Liga MX (Mexico)

[scwiffy]

 

Anyone playing in this league?? 

Thought I'd go for something different and I'm having the most fun I've had on a FM save for a long time.

4 domestic trophies to win, The 2nd most reputable league in the Americas, comparatively lots of money (can snap up lots of south american potential), big stadiums with high attendances, very competitive league with lots of strong teams, get to play in the North American Chapions League and possibly Club World Cup. 

Would love to know others experiences/stories, player recommendations etc

[Bigpapa42]

I've played Liga MX quite extensively on FM18. My first foray into the league was a randomly-selected save with Pumas on FM17 and I kinda fell in love. On FM18, I've mostly been playing as Lobos BUAP. Unfortunately, the sponsorship seem a little buggy with that particular club and I reported it awhile ago but never had it acknowledged. 

Its actually more than 4 domestic trophies. You have the split season, the Campeon de Campeones between the winners of those, the two Copa MX seasons, the Super Copa.... Although the champions of the Liga MX get left out of the Copa MX so can't really win EVERYTHING in one season. Really wish Mexican clubs still participated in the Copa Libertadores as the CONCACAF Champions League just isn't as exciting. 

A few notes....

-finding a file to activate the third/fourth division can be a nice idea on a new save, as all the Liga MX clubs have B teams that play down there. 

-the foreign player restrictions means you basically need to try to develop Mexican players. Those NB indicators are gold. I recommend heavily scouting the 2nd division clubs. Mexico produces some absolutely amazing newgens, particularly at the biggest clubs (which have the best academies), but they will come thru lower clubs as well. Poached almost a dozen 4/5 star newgens from 2nd division clubs with Lobos. 

-loans between top clubs for quality players is common in Mexico. Its good, in that you can sometimes snag quality first-team quality players on loan. Bad in that you get annoying loan offers for players you have no intention of loaning. 

-South America! As you mentioned, and as Liga MX clubs actually do, South America is your shopping mall. You won't be able to grab the absolutely top young players from Argentina and Brazil but almost anything just below that.... I've done pretty well finding some free players, particularly from Argentina. Similar to South America, "old head" players still have their uses so don't look past a 33 year old. Or older. 

-attendances are great. But low ticket prices mean you don't get rich that way, even drawing 60K per match. TV money isn't huge either. Big clubs rely on sponsorship money. And the biggest clubs will get huge money that way. 

-can be difficult, but there are some quality Mexican players abroad you can try to lure back. Particularly the ones at Porto, Andres Guardado, Guillermo Ochoa.... 

What club did you end up going with? 

[scwiffy]

Glad its not only me enjoying it! 

9 hours ago, Bigpapa42 said:

Its actually more than 4 domestic trophies. You have the split season, the Campeon de Campeones between the winners of those, the two Copa MX seasons, the Super Copa.... Although the champions of the Liga MX get left out of the Copa MX so can't really win EVERYTHING in one season. Really wish Mexican clubs still participated in the Copa Libertadores as the CONCACAF Champions League just isn't as exciting. 

I've just started my second season with Monterry (great club to pick IMO), after winning Closing Stage league and cup. Just won Campeon de Campeones, I didn't know there was another competition (Super Copa). I love the way the season is split, makes it much more rewarding as an FM save as it feels like your progressing quicker. After winning Closing Stage I'm assuming I'm in CONCACAF Champions League but can't see any fixtures for it or any qualification rules in the Liga MX info?

9 hours ago, Bigpapa42 said:

-finding a file to activate the third/fourth division can be a nice idea on a new save, as all the Liga MX clubs have B teams that play down there. 

This is the only draw back for me. I don't have it loaded, I'm on iPad so not even sure its possible? But its frustrating not having a B team that plays, it a nice way to develop youngsters and players that can't find loan clubs.

9 hours ago, Bigpapa42 said:

-the foreign player restrictions means you basically need to try to develop Mexican players. Those NB indicators are gold. I recommend heavily scouting the 2nd division clubs. Mexico produces some absolutely amazing newgens, particularly at the biggest clubs (which have the best academies), but they will come thru lower clubs as well. Poached almost a dozen 4/5 star newgens from 2nd division clubs with Lobos. 

