Preview- Liga MX Grita Mexico Clausura 2022

The Liga MX “Grita Mexico” Clausura 2022 tournament is set to kick-off on January 6 with the opening match being a bout between Atletico San Luis and Pachuca. So, in preparation, let’s take a quick look at the current landscape of the league.

Los 4 Grandes

First let’s take a look at the usual suspects of Liga MX, at least in terms of popularity that is. Colloquially known as los 4 Grandes of the Liga MX, they’ve really been anything but as of recent. Of course, we’re talking about America, Chivas, Cruz Azul and Pumas. Of these, only America had themselves a good prior season, but perhaps La Maquina has the best potential for this year.

La Maquina

While it is true that Cruz Azul had a tremendous start to 2021, even winning a championship and breaking their famed “curse”, they suffered a serious case of championship hangover in this previous tournament and ended the season in 8^th place. However, they seem to be poised for another great start judging by the acquisitions they made in the offseason. They reinforced their midfield by bringing over Charly Rodriguez and in a surprise move, also brought over Uriel Antuna from Chivas. Another shocker for many was the purchase of Erik Lira from Pumas. The young midfielder is touted as one of the best prospects Mexico as a nation has headed into the future. They rounded out their acquisitions with Alejandro Mayorga, also from Chivas, but it should be noted that in the process of all this, they lost Luis Romo and Roberto Alvarado, two key playmakers for La Maquina. All in all, they are well positioned to do some serious damage this tournament.

Odiame Mas

Las Aguilas seem to operate under the illusion that they should always win the championship every year and when they fail to do so it is considered a disaster and heads should roll. Never mind that the Mexico CIty team finished in 1^st and 2^nd place in each of the last two seasons. This didn’t stop them from their usual pillaging of players in Liga MX and from going through a bit of a rebuild, although not as dramatic as in the past. No strangers to the spotlight, America made waves with the folk they brought in but also with the ones they let go.

First, they brought in Jonathan Dos Santos, the younger of the Dos Santos brothers and consistent favorite of Tata Martino’s Mexico National Team. Jona had for a while hinted at his dream of playing for America and it became a reality after the LA Galaxy failed to renew his contract. Another key piece America picked up was Diego Valdes from Santos. The midfielder had been an important piece for Santos, but the lure of America was greater. America also made news going the other direction, that is, regarding players they let go.

Foremost of these was the news of young super star, Sebastian Cordova, leaving America for Tigres. He had been such a key piece for America this whole past year, so it came as a shock to fans when they heard he was on the trading block. Initially, there were wild rumors that Cordova would be shipped off to rival Chivas in exchange for Uriel Antuna and for a while, the Mexican soccer community lost their minds over this possibility. In the end, Cordova opted for a reunion with El Piojo Herrera in Tigres and Antuna as we know still went to Mexico City, but with Cruz Azul instead.

America might not be done with their signings so it will remain to be seen what else they do but one thing is sure: they will still be a force to reckon with throughout the whole season. As a reminder, they only lost 5 regular season games in all of 2021. Having said that, will that be enough this time around, or will they choke in the liguilla? Well, that’s a different story.

Las Chivas

Chivas has been a disappointment for quite some time now, there is no arguing that. This season, unfortunately for our Chivahermanos, nothing indicates that this won’t be case again. It’s not all bad news though. The silver lining here is they did pick up Roberto Alvarado from Cruz Azul so that should help a bit. Unfortunately, they did lose Antuna in the process who was arguably their best player (although honestly that’s not saying anything positive). So, in a way, it was a net neutral off season for Chivas with just a slight move in the right direction. But it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to at least get them past 9^th place, the highest they finished in all of 2021.

Los Pumas

Y los Pumas? Bien, gracias. Well actually, they’re doing less than good. While most teams tend to try and improve before the start of the season, Pumas seems to be the only one purposefully intent on heading in the opposite direction. They didn’t make any signings this off-season (that’s not true, they brought on Omar Islas from Liga de Expansion side, Pumas Tabasco) and what’s worse, they let go of one of their best and most beloved players in Erik Lira.

This season, due to financial issues (or as their fans will tell you, due to incompetence and malpractice), they will be relying on their cantera. Although, it’s not all bad news. Los universitarios were able to sneak their way into the Liguilla last season and even made it all the way to the semi’s, defeating their archrivals America, the league leaders, in the process. They put up a brave fight with the little they had after finding a hot streak towards the end of last year. Perhaps they can pick up where they left off and still be contenders this season. Realistically, that may be just a bit out of reach though.

Los del Norte

Outside of the Big Four, the teams from the North of Mexico are making their claim to who’s the so-called “Quinto Grande”. In particular, it’s the guys in Monterrey who in recent years have really stepped it up in this arena.

Los Felinos

Tigres is the team that’s made the most noise regarding this so-called spot alongside the top teams. This season won’t be much different, and they’ll once again be a top competing team. Adding to their already stacked team is the addition of the previously mentioned Sebastian Cordova. The youngster will be reunited with El Piojo and should be of immediate impact for the team. While that may be the only real acquisition for Tigres, it’s more than enough for what they need. They let go of Leo Fernandez, who is a great player in his own right but could never quite fit in with Los Felinos. Tigres finished in the top four last season, look for them to repeat the same feat again this season.

Los Rayados

Monterrey also had few additions to make to an already incredibly stacked team. They brought on Luis Romo from Cruz Azul (in exchange for Carlos Rodriguez), as well as brought back Rodolfo Pizarro on loan from Inter Miami. These two will join the likes of players such as Funes Mori, Vincent Janssen, Hector Moreno, Esteban Andrada, and the list goes on. Rayados is perhaps one of the teams that most would pick as likely favorites to win the league.

Y Los Demas?

Santos is another team from the North of Mexico that is also posed to make some noise. They’ve done decent, consistent work as of recent, even being runners up to the league before losing to Cruz Azul last year. They’ll still be a thorn on the side of every team that faces them and will surely be a lock for the liguilla. Their only acquisition? The return of Pedro Caixinha as head coach, the same person they won the 2015 Clausura with. They’ll be hoping to repeat that feat once more.

Another perennial contender is Leon, this last tournaments runner up. With them we also see the trend of a slow off-season with no real changes being made. Nonetheless, expect them to stay in the mix throughout this upcoming tournament.

Toluca is also another team that will be looking to make some noise this season. Last tournament they ended in 6^th place, which is not bad. For this tournament, they’ll want to make a deeper Liguilla run so they’ve gone through a bit of a makeover. They got a new coach in Nacho Ambriz, and brought in new players such as Leo Fernandez (again), and Damian Alvarez from Puebla, among others. If Leo can be the player he once was his first time around with Toluca, then the league will have to really look out for Los Diablos Rojos.

As for everyone else… well, this is what makes Liga MX great: it’s a toss up! No big flashy news or happenings were going on with the others. Most teams did pick up a few players within their means and others were a total disappointment as far as their preparation goes (looking at you, Necaxa). Others, made no changes to the status quo, as was the case with the reigning champ Atlas (save the release of Jesus Angulo to Tigres). But best believe these teams will all be in the mix. That’s the beauty of our Liga MX, they’re all contenders (well, mostly all).

From what’s been seen, we could make the argument that this tournament will come down to America, Cruz Azul, Monterrey and Tigres but Mexico is the land of opportunities, anything can happen. And you, what are your thoughts for this season?