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Los Angeles Galaxy forward Robbie Keane has seen enough over his four years of play in North America to declare MLS on par with Liga MX. A bullish Keane declared that Liga MX was stagnating in the face of MLS growth, a bold claim to make prior to Tuesday’s second leg fixture between the Galaxy and Santos Laguna of Liga MX.
Liga MX clubs have won the last 10 CONCACAF continental club competitions. In the Champions League era, MLS has collected a total of two wins in 42 matches on Mexican soil while their success against Liga MX opposition in the knockout rounds leaves no room for optimism. MLS has emerged victorious in only two of 14 knockout round ties against Mexican clubs.
However, Keane believes that the gap between the two leagues is no longer existent. “If you look at MLS in terms of the first year I came until now,” mused Keane, “you would say that the MLS now would be on par with the Mexican league.”
In the face of these damning statistics, Keane does bring up a good point. Primarily, it’s that the placement of the tournament on the calendar does little to illustrate the growth of MLS. MLS operates on a different calendar than most of the region. This is unavoidable as winter soccer is not a feasible option for northern clubs like Toronto and Columbus.
The result is Mexican clubs, well into their Clausura season, come up against MLS sides that are still in preseason training. This is ridiculous, and Keane is fully aware of it.
Keane griped that “our league structure doesn’t help the MLS teams…This [competition] is not structured for MLS teams to win.”
Keane advanced to the semifinals of the 2013 edition of the tournament with Los Angeles before losing to Monterrey 1-3 on aggregate. That year’s edition of the tournament saw Seattle Sounders FC famously eliminate Tigres UANL, a feat which only the Montreal Impact have been able to replicate having knocked off Pachuca in 2015.
Photo: @LAGalaxy | Twitter
There’s another key reason highlighted within the Santos Laguna-LA Galaxy matchup that gives credence to what Keane believes.
Traditionally, Liga MX clubs have superior budgets as compared to their MLS opponents. From the top to the bottom of Liga MX, clubs have outspent their northern neighbors and boast much deeper rosters with more squad options. The MLS salary cap has ensured a competitive parity within the league while effectively handicapping clubs during continental competitions.
As MLS grows, that gap has only lessened. The LA Galaxy, with Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Ashley Cole and Nigel de Jong, actually boast the bigger budget of the two sides.
“As the Mexican league has stayed [the same], the MLS has got bigger and I think it’s going to continue to get bigger,” says Keane.
Finally, Liga MX has always boasted superior youth developments systems as compared to their northern counterparts. The LA Galaxy face Santos boasting some of the finest homegrown players in the MLS, including Jose Villarreal, Gyasi Zardes, Oscar Sorto and Bradford Jamieson IV. This influx of homegrown players is the fruition of years of development by MLS.
While all four MLS clubs are up against the wall going into this week's quarterfinal second legs, there’s no denying that MLS is making up ground on the league that’s been their barometer for success and point of reference for 21 years now.
(H/T: ESPN FC)
