Miguel Herrera has seen his seen plenty of the rivalry between the U.S. and Mexico, and the current Club America boss says that he believes the premier American league is still playing catch-up.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s opening leg against Toronto FC, the Mexican manager said he doesn’t necessarily see a competition between MLS and Liga MX. Rather, the former El Tri manager says Liga MX is competing with leagues across the Atlantic.
“Our league is very solid, very strong and isn’t competing with MLS,” Herrera said at a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s opening leg against Toronto FC. “Our league competes with leagues in Europe, and obviously the MLS is wanting to catch the Mexican league to also compete with the leagues in Europe in the future.”
Herrera went on to say MLS is clearly improving due the increased investment, citing Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls’ recent CONCACAF Champions League success. Despite the results, Herrera says he views Mexican teams as stronger overall while adding Liga MX clubs Tigres and Club Tijuana were unlucky.
“I think we have to show on the pitch that our league is still solid,” the Herrera said. “I saw both the games between Toronto and New York against Tijuana and Tigres, and I felt the Mexican teams played better.
“Sometimes this isn’t about playing better — you win with goals, and [the MLS teams] were practical and scored the goals at the right time to eliminate them.”