the promoted team would go up without restraint, however if the League had 20 teams by then, the "virtually relegated" team could pay the 6M to the promoted team so they could stay up and the promotion was cancelled. Wierd as hell. 

 

However, a mid the economic crisis brought by Covid-19, the Second Division (known as Ascenso MX by then) started loosing teams due to economic difficulties, and went from 18 registered teams all the way to only 11. To save the league, the Mexican Federation created an expansion plan, in which the First Division teams would each year pay a fee to the Second Division teams to help them be economically stable and attain some growth, but this came with a catch. If the Second Divisionn teams wanted to get the economic aid, they'd have to vote in favour of the creation of the Liga de Expansion (or Expansion League). After a lot of controversy and 3 teams suing the league with the CAS, the new Expansion League was born. I'll now try to explain it. 

 

The Teams

The league will be played by 16 teams this season with the goal of expanding to 20 in the next 6 tournaments. Of these 16 teams, 10 are former Ascenso Mx teams mentioned above,1 is Cancun FC who are newlyfound after buying the Cafetaleros franchise, 1 is Atletico Morelia whose First Division franchise was bought by Mazatlan so they had to buy a second division franchise (Atletico Zacatepec) to at least play in the Second Dvision, 2 are the youth teams of Chivas and Pumas (Tapatío and Pumas Tabasco) two of the biggest teams in Mexico, and  the last 2 are the best 2 teams of the Third Division (Tepatitlán and Tlaxcala) 

From the list, Tampico, Celaya, Morelia, Atlante and Leones Negros are fallen historic teams. Which makes for an interesting challenge. As a fun fact, Hugo Sanchez, Emilio Butrageño and Michel (legends of the game for Real Madrid) all played their final years for Celaya, while Pep Guardiola, Sebastian Abreu and Cuauthemoc Blanco played for Dorados de Sinaloa, a team which has been managed by Maradona and Juan Manuel Lillo (now Peps asisstant). 

 

The Competition System

The Competition system in the Liga de Expansion is exactly the same as in the First Division. So I won't go over it. The only difference here is that there is no Quotient Table nor is the last team penalized for their league postion. }

 

The "Expansion Plan"

Now let's dive into the interesting part here. As mentioned before, the Expansion League's objetive is to give Second Division teams stability. The problem with thw former Second Division was that most of the time, after a team got promoted it would either file for bankruptcy, sell their franchise or be immediatly relegated the year after. The League officials identified the problem, the teams had no solid economic structure, their stadiums were tiny compared to the First Division teams and most importantly they were getting no money from the TV deals. To solve this, the Federation came with the Expansion League. 

The idea is to disappear promotion for the forseable future (at the moment 3 years) so that teams in the Second Division don't get promoted and end up disolving. In these 3 years, the Federation together with the teams has created a plan to solidify the Second Division projects and it goes as follows: 

• Economic Aid
  • The First aspect that will be tackled, and arguably the most important one, is the economic one. In order to help Second Division teams, the Federation will distribute an initial 1 million dollars per team, and 1 million dollars per team for the next 3 years. Furthermore, the 3 bottom teams of the Quotient table each year will pay a sum of almost 10 million dollars which will be distributed in the Second Division depending on the finishing position of the teams. this will generate an extra between 1 to 3 million dollars a year per team, which in Mexico is a considerable sum of money, even more with the reduction of salaries which teams will be forced to implement and which I will talk about below. 
• Youth Development
  • Another interesting rule, says that Second Division teams will stop being a retirement league. How? The league has imposed the restriction of maximum 5 players over 23 per team. Also, there is a restriction by which the teams most have a majority of mexican players in their first team. With this, the League pretends to become a Youth Development one, in which youth players who aren't given the chance to shine in First Division teams, can't fight for a spot in the Second Division and where mexican talent is prioritized. Fromerly, most teams relied on mainly foreign, older talents, which in return made the salaries rise and which made Second Division teams unstable. Now, with these to simple rules, the league pretends to cut down on wages and prioritize the development and sale of youth talents. 
  • Furthermore, when the promotion is reinstalled, Second Division teams will only be allowed to get promoted if they show financial stability, have a womens team, and have U-13, U-15, U-17and U-20 teams for both sexes.  
• Stadium Development
  • This one is simple. After 3 years, when the promotion restriction is lifted, teams will have to have an stadium with a minimum capacity of 20,000, with proper lighting, with proper stalls, doping control and media rooms, and a training ground either under the stadium or near it. 
• TV Rights
  • To avoid the event of a team getting promoted and being unable to compete economically due to a lack of proper TV income, the Second Division TV rights have been sold as a bundle to a TV company and the incomes will be distributed equally. If after 3 years one of these teams gets promoted, the TV Company has the right to negotiate first than the rest their TV rights and they must offer a fair contract, similar to that of the other First Division teams.
• Ownership Filters
  • Finally, regulations have been imposed (they are not public) to filter out mailicious owners. One of the biggest problems of Second Division teams was that either their owners used the teams to gain political power, to money launder, to fund other projects or to do malicious buisnesses. This inhibited the growth of teams, and was the main reason for the disappearing of teams. These filters (which I strongly doubt will be properly applied, cause Mexico) pretend to end that problem.

