1. Mexico in Copa Libertadores
As a member of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), Mexico never had the opportunity to participate in official tournaments organized by South America’s CONMEBOL; let it be Copa America for national teams or Copa Libertadores for club teams. This changed in 1993 when CONMEBOL began to invite two national teams into Copa America competitions which have typically been given to CONCACAF sides. This opened the door to demonstrate how influential a Mexican participation can be in these tournaments both financially and on-the-field.
In their first Copa America participation in 1993 the Mexican national team reached the final against Argentina. Although it ended with a loss, Mexico demonstrated that they were a competitive opponent who was not afraid to face historical giants. This, along with the expansion of globalization of the sport, began the process which would welcome Mexican teams into Copa Libertadores.
Mexico’s participation in Copa Libertadores began in 1998 after the Venezuela football federation decided to put on sale its two seeds for the competition. Mexico agreed to buy those seeds which meant the two invited Mexican clubs would have to face two Venezuelan teams in a short pre-Libertadores group competition where the top two reached the tournament. That year, the invitees were Chivas of Guadalajara and Club America who would face Caracas and Atletico Zulia. The result? Both Mexican sides reached the group stages of the tournament.
This system to face Venezuelan teams in pre-Libertadores was in place for six years until 2004 when the Interliga was established. This small tournament was composed of eight Mexican teams where the finalists would qualify directly into the Libertadores. While in 2004 only the two Interliga teams qualified, from 2005 until 2010 it was these two teams plus a third representative chosen from the Supercopa champion of Mexican soccer. From 2011 until 2016, Mexican teams were given two direct seeds plus one to compete in a pre-Libertadores playoff.
Sadly, recent scheduling changes made by CONMEBOL to the competition meant the tournament would now be played from January to November. In response, the Liga MX made the disappointing decision to conclude their participation in the prestigious tournament as it would collide with the already busy schedule which must favor the CONCACAF Champions League. However, schedule changes announced recently for the Concachampions where the tournament will be played from February to May opens the door once again for Liga MX teams to participate in Copa Libertadores.
The Libertadores tournament is undoubtedly strengthened with the inclusion of Mexican teams. Liga MX sides have the financial well-being to sign international star players like Andre-Pierre Gignac, Edu Vargas, Nicolas Castillo, Edson Puch, Nahuel Guzman, or Agustin Marchesin to name a few from a very long list. Moreover, with a population of over 120 million in Mexico plus another estimated 30 million in the United States, the Liga MX offers a tremendous market to CONMEBOL.
Yet, as Mexican teams have never won a Libertadores title, many fans of the tournament may argue that Mexico has no place in such historic competition. Comments like ‘these teams are all money and no passion’, ‘how many titles have they won?’, ‘who are they in South American soccer?’, or ‘can’t see a Mexican in a Mexican team’.
Nonetheless, Mexico can pride itself by being both a financial asset and a strong performer.
In the next page, you will view the aggregate stats for Mexican representatives throughout 1998-2016.
