By: Jonny Rico
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There are a lot of fundamental things that are wrong in LIGA Bancomer MX. Like the ‘Pacto de Caballeros’, the unwritten agreement to NOT respect free agency and completely undermine the rights of a player out of contract. But since that is the way it has always been in Mexico and MLS also seems to have that problem, we all choose to ignore it.
But when Puebla FC becomes one of the three LIGA MX representatives in Copa Libertadores – the most important club competition in the Western Hemisphere – there is something REALLY WRONG with you.
To the defense of LIGA MX, it is not 100 percent its faul. The region’s governing body, CONCACAF can take partial blame here.
Puebla FC currently holds the ‘Mexico 3 slot in the 2016 Copa Libertadores and were paired against Argentina’s Racing Club in a preliminary round to see which of the two advances to the group stage.
The first leg match ended in a 2-2 draw in Puebla’s Estadio Cuauhtemoc. Twice the Argentine club came from behind to tie the game and take two crucial away goal as tie-breakers. The second leg match is scheduled for Wednesday Feb. 10 at 4:45 p.m. (Pacific) / 7:45 p.m. (Eastern).
So how does a team that has only won 19 of the last 70 league matches get to represent LIGA MX and Mexico at the Copa Libertadores? By not winning a league title or even making a league final. Because achieving either one of these would automatically disqualify a Mexican team from being eligible for Copa Libertadores. The champion and runner up finisher of every season are forced to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) and thus not allowed to participate in Copa Libertadores.
With a 19-26-25 record over the past two years in LIGA MX, Puebla FC is not the worst representation of a country in Copa Libertadores. During the 2011 edition of the tournament Club Jorge Wilsterman of Bolivia participated in the international club competition despite being relegated to the Second Division of Bolivian football.
Wilsterman had won the championship during the first semester season and with it its Copa Libertadores entry. But a bad second semester saw the reigning champions relegated to the Second Division and forced to participate in Copa Libertadores from the lower tier.
Since CONCACAF does not allow the Mexican Soccer Federation (FMF) to send its best teams to a rival confederation’s tournament, the FMF decided to spice things up in its domestic cup competition, Copa MX, by giving the teams there a path to Copa Libertadores.
The Apertura Copa MX champions face off against the Clausura champions during the summer in what is known as the Super Copa MX. The winning team is awarded the ‘Mexico 3’ spot in the following January’s edition of Copa Libertadores. ‘Mexico 1’ and ‘Mexico 2’ are the highest seeded teams in the league table during the previous Apertura season, provided that the teams are not tied down in the CCL.
Puebla advanced to the ‘Mexico 3’ spot in the 2016 Copa Libertadores after winning the 2015 Clausura edition of Copa MX. It did not have to go through the 2014-15 Super Copa MX against the 2014 Apertura champion (Santos Laguna) because Santos went on to win the 2015 Clausura league title and forced to go into CCL.
Unfortunately for the Mexican soccer fans, neither the FMF nor the LIGA MX are too concern over fixing the obvious flaw in the system that allows teams like Puebla FC to be a representative.
Mexican television companies hold strong influence over the FMF and LIGA MX. And since neither of the two biggest TV networks in Mexico have the television rights to Copa Libertadores this problem is not a priority to the Mexican soccer authorities.
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