🇲🇽 Liga MX Clausura preview: What to know ahead of Friday's opener
América's title defense, Rayados rebuild + more to watch for!
Liga MX is back. With the advent of Leagues Cup, an expanded Concacaf Champions Cup and even a bigger Liga MX playoff format, it sometimes feels like it’s never gone. This year, though, the holidays led to a decent break for players and coaches (and media members), before Friday’s kickoff of the Clausura.
We know Liga MX is fun. We know it can get chaotic. That makes previewing it a bit tough because it’s easy to get bogged down in transfers, managerial changes and offseason news. I probably fell into that trap but have tried to spotlight five things worth watching all season while also keeping everyone updated on what you might have missed since late 2023.
Let’s dig in to what fans new and old should be keeping an eye on throughout the season.
Here are five things drawing my attention ahead of Friday’s opening match between Queretaro and Toulca!
América running it back after title
América was far and away the best team in Liga MX in the Apertura. Las Aguilas had the best attack. They had the best defense. Once former Atlético San Luis manager Andre Jardine had a few weeks with the club, arriving late in the summer as América’s search to replace Tano Ortiz dragged on, there were few criticisms to be made.
Perhaps that’s why América has done relatively little in the winter.
It snapped up Cristian “Chicote” Calderón, a fullback from Chivas on the outs after a disciplinary incident, who should help replace Miguel Layun even if he typically plays on the other side from the retiring right back.
Wednesday night, another move was announced. After Federico Viñas’ move to León last tournament, an injury to Henry Martín exposed a lack of depth at the traditional forward spot.
Las Aguilas moved to bolster the No. 9, even with Julian Quiñones and Jonathan Rodriguez able to fill that spot, signing Illian Hernández from Pachuca. The 23-year-old Mexican scored twice last tournament.
It’s the sort of move you make when you’re on top.
The window isn’t closed and transfers still could heavily affect América’s season, particularly outgoing moves that would complicate Jardine’s life. Do-it-all midfielder Alvaro Fidalgo has been linked with a La Liga move but currently is in preseason with the club and may stay one more tournament. Quiñones also is attracting interest from abroad.
Either player leaving would lead to a big need for the champion, but for now the plan looks to be to run it back with more or less the same group. They were good enough last tournament that this strategy doesn’t seem half bad.
Rayados rebuild after rocky campaign
On the other hand, Monterrey clearly was in need of rejuvenation. Rayados spent big last season, notably wooing manager Fernando “Tano” Ortiz from América and looking to support him by signing Sergio Canales from Real Betis and repatriating Jesus “Tecatito” Corona from Sevilla.
The La Liga veterans, however, both suffered injuries during the tournament, and overall it felt that Rayados’ deep run in the Leagues Cup while other teams were already back in Mexico regrouping for an Apertura run conditioned the entire season.
After a second-place finish, though, Monterrey was bounced by Atlético San Luis in the first round of the playoffs. For a team with aspirations as big as Rayados, it wasn’t good enough and the team is spending again this winter.
Fans of Tigres - Monterrey’s cross-town rival which won a league final and lost one in 2023 - have noted the now-inexperienced nature of Rayados by pointing out start striker Andre-Pierre Gignac has scored more Liga MX goals than…their whole team.
That only could be true after Rogelio Funes Mori departed. The club’s all-time leading scorer is headed south to Pumas in the most notable sign of the club hitting the reset button. The 32-year-old scored seven goals in the Apertura, six in the regular season, but Rayados are moving forward with Brandon Vazquez, recently acquired from FC Cincinnati, and Germán Berterame as their threats up top.
They also added midfielder and defensive specialist Jorge Rodriguez from Estudiantes and locked down Omar Govea after he spent the past season on loan from a Romanian club.
If those tweaks don’t work, it will be an even bigger reset for Rayados in the summer. The manager will be gone, and he won’t be the only one.
Ortiz knows the expectations are sky high, and he’s already managing them. When asked if the team has done enough in the market, he said he wanted more players. No matter if more signings arrive or not, the pressure will be on. The only release valve for that pressure is a trophy.
Can the most Mexican team find help…from abroad?
Chivas is a storied club, one of Mexico’s most popular. It has a policy of signing only Mexican players, something that even extended to demanding dual nationals eligible for countries other than Mexico internationally suit up only for El Tri.
The policy started changing, with the Guadalajara club opening its doors to a Guatemala women’s international. Later, the men’s side signed Santi Ormeño, who plays for Peru.
Another international from abroad is coming through that door. Mexican-American winger Cade Cowell left the United States senior camp in Orlando on Thursday to finish signing for Chivas from the San Jose Earthquakes.