I'm almost certain that the addition of the Expansion League in FMM21 won't be as detailed and complex as what I have tried to explain. I could even bet that either promotion will be blocked for the whole of the game or fully enabled from the begining. Whichever is the case, the Expansion League is a very interesting league to play in, and usually the starting point for most mexican young managers, so playing in it will be very fun. Only time will tell the complexity of its implementation, let's hope for the best.

 

Cheers, and until next time. 

 

 

[omen_peter]

Thanks for this detailed article @S4NCH0! I love leagues that don't match the 'norm' or have something different about them. It will be interesting to see how dumbed down the league is on FMM as it does sound very complicated - ha!

[S4NCH0]

Big, Historic, Rich and other Liga Mx Teams

 

As the title says, in this new topic I will be going over the 19 teams of Liga Mx. Some in more detail than others, and for some of them I’ll even add a challenge you the user could take on if the League were ever to be added. I’ll divide the teams into some categories, let’s start: 

 

The “Fantastic” 4 

 

Known as the Big Four (Los cuatro grandes) they have been, except for Club America, everything but fantastic in recent years. However, their history, fanbase, traditions, and players give them a “Big” team status. 

 

Spoiler

 

Pumas UNAM

Context: The team I support, the fourth most popular in Mexico, the first team I’ll talk about. UNAM is the National University’s team. They were originally an all-student team, were the different programs around campus each provided their best talent. Their “Cantera” or youth academy is among the best in Mexico and has produced the likes of Hugo Sanchez and Luis García (former Real and Atletico Madrid players). The "Cantera" is named after the volcanic rock which it is made of, and it was so prolific in the past century, that nowadays teams like Real Madrid call their Youth Academy "Cantera" (appart from the more traditional "Fabrica"). Due to bad economic handling and austeity measures, Pumas have currently become a mid-table team, with sparks of success every now and then, with this 2020 seing them finish in 2nd place. Interesting fact: they are the only team with no formal badge on their shirt, they have their emblem printed on to the shirt instead. 

 

Foundation: 1954

Mascot: Puma (or Cougar) 

Colors: Blue ,Yellow and White.

Stadium: Ciudad Universitaria (52,000)

City: Mexico City

League Titles: 7 (Last in 2011)

Biggest Rivalries: Club America and Tigres UANL

Best Players: Juan Dinenno, Alfredo Talavera and Carlos Gonzalez

Biggest Prospect: Alan Mozo, Erik Lira and Johan Vasquez

 

Club América

Context: Arguably the biggest club in Mexico, and “my” biggest rivals, Club America are among the richest teams in Mexico both in titles and economically. Owned by the biggest TV and Radio company in Mexico (Televisa), they have been characterized historically for signing big players. In recent year however, they have also focused on exporting young talent to Europe, this project has seen Diego Lainez (Betis), Edson Alvarez (Ajax) and Raul Jimenez (Wolves) migrate to european football. They have one of the biggest fanbases, and play Mexico’s most important “Clasico” against chivas

