Liga MX Clausura 2020 Preview/Predictions
Believe it or not, Liga MX is back! The Clausura 2020 tournament begins this Friday, and there are a lot of intriguing storylines to follow. Chivas have bolstered their team with intriguing signings, and Monterrey will look to repeat their fantastic performance of last year. The El Tri Online give their predictions and preview what will surely be another entertaining Liga MX tournament.
Who will take the crown in the Clausura 2020?
Joe Rodriguez: Chivas. The way that El Rebaño Sagrado re-stacked their roster with star power under Ricardo Pelaez is unprecedented. Las Chivas now have a star-studded roster that will make the most noise and ultimately lift the title for the first time since the departure of Matias Almeyda.
Ramon Chavez: Monterrey will continue their good play and fortune in 2020. El Turco got ahold of a Monterrey squad that was playing uninspired football midway through the season and turned Los Rayados into a team that could go toe-to-toe with the European Champions one day and wins the Liga MX the next. A back-to-back championship isn’t too far fetched for this squad.
Vincent Sanchez: That’s a tough one. Liga MX is so competitive, looking back at the past decade and 19 championships that have been awarded, all 19 have been spread across nine teams. That’s almost half the league. So half of the league, in the past ten years, has won at least one championship. And those nine teams show no sign of slowing down. So, who wins the crown this season? Any of the last ten years contenders, which would be: Monterrey, Tigres, Santos, America, Leon, Pachuca, Pumas, Chivas, or Tijuana. Pero ojo, here’s where the competitiveness of Liga MX comes in. Of that list, drop off the teams that are currently in bad shape (mainly Pumas and Pachuca) and add in Morelia and Queretaro, and you’ve got your pool of winners. I don’t see anyone outside of that list taking it at the end of the Clausura. If you ask me, though, I’d say it’s a three-way tie between Monterrey, Santos, and Leon.
What has been the biggest acquisition of the winter transfer window?
Joe: Chicote Calderon is a kid that I like very much. He’s dynamic and possesses natural skills that still haven’t peaked. He will be a crucial figure for Chivas if they want to be a force to be reckoned with this season.
Ramon: I think the biggest acquisition has been JJ Macias. He is a future Mexican National Team stalwart, and at 20 years of age, he has his whole future ahead of him. It seems like Chivas’ strategy was to buy players that are in-form and still young enough to sell for a profit later on. They will undoubtedly capitalize on Macias maturing within their ranks until the right bid comes around.
Vincent: The most significant acquisition wasn’t a player; it was Ricardo Peláez moving over to Chivas. His arrival gave Chivas a jolt of energy, and his subsequent face-lift of the whole Chivas roster will set HUGE expectations for the season to come.
Is Chivas back?
Joe: Absolutely! Victor Guzman, Chicote Calderon, and Uriel Antuna are among a few of the reasons why Chivas is back. They’ll be making some noise this 2020, but be very wary if Chivas starts the season losing in the first several games. If the morale of the team gets hampered in the early part of the 2020 Clausura, we could have a complete collapse. I highly doubt that will happen.
Ramon: It remains to see if the 40 million dollar investment in players this offseason will pay dividends for Ricardo Pelaez and Chivas, so I’m going to say no…for now. But with signings like Jose Juan Gallito Vazquez, Victor Guzman, and budding superstar Jose Juan Macias, it’s hard to doubt they will be successful. Liga MX is always more fun with Chivas competing in La Fiesta Grande of Mexican soccer. A place where they have been absent in the last five postseasons.
Vincent: Remains to be seen. I don’t think Chivas will be great off the bat; they still need to build that team chemistry and have all their new players get used to playing alongside one another. And I think that’s easier said than done. So will they be an instant success? I don’t think so. Will they be noticeably better than previous seasons? Yes.
Who will be the MVP of the Tournament?
Joe: Chicote Calderon has blossomed into one of the most exciting players in his position. I can see a season that takes him to the next level. His dependability and ability to create offense will help him stand out.
Ramon: Charly Rodriguez was part of the Once Ideal for the 2019 Apertura tournament, and I believe he’s going to leap cementing his place in the National team and Monterrey’s starting XI in 2020. If the form he displayed against Liverpool continues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move across the pond this fall.
Vincent: Charly Rodríguez is in a league of his own and shows no signs of stopping.
What team will disappoint the most?
Ramon: Tuca Ferretti is known for not playing youngsters, so I think age will start to catch the squad and affect their level of play. The average age of Tigres’ players when they faced America in the Apertura quarter-finals last year was 31, and Gignac, 34, is closer to the end of his career than the start. The 2010s were a magical time for Los Felinos, but this season, we’ll see them fall down the pecking order of Liga MX.
Joe: Club America is likely to disappoint. Not so much because they will have a bad season, but because they will not be where their fans want them to be. Several key players have left or are on the verge of leaving the team. That will put Piojo Herrera in a tight spot as he will have many holes to fill.
Vincent: I was going to say Cruz Azul (again), but at some point, you can’t disappoint when no one has any expectations of you, having said that; however, for me, it may be the other team at the Azteca that disappoints. Not to mention America will have a bad season, they are always ever-present and a threat, but they’ll have an ok season where they’ll make the liguilla, sure, but won’t advance far in it. That’s the downfall of being one of the greats. Anything short of a championship is a failure, for both fans and haters alike.
Give a prediction for LigaMX in the 2020s
Joe: Liga MX will continue to be the most competitive league from top to bottom in the Western Hemisphere. The biggest challenge facing the league in the next decade will be how well they’re able to ease off MLS’ ability to lure young talent that used Liga MX as launching pad to Europe.
Ramon: Liga MX and MLS will continue to merge until forming a North American soccer league of some kind. The World Cup will take place in both countries in 2026, and it just makes sense for both leagues to continue to push the other in the name of growth and the almighty dollar.
Vincent: Liga MX will continue to grow, as it always has, with its fair share of controversies, as it always does. They’ll continue being the top league in North America, although I think MLS may get very, very close to catching up towards the end of the decade. More Mexican talent will be shipped overseas to Europe, and my biggest hope is for Mexican clubs to return to competition with South American clubs in the Libertadores, Sudamericana, etc.
