While Mexican sides still hold the edge on the pitch, the country’s coaches and players suffer from a lack of visibility in Europe and elsewhere.
Mexican soccer legends Hugo Sanchez and Javier Aguirre believe that Major League Soccer has overtaken Liga MX in reaching out to a worldwide audience.
MLS keeps growing, welcoming two new franchises in 2020, Inter Miami and Nashville SC, to expand to a total of 26 teams complete.
Thus Far, Mexico remains the dominant country on a continental level in North America with the past 14 winners of the CONCACAF Champions League coming from Liga MX.
MLS in comparison boasts two winners from before the contest switched formats, with D.C. United and the LA Galaxy raising the title in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
Real Madrid favorite Sanchez, however, claims that Mexico’s neighbours to the north are outstripping the nation concerning vulnerability and press attention globally.
“Without a doubt, I believe that Mexican tutors are capable of handling in any region of the world,” Sanchez told ESPN.
“The advantage, some people have is that we played in Europe and later coached in Europe, like in the cases of Javier Aguirre and I.
“Regrettably, in the Mexican league, we do not have visionary leaders who [internationalize Liga MX], like they did in England and Spain in boosting their tournaments.
“It would mean that matches from Mexico may be observed in other powerful countries on earth. Instead, the United States is smart and does it better than us.”
Aguirre, who has coached the likes of Atletico Madrid, Espanyol and Zaragoza in Spain and took Mexico to two World Cup finals, consented that his compatriots have problems with a relative lack of prominence.
“No one sees us [in Mexico],” the present Leganes boss confirmed.
“They see MLS and they do not see Liga MX. They see the Libertadores rather than the CONCACAF Champions League.
“After the World Cup at Brazil maybe Miguel Herrera had a chance [to coach in Europe] but it passed.
“They only see us in World Cups and it’s a shame.”