 

Foundation: 1916

Mascot: Eagle 

Colors: Yellow (with stints of red and blue)

City: Mexico City

Stadium: Estadio Azteca (87,000)

League Titles: 13 (Last in 2018) record holders

Biggest Rivalries: Chivas Guadalajara, UNAM and Cruz Azul

Best Players: Guillermo Ochoa, Nicolás Benedetti and Roger Martínez

Biggest Prospect: Sebastián Córdova, Federico Viñas and Adrian Goransch

 

Cruz Azul

Context: The third biggest fanbase in Mexico, and I would say one of the most loyal. Why? Well their last league title was won in1997 and there’s been 22 short tournaments since. They’re a synonym of unluckiness in Mexico, the Mexican Language Academy even recognizes the verb “cruz-azulear” (Roughly translated as Cruz-Azuling) as the action of loosing something when it seemed a sure victory. Their luck is so bad that they’ve lost 11 finals in the lifespan of short tournaments. Nevertheless, they are a great historical team and among the most decorated in Mexican football history. They aren’t a team used to exporting, and most of their players also remain loyal to the team, playing all the way until their retirement in Cruz Azul. 

 

Foundation: 1927

Mascot: Bunny (not so common; they also are represented by a Train (they are nicknamed the Machine)) 

Colors: Blue and White

City: Mexico City

Stadium: Estadio Azteca (87,000) temporarily

League Titles: 8 (Last in 1997)

Biggest Rivalries: Club America 

Best Player: Orbelin Pineda, Jonathan Rodriguez and Jesus Corona

Biggest Prospect: Sebastian Jurado, Luis Romo and Santiago Giménez

 

 

Chivas Guadalajara

Context: The oldest First Division team, and the “most Mexican”. Chivas Guadalajara have been playing with an only Mexicans policy (something as Athletic Bilbao’s only basque policy) and they are the team with the most fans in Mexico, therefore, they’ve been associated with Mexican identity and along with America are the most popular team also in USA. In the USA they even had their own franchise called Chivas USA or Chivas LA. They have currently gone through horrible spells and were recently in danger of getting relegated but managed to straighten their way. They are famous for the exports of players like Carlos Vela and Chicharito. However in recent years due to mismanagement and poor directive choices they’ve ruined some bright talents as Carlos Fierro (who @Ashez loved) and Julio Gomez. Currently, they have been injecting millions into their playing and administrative squad, bringing in massive youth talents and probably the best sporting director and best coach in mexican history. However, the team seems to have a curse with young talents. Just in the last 12 months one of their players (Victor Guzman from Pachuca) was rescinded for having consumed cocaine, 2 of their players fell from the national team list after hosting a party during the pandemic and other 4 of their players were rescinded and are facing the law after accusations of rape. A historic team ruined by immaturity and a buisness driven mentality. 

Foundation: 1906

Mascot: Goat 

Colors: Red and White

City: Guadalajara

Stadium: Estadio Akron (49,000)

League Titles: 12 (Last in 2017)

Biggest Rivalries: Club America and Club Atlas

Best Players: Isaac Brizuela, Antonio Briseño and Jesus Molina

Biggest Prospects: Jose Juan Macías, Alexis Vega and Fernando Beltrán

 

 

 

The North $uper Power$

 

Although the capital is Mexico City and its located in the center of the country, the real industrial development and economic capital is up-north, precisely in Monterrey. This richness translates to football as well, and in recent years both of Monterrey’s teams have seen an economic boom which has brought value to their squad. 

 

Spoiler

 

Tigres UANL

Context: Another university team with another feline as mascot, Tigres has received huge investment in recent years which have turned them to arguably the most dominant side in Mexican football in the past few years. With 5 league titles and 2 runner-up finishes in the last 8 years Tigres is knocking at the Big Four’s door. However, their poor history with two relegations, their lack of Mexican talents and their lack of homegrown players, has prevented them from earning the so desired “5th big team” title. In recent years they’ve brought several players from europe. This players have come here in their prime and have turned them into a continental giant, they include: Andre-Pierre Gignac, Enner Valencia, Eduardo Vargas, Guido Pizarro, Carlos Salcedo, and Javier Aquino. They even played a Copa Libertadores final against River Plate, which even when I hate Tigres I can still admit was a robbery from the argentines.