Cowell joins other dual-nationals like goalkeeper Oscar Whalley, born in Spain, and long-time winger Isaac Brizuela, who, like Cowell, was born in Northern California.
While Chivas made it to the final last Clausura, it was a turbulent Apertura. After a first-round playoff exit, Veljko Paunović himself decided to exit, resigning as manager. Chivas replaced him with former Argentina international Fernando Gago, who previously led Racing.
The spirit of the Mexicans-only policy still is clearly in effect, but Spanish sporting director Fernando Hierro and the club’s brass are open to getting creative
The roadmap for Chivas to be able to compete consistently always has been either the club relaxing its policy and getting more global or becoming a player development powerhouse producing so many young Mexicans that other teams can’t cope with their skill or the money the club earns from transfers.
That said, another potential offseason arrival is ‘mas mexicano que el nopal’, with the club working to bring Mexico’s all-time leading scorer Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez back to Guadalajara.
Who knows how much Chicharito can offer after his ACL tear in June with the LA Galaxy, but his return would be great publicity and potentially another weapon for Gago - especially if the rumors are true that Chicharito has his sights set on a national team return and a triumphal exit after the 2026 World Cup.
For now, Chivas will take the PR win and all the wins on the field it can get.
Who could win it, aside from the usual suspects?
With América the current champ and Tigres the team that won before that, it certainly can feel like Liga MX is one of those leagues where the big teams always win. Yet, cast your mind back just a bit more and you’ll recall a successful Pachuca run, back-to-back titles from Atlas, and a title win by León.
Hell, even Cruz Azul won since the pandemic. See? Anything can happen in Liga MX.
Last season’s most surprising team was Atlético San Luis, which sustained its status as a spoiler team even without manager Andre Jardine. Former Jardine assistant Gustavo Leal managed the club to a strong start in the regular season and even after failing to maintain that form Atleti sprung a playoff upset before getting smashed by Jardine and Co. in the semifinals.
It’s been a busy offseason. San Luis signed forward Franck Boli from the Portland Timbers but also sold winger Jhon Murillo to Atlas and let attacking midfielder Diéter Villalpando move on after his contract expired. Getting back to the semis isn’t a realistic expectation, but San Luis hopes to once again hang with the top teams.
Another candidate to surprise is León. After a Club World Cup loss, La Fiera canned Nicolas Larcamon and brought in Jorge Bava as the new coach. He needs to keep the team transitioning from its veteran core that pushed it to titles in Liga MX and the Concacaf Champions League. Bava brings several Uruguayans with him, but unless León ramps up its spending before the window closes, it’s not clear what he’ll be able to do differently than Larcamon.
My biggest surprise team is Toluca. The way the Red Devils bid farewell to Nacho Ambriz was silly, but new manager Renato Paiva has Liga MX experience (a middling season with León) and is a master developer.
They signed midfielder Marcel Ruiz to a contract extension and plan to sell only if the right European offer comes in, they’re adding prospect (and son of “El Loco”) Diego Abreu and goalkeeper Tiago Volpi still is at the back.
Someone needs to step up as a goalscorer, but I feel a good run coming in either league play or the Concacaf Champions Cup.
What will the new faces be able to provide?
Cruz Azul should look significantly different this season, though how that will go isn’t clear. New manager Martín Anselmi and captain Juan Escobar were beefing but apparently have cleared the air ahead of Saturday’s opener. Anselmi has a handful of new recruits from South America, but Cruz Azul fans are still hoping for more, even if a deal for Chivas winger Alexis Vega looks to be dead.
Last season was pretty miserable for Pachuca, but after putting in a year with youngsters and…not much else…Tuzos are looking to compete in the league and the CCC. Salomón Rondón arrives on a free transfer after suiting up for River Plate last season, and Guillermo Almada - Liga MX’s longest-tenured manager with his current team at just over two years - will hope the young players take a step forward.
In Puebla, it’s actually old faces. Forwards Lucas Cavallini and Santi Ormeño are both back where they probably had the most success in their club careers, hoping to meet and surpass the goal total La Franja loses with Guillermo Martinez out the door for Pumas.
Pumas continue to be in constant renovation. Antonio Mohamed left the manager job with his assistant, Gustavo Lema, taking over. Juan Dinenno left for Brazil and Gabriel Fernandez moved across town to Cruz Azul, but Martinez and Funes Mori have arrived to play the forward role.
We’ll be tracking the biggest stories all season with updates in Monday’s premium newsletters. For $50/year or $5/month, you’ll get a roundup of the best goals and moments, my thoughts on the weekend & the Conca-catch-up with news from all around the region!