How Liga MX Works, Explained
Published
Órale, so you turned on a Liga MX game and nothing made sense. Two seasons a year? A playoff to win the league? Why is nobody getting relegated? Relax, nephew. El Tío is going to explain it so you never look lost again.
Two tournaments a year, not one long season. This is the big one that confuses everybody coming from the Premier League or MLS. Liga MX runs two separate championships each year: the Apertura, which runs summer to December, and the Clausura, which runs January to May. Each one has its own champion. So México crowns two league winners a year, and yes, that means twice the trophies and twice the drama.
The regular season, then the liguilla. Each tournament has 17 rounds (jornadas) where all 18 teams play. But finishing first does not win you the title. The top teams qualify for the liguilla, a knockout playoff, and THAT is where the champion is decided. So a team can dominate all season and still lose it all in one bad night. Cruel? Yes. Fun? Also yes.
Home and away, two legs. In the liguilla, teams play each other twice, once at each stadium, and the aggregate score decides who advances. Big away goals, second-leg comebacks, penalty nights. This is where legends get made.
Relegation, the Mexican version. For years there was no relegation, which drove purists crazy. It has come back in an adjusted form tied to a multi-year points table, so the worst team over time pays the price.
The short version: two titles a year, a regular season that only gets you a ticket, and a playoff that decides everything. Once you get it, you will wonder why every league does not do it this way. Now go pick a team and start suffering. Which team should you support?
Quick answers
How many seasons does Liga MX play each year?
Two. The Apertura runs from summer to December and the Clausura runs from January to May. Each one crowns its own champion, so Liga MX has two league winners a year.
What is the liguilla?
The liguilla is the knockout playoff at the end of each tournament. The top teams from the 17 jornada regular season qualify, play home and away on aggregate, and the winner of the final is the champion.
Does Liga MX have relegation?
Relegation was suspended for years and has returned in an adjusted form tied to a multi-year points table, so the worst team over several seasons pays the price rather than the worst team in a single tournament.
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