 

Foundation: 1960

Mascot: Tiger 

Colors: Blue and Yellow

City: Monterrey

Stadium: Estadio Universitario (42,000)

League Titles: 7 (Last in 2019)

Biggest Rivalries: Monterrey and Pumas UNAM

Best Player: Andre-Pierre Gignac, Nahuel Guzmán and Guido Pizarro

Biggest Prospect: Leo Fernández (maybe their only considerable young talent)

 

Monterrey FC

Context: Across the city of Monterrey we have the other rich super power in Mexico: Monterrey Futbol Club, or los Rayados (the Streaked). Owned by the biggest Soda and Convenience Store company in Mexico (FEMSA) Monterrey have always been among the richest teams not only in Mexico but in America as a whole. Their recent expansion project saw them build world class facilites, one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and achieve continental success. They have brought players like Funes Mori, Dorlan Pabón, José Basalta, Miguel Layún, Leonel Vangioni and their most recent marquee signing, Vincent Jansen, all from european clubs. 

 

Foundation: 1945

Mascot: Bulldog  

Colors: Blue and White

City: Monterrey

Stadium: Estadio BBVA (53,000)

League Titles: 5(Last in 2019) Defending Champions

Biggest Rivalries: Tigres UANL

Best Players: Vincent Jansen, Dorlan Pabón and Rogelio Funes Mori

Biggest Prospect: Cesar Montes and Jonathan Gonzalez 

 

 

The remaining 13 

 

Ahead, I will quickly go over the remaining 13 teams, I won’t go into detail and just mention a few aspects and players to look out for. 

Spoiler

 

Mazatlán FC

Newly-found team from the city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa. One of the most beautiful cities in Mexico and also one of the most beautiful Stadiums in the country. However, this team are aguably the most hated in Mexico. They were born thanks to the money of the government, who bought the franchise of a historic team in Morelia (called Morelia FC) and took them to Morelia. However, the new ownership left behing many youth teams and profesional players who are in their majority without a team at the moment. Also, they started an internet campain called #Arrebatando, which literally means Snatching and is a clear joke pointed at Morelia fans. However, eventhough they talk a lot on the internet, their results on the field are laughable and so Mazatlan FC (or Purple Morelia as people call them) have become a running joke in Mexico. 

 

Best Player: Camilo Sanvezzo 

Biggest Prospect: Cesar Huerta (on loan from Chivas)

 

Club Pachuca

The biggest youth talent Academy of recent times, they have invested deeply into restructuring their facilities and have since promoted very good youth talent. The likes of Chucky Lozano (Napoli), Erick Gutierrez (PSV) and Hector Herrera (Atletico Madrid) all emerged from their youth ranks. They are a mid table team as well. 

 

Best Player: Ismael Sosa

Biggest Prospect: Victor Guzmán (yes, the guy from Chivas who used cocaine) and Erick Aguirre

 

Club Santos Laguna 

As well as Pachuca, they are a mid-table team that occasionally fight for the top spots and even challenge for titles every other season. They are also well known for producing young talent and their youth ranks have seen a recent boom which has produced a very promising batch. 

 

Best Player: Julio Furch

Biggest Prospect: Carlos Acevedo

 

Necaxa

A wonderful team in the late 70s and early 80s, Necaxa are now a good club used to playing exciting football. They sometimes go through long lasting slumps, but usually come back strongly. They are the league’s “bargain hunters” and every season their scouting team brings unknown talent which then turns into huge profits for them. 

Best Player: David Cabrera

Biggest Prospect: Luis Malagón

 

Club Toluca

Considered by many to be the 5th biggest team after “Los cuatro grandes”, Toluca saw huge success in the early 2000s. They are the biggest winners of short tournament history but are currently going through a slump. They are on of those  “friendly” teams with nobody really hating on them. 