I heard about restrictions but can't find it anywhere in FM? I have a ton of South Americans and haven't seen any "NB" indicators?

In terms of young talent I've got Montes who looks like he could be a beast. I bought Alverez from America for 750k, monster potential, needed a bit of strength training focus in first season but other than that he's already at a decent Liga MX level. Just bought a load more future stars from Argentinian league, like you said 'shopping mall' due to Liga MX's decent reputation. Only problem with Argentinian youngsters is lack of mentals, especially determination which is such a crucial attribute (not least for fulfilling potential). Colombia on the other hand, OMG! great all round attribute youngsters there and cheap as chips! Buy them and their value goes up 2 million straight away.

10 hours ago, Bigpapa42 said:

-attendances are great. But low ticket prices mean you don't get rich that way, even drawing 60K per match. TV money isn't huge either. Big clubs rely on sponsorship money. And the biggest clubs will get huge money that way.

Definitely not struggling for money with Monterrey wither way, they have huge attendance but not sure if thats one of the reasons

[scwiffy]

FYI I I saw this and its what inspired me to start a Liga MX save.....

https://youtu.be/UJEuAi9Wf0M

[Bigpapa42]

I created this thread awhile ago about watching & following Liga MX. Kept meaning to make a thread in here but legit wasn't sure anyone managed there besides me and servalarian manage there (check out his work where he manages Club America) and now Box-to-Box (great thread here). 

Monterrey are a great team. All around. Tons of talent, absolutely epic new stadium. A friend has family there and was actually in the city for the recent liguila (playoffs) but has never been to a match. I doubt Monterrey charge that much more for tickets than most other Liga MX clubs, so its probably moreso money from sponsors and the big individual TV deal they will have. 

If you are playing on FM Touch, it may not have the foreign player rules and that's nice. Its not THAT bad - you must have 9 players considered Natural Born Mexicans in the match day squad. So you could have all NB players on the bench, a couple on the pitch, and the rest foreign players. The tough part is that to be NB, a player has to be born in Mexico. So a player who came to Mexican and naturalized will never get NB status. Some clubs have relatively little quality in the NB players - ran into that in a save with Tijuana. 

Colombia is very fertile ground. I always look at Envigado for some quality newgens. Another club I managed on FM17 that was quite fun. 

Liga MX is a league where there is a lot of parity and a lot of money, so most clubs have both quality and history. Monterrey and Tigres are currently the class of the league, but they aren't insurmountable. The traditional big four are Club America, Chivas, Cruz Azul, and Pumas. Chivas famously have the Mexican-only policy. Pumas are something of a fallen giant, as they are the weakest of the big clubs but have tons of potential. You have loads of fairly young clubs, too. Lobos BUAP have a great name and logo but that's about it - they were a surprise promotion last season and don't really have the setup to compete in any way.

Hoping some others are having an adventure in Mexico as well.

One other thing to promote- Netflix has a drama series that has run 3 seasons built around a fictional Liga MX football club. Its called Club de Cuervos (Club of Crows) and its quality entertainment. It doesn't focus too heavily on the football but the drama around the owners and players. Its a bit absurd at times but draws in a lot of real unique elements of Liga MX. 

[scwiffy]

53 minutes ago, Bigpapa42 said:

One other thing to promote- Netflix has a drama series that has run 3 seasons built around a fictional Liga MX football club. Its called Club de Cuervos (Club of Crows) and its quality entertainment. It doesn't focus too heavily on the football but the drama around the owners and players. Its a bit absurd at times but draws in a lot of real unique elements of Liga MX. 

No way! lol, I'll definitely check that out.

On Monterry stadium, I saw a pic of it online, EPIC!

 

[Hoarau]

I've actually been playing in Mexico the last two versions, all started when I signed Hirving Lozano. I decided to try him out started at his original club, Pachua. with him moving to PSV I've had to find a new club and I've ended up at Pumas. They definitely seem to be a couple of steps behind a couple of the "top sides"... I'm definitely missing my time at the Estadio Hidalgo... so may venture back there in FM18.

Very fun, underrated league. 

[Gungner]

Never managed in Mexico in FM before, but I remember playing as Monarcas Morelia in Pro Evolution Soccer some versions ago, and fell in love with the team. Plus, it's a beautiful city. I might actually give them a go in FM.... 