 

Best Player: Rubens Sambueza

Biggest Prospect: Haret Ortega

 

Club Tijuana

One of the youngest clubs in the First Division, Tijuan is only 13 years old. They were a very exciting team some seasons ago, winning their first ever title around the time they were 5 years old (2012), but didn’t manage to avoid the drop to mediocrity. They now linger around the mid-table. 

Best Player: Jonathan Orozco

Biggest Prospect: Marcel Ruiz

 

Futbol Club Atlas

City rivals to Chivas, this team from Guadalajara hasn't won a league title in over 69 years now. However, they have a fantastic youth academy and have produced talents like Rafael Marquez (ex-barca) and Andres Guardado (Betis). They have one of the best teams in their recent history, with a lot of youth talent.

Best Player: Luciano Acosta

Biggest Prospect: Jesus Angulo 

 

Club Puebla

Not much can be said about them, they are a lower table side which year after year fights against relegation and year after year barely manages to stay afloat. They have a beautiful stadium, but their bad performances and bad management have them suffering. 

 

Best Player: Nicolas Vikonis

Biggest Prospect: Israel Reyes

 

Club Queretaro 

They are a mid table team which every other year has a fantastic season and surprises everyone getting all the way to the final or semifinals. They were the team were Ronaldinho had it’s shot Mexican adventure. Unfortunately their franchise was bought by owners with short term vision and their best prospects were sold. 

Best Player: Gil Alcala (arguably one of the best mexican keepers at the moment, he is a bargain up for taking)

Biggest Prospect: Javier Ibarra

 

Club León

Runner-ups last final and playing a beautiful attacking football this one, Leon are a historic team that just recently returned to First Division after many years in Asenso MX. They are also known for hunting bargains and selling them on a high. They are owned by the same owners of Pachuca. Their current style of football is probably the best and most dominant I have seen in Mexico in my lifetime.

 

Best Player: Angel Mena 

Biggest Prospect: Nicolás Sosa

 

Atletico San Luis

This recently promoted club is owned by no less than Atletico Madrid itself. This has allowed them to invest in good youngsters, improve their facilities and coaching staff and even get some loanees from their Spanish brothers. They are a very promising team.

Best Player: Mauro Quiroga

Biggest Prospect: Axel Werner

 

Futbol Club Juarez

This team has been a surprise this last two seasons. First, they went all the way to the Title match in Copa Mx last season which they lost, then they bought a franchise (Lobos Buap’s to be precise) in the First Division, and while no-one expected anything from them, they had a good start to last season and fought until the last match of this season. 

Best Player: Dario Lezcano

Biggest Prospect: Jorge Jorhid Lima Uranga

 

 

 

That’s all for today, tomorrow I’ll post a mini-article where I talk through some interesting challenges the addition of Liga Mx offers to FMM users and about former players. As for today, I’m out.

 

Thanks for reading, a comment would be really appreciated. 

 

Till next time. 

added 0 minutes later

On 04/11/2020 at 02:42, omen_peter said:

Thanks for this detailed article @S4NCH0! I love leagues that don't match the 'norm' or have something different about them. It will be interesting to see how dumbed down the league is on FMM as it does sound very complicated - ha!

Thanks!! I really appreciate your comment. I hope they make it complicated enough so that it is intriguing but no to complicated so that it is easy for all to play.

[George Traistă]

Great info, I already can see some good challenges.

[broodje kip]

I’ve used JJ Macias in FMM20 he’s a real great talent! Also seen some clips of his performance I really hope he’ll go to Europe soon

[Rich]

Good information there mate, be nice to how many players from Mexico become peoples go to buys. Looking forward to seeing some of these teams and players.

[George Traistă]

I would like to make a Goal-a-mile in Mexico but with 2700 miles from west to east (direct road, without derouting from club to club) I would need @Mr Tree or @Ashez to bend the rules a bit as I will need maybe an average of 100 goals/season, a feat that only a excellent duo can produce, helped by other excellent players. 