[scwiffy]

After 2 seasons I think I'm done with my Monterrey save for now. 

I'm dominating the League and the CONCACAF Champions League isn't challenging enough to sustain my interest long term. I'll definitely return to give the Club World Cup a go, or purely for the intrigue of the Mexican League/setup, might even see if I can get the Mexico job. Will certainly be starting a Mexican save with each new FM from now on.

[Bigpapa42]

That's basically the downside to managing in Mexico that I have found as well, @scwiffy. The CONCACAF Champions League just isn't that exciting or challenging. The Club World  Cup is definitely fun, but its short. And I have found it can interfere with the Apertura playoffs in mid to late December, so its annoying in that regard. Its really too bad Liga MX doesn't participate in the Copa Libertadores anymore as that is a much more fun competition to participate in.

 

[scwiffy]

13 hours ago, Bigpapa42 said:

That's basically the downside to managing in Mexico that I have found as well, @scwiffy. The CONCACAF Champions League just isn't that exciting or challenging. The Club World  Cup is definitely fun, but its short. And I have found it can interfere with the Apertura playoffs in mid to late December, so its annoying in that regard. Its really too bad Liga MX doesn't participate in the Copa Libertadores anymore as that is a much more fun competition to participate in.

 

I think if I want a more longer term save in Mexico next time, I'll choose a less established team. Monterry have good players for the league already and a few stars. One of the reasons I never choose title challengers in any league

[Bigpapa42]

5 hours ago, scwiffy said:

I think if I want a more longer term save in Mexico next time, I'll choose a less established team. Monterry have good players for the league already and a few stars. One of the reasons I never choose title challengers in any league

That's very true. One of the interesting aspects about Liga MX, though, is that there are quite a few clubs that are capable of being title challengers. Monterrey are definitely one of the strongest sides to start. But a lot of clubs have pretty solid squads, facilities, and money. Very few are years of building away from challenging. On FM17, I went with Pumas, who are one of the Grande clubs but probably the weakest at this point in time. Still some real quality and between digging up some quality newgens and finding solid veterans in Argentina, were quickly a powerhouse side.

Wanting a bit more of a challenge, I went with Lobos BUAP on FM18. By far the weakest side in Liga MX, they have a squad that is heavily made up of loan players. Little money and poor facilities. The problem with them is it was pretty much impossible to make money, as sponsorships didn't really grow as the club reputation grew and because they don't start with an individual TV deal, they never get one later (which can be like 30m Euros a season for the biggest clubs, so HUGE money). I posted as a bug but never saw it acknowledged.

There are some good options, though. Xolos and Puebla are interesting. Can also go a step down and look at the second division, which has quite a few clubs of interest.

[Bigpapa42]

Post winter update, I decided to go back to Liga MX for another swing with Lobos. I was hoping for another data file to be released to add the third division. I had previously created one myself and messed around with it again, but couldn't get the setup to be realistic enough. The third division is two groups, which actually feed vertically (making them seem like the third and fourth tier but they are considered the third tier). Could not make that function anywhere near accurately and when I looked at claessen's file from the previous database, it seems like he recreated almost everything from scratch, which is WAY beyond my ability in the editor. Definitely prefer to have the third division active as Lobos Premier (the B team) actively plays matches then, but its not like I have much talent in there at the start anyway.

On the winter update, it looks like Eduard Tercero got a bit of a bump. He now has First Team status but his personality might keep him from ever reaching his potential. Was hoping I could sign a highly professional veteran to mentor him, but it looks to my old go-to Sebastian Dominguez has fully retried and is no longer in the data. Probably going to mine some newgens and rely on them quite heavily.

Don't think I mentioned this before, but the US is a prime hunting ground for Mexican clubs. As long as the MLS is active, amateur clubs in the United States will populate with newgens on amateur contracts. And there are almost always going to be some strong potential ones. They can be signed for no compensation and will accept a contract even if they were just generated. I've found 4/5 star potential Americans in pretty much every Liga MX save, and some of them have become immediate starters at 18 for Lobos (which says a lot about the starting quality at Lobos lol). And every so often, there is a high potential Canadian kid generated which is extra awesome (my nationality). Had a 5'1" Canadian playmaker on one save and he never got any taller.