And switching clubs from time to time means you won't get or have the best players always... 

Edited November 14, 2020 by George Traistă

[Mr Tree]

3 hours ago, George Traistă said:

I would like to make a Goal-a-mile in Mexico but with 2700 miles from west to east (direct road, without derouting from club to club) I would need @Mr Tree or @Ashez to bend the rules a bit as I will need maybe an average of 100 goals/season, a feat that only a excellent duo can produce, helped by other excellent players. 

And switching clubs from time to time means you won't get or have the best players always... 

There was some idle chat last year about crossing Europe with some combination of countries (England to France to Spain maybe), using your total number of goals scored at the club as your number of miles. I'd say the whole concept is pretty flexible - if it's interesting and not silly, then the community will respond favourably

Bear in mind that I haven't actually completed either attempt I've done, yet! Due to the nature of the challenge, you certainly don't go a direct route! 

Also, if you don't know Mexico well, it might get a bit tedious for you - I enjoyed Italy last year, but it was a little frustrating having to check the location of EVERY available job to see if it was within reach...

But you'll see mate - good luck with it if you go for it! 

[George Traistă]

10 minutes ago, Mr Tree said:

There was some idle chat last year about crossing Europe with some combination of countries (England to France to Spain maybe), using your total number of goals scored at the club as your number of miles. I'd say the whole concept is pretty flexible - if it's interesting and not silly, then the community will respond favourably

Bear in mind that I haven't actually completed either attempt I've done, yet! Due to the nature of the challenge, you certainly don't go a direct route! 

Also, if you don't know Mexico well, it might get a bit tedious for you - I enjoyed Italy last year, but it was a little frustrating having to check the location of EVERY available job to see if it was within reach...

But you'll see mate - good luck with it if you go for it! 

I know your attempts and even you didn't complete it was a inspiration for me, sadly I didn't had the time to try it out. With FMM21 I have one year at my disposal so I will surely do it. 

Using the total goals of the team was one ideea that I was thinking also and, not knowing Mexico is not a problem, it's a time comsuming challenge no matter what. 

[George Traistă]

Hey @S4NCH0 I just read and article and It looks like Ascenso MX is out of card and a new league will take its place, Expansion. Can you please clarify some aspects as the article stated that it will be no promotion or relegation few seasons, which is weird. Can you give us some insights? L

 

L.E. This is the article, I know is old but I can't find much about it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/soccer/mexican-liga-bbva-mx/story/4087987/whats-behind-liga-mxs-decision-to-suspend-promotion-and-relegation%3fplatform=amp

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by George Traistă

[S4NCH0]

23 hours ago, George Traistă said:

Hey @S4NCH0 I just read and article and It looks like Ascenso MX is out of card and a new league will take its place, Expansion. Can you please clarify some aspects as the article stated that it will be no promotion or relegation few seasons, which is weird. Can you give us some insights? L

 

L.E. This is the article, I know is old but I can't find much about it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/soccer/mexican-liga-bbva-mx/story/4087987/whats-behind-liga-mxs-decision-to-suspend-promotion-and-relegation%3fplatform=amp

 

I have already talked about that in the "Second Division" article above, you can read it. But I'll try to summarize it here quickly. 

- Ascenso Mx was prior to 2020 the Second Tier of Mexican Football. It was an iregular league, teams disappeared every year due to financial problems or legal problems. Also, the teams had no real infraestructure to play in the first division since playing in the lower leagues in Mexico means virtually receiving no money. 2020 hit hard in the second division and eventually the league went from 18-19 teams to only 11.

- To solve this (That's te FA's excuse, but in Mexico we suspect it was a decision to save Atlas and Mazatlan, two teams which most probably would get relegated) the FA decided to get rid of relegation and promotion for the next 5 years (10 short tournaments) in order to help reform the Second Division (or Ascenso Mx). In order to do so they created the Expansion League.

- The Expansion League is a new project of a league which aims to help restructure the teams of the second tier and elevate their status. This are the new characteristics:

     - New teams come into play: Pumas UNAM B team (Pumas Tabasco), Chivas Guadalajara B Team (Tapatío), Newlyfound-teams Cancun, Tepatilan and Tlaxacala, and the rebirth of Atletico Morelia (their franchise was bought by Mazatlan in the first tier)

    - Teams will have to create U-13,15,17,20 and Women's teams and they will have to have a maximum of 5 players over 23 in order to qualify for promotion after 5 seasons.

    - Teams will receive economic aid from equally distributed TV Rights and the best teams every year will receive the indemnisation of the last placed teams in the first division quotient table as prize money. Also, they have recently received money from the FA to headstart their projects. This decision to help them monetarily is to avoid things like la Piedad, Veracruz, Lobos BUAP or Leones Negros, which are teams who got promoted some years ago but were unnable to handle their finances in the first division and were then relegated in the case of Leones Negros or disolved in the case of the otrher 3. 

    - Teams will be consistenly audited since many owners in Mexican football have historically been linked to naughty buisnesses or corruption. 

 

Now, the article mentions that the league is strongly managed by mainly 3 groups which own 2 teams. I'd like to add another few. The groups that the article mentions are:

- Orlegi Group: owners of Atlas and Santos in the first Tier and Tampico Madero in the Second Tier. Historically Atlas have always lingered around the relegation zone, so it would be much in their interest to cancel relegation. This group is perceived to be the main pushers in favor of an Expansion League.

- Caliente Group: This group is owned by Carlos Hank who is the owner of the biggest betting firm in Mexico, Caliente. They were the owners of Queretaro, but recently sold them and are currently only owners of Xolos Tijuana (1st Tier) and Dorados Sinaloa (2nd Tier). Xolos isn't a big team but they have always stayed away from relegation, so it is surprising that they decided to vote in favor of getting rid of relegation. Added to that, their second team was in the Promotion Final a couple of seasons ago thanks to the awesome job Maradone did overthere.

- Grupo Pachuca: The best group in Mexico when it come to managing teams. They were formerly the owners of Pachuca, Leon and Mineros Zacatecas but recently sold the latter.The other 2 teams have lifted various trophies thanks to Grupo Pachuca, they have built strong economical infrastructures, they have managed to have teams that play very attractive attacking football and most importantly they have two of the best youth academies in the country with the likes of Hirving Lozano, Hector Herrera, and even some count macís, having become the players they are today thanks to the nurturing from this group. They logically voted in favor of keeping the relegation alive, since Leon just recently got promoted and in the same season of their promotion went on to win 2 titles in a row, so they like that the door is open for other romantic stories like theirs. 

- Televisa: The biggest Communication Medium in Mexico, Televisa are the owners of America and they have a huge influx in the decision taken inside of the FA. They have the money, they host most team's matches, and they are the biggest focal point for information in Mexico, so nobody in the FA likes messing with them. They currently own America who are a massive team and have done the things very good recently. however, they voted in favor of getting rid relegation, why? Sources inside the FA claim they owe one to Orlegi Group who saved them from losing the TV Rights against a USA Company ahead of the 2014 World Cup. 

 

Finally, I'll leave below the list of teams who voted in favor or against this measures. It shouldn't surprise you that it's mostly the shady owner teams and small teams who voted in favor of the creation of the Expansion League. Mexico is surealistic. 

[S4NCH0]

Former players

Let's talk now about players, both Mexican and Foreigners who have played at some time of their careers in Mexico. I wont go a lot into detail, since this post is only intended to enlist former players to motivate you guys to take over this teams in your games. 

Foreigners

The home for foreigners who are close to end their career has always been the MLS. But the Liga Mx doesn't fall far behind. In Mexico we have seen countless players who came to Mexico to end their career, some did, some did just a little months after playing here and some revitalized it. Here is a list of former (or some that still play) foreign players:

- Emilio Butrageño: The former Real Madrid Star, came to Celaya to end his career, team where he was idolized and loved by all. 

- Andre Pierre Gignac: The former french international decided to move to Mexico to end his career after being relatively succesful for Marseille. He came to Mexico just after turning 30 years and many thought he wouldn't be here for long. He has since surprised us all, he is now the player with the most goals in the history of Tigres, he hold the record for most goals in the Monterrey Derby (Monterrey vs Tigres), he has won 4 leagues titles for Tigres, he has been crowned twice the top goalscorer of the year and twice the top goalscorer of the semester and he has received other 11 Liga Mx individual recognitions. 

- Ronaldinho: He doesn't require to be presented. He came to Mexico to play for Queretaro, and in less than six months he guided a relegation bound teams all the way to the final which they lost by a close margin. It was amazing being able to watch him play. 

- Luis García: The former Liverpool and Barcelona player played his last years in Mexico with Puebla and Pumas and in both teams left a great impression thanks to his charisma and talent.

- Pep Guardiola: Pep came to Mexico to play for Dorados de Sinaloa (the same team that Maradon would later manage) and he fell in love with La Volpe's (his coach during his stint at Dorados) style of play, even citing him as one of the main influences to his managing style.

- Antonio Valencia: It is especulated that the former Manchester player will be moving to Queretaro, this hasn´t been confirmed but both parties are rumored to have already agreed contractual terms. 

 

Mexicans

Contrary to what many may think, Mexico has had many batches of enormously talented players. I will try to name a few from the past and some that are still playing. 

- Hugo Sanchez: To many mexicans he is the best player of our country's history. He debuted for Pumas (as seen in the image above) and went on to play for giants as Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid. In the Spanish League he won 5 Pichichis (top goalscorer trophies) and became an idol in the Los Blancos history. Seems like he really liked Madrid since he played for the 3 teams that played there at that time (the 2 mentioned and Rayo Vallecano) and he also liked Mexico City becuase he played for both Pumas and America. He doesn't know about city rivalries I suppose. He retired in Celaya together with Butrageño and Michel. 

- Rafael Marquez: Those who don't agree that Hugo is the best player in our history, might tell you it is Rafa. Marquez debuted for Atlas as a defender and quickly caught the eye of Monaco, where he joined Thierry Henry. After a pair of succesful seasons individual and collectively, he moved on to Barcelona, where he stablished himself as the main defender of the team and was even part of the first Champions League trophy won by Pep. He was a natural leader and is among the 3 players that have played 5 world cups in the history of the game. A legend of the game to say the least. 

- Jorge Campos: Known worldwide for his extravagant uniforms, Campos is to many the best keeper Mexico has ever had. His extravagant uniforms reflected his extravagant style of play, he was able to fly from post to post, get the hardest balls and cut every cross from the wingers, all while being slightly under 1.7m. But it doesn't end there, the Pumas youth academy product played the first years of his career as both a striker and a goalkeeper. You read that right, he would start as a Goalkeeper, but if the game needed him upfront, he would change his uniform, take of his gloves and play as a forward. 

Those are just a few legend I wanted to mention in detail. Others include Luis García (Pumas), Leonardo Cuéllar (Pumas), Zague (America), Salvador Reyes (Chivas), Vucetich (Monterrey), and many more. Now, a list of players currently active with their starting team (to motivate you to take on that team and try to get similar talents) and the rest of their career teams.

Player	Youth Academy	Other Teams
Raul Jimenez	America	Atletico, Benfica, Wolves
Jesus Corona	Monterrey	Twente, Porto
Hector Herrera	Pachuca	Porto, Atletico de Madrid
Carlos Vela	Chivas	Arsenal, Real Sociedad, LAFC
'Chicharito' Hernández	Chivas	Machester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, West Ham, Sevilla, LA Galaxy
Guillermo Ochoa	America	Ajaccio, Malaga, Granada, Standard Liege, America
Giovanni Dos Santos	Barcelona	Tottenham, Mallorca, Villarreal, LA Galaxy, America
Hirving Lozano	Pachuca	PSV, Napoli
Hector Moreno	Pumas	AZ Alkmaar, Espanyol, PSV, Roma, Real Sociedad, Al-Gharafa

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this little piece on former players. I'm still thinking about the last 2 articles, but you should expect them at most this monday. Until then!