The difference between Liga MX Clausura and Apertura – Mexico league split season meaning explained.
The Liga MX, Mexico’s top-flight Professional Soccer league season is divided into two league tournaments known as Apertura Clausura
The Mexico Liga MX Apertura means ‘Opening’ and the Clausura meaning ‘Closing’. The league season in the country is played similar to the European style which begins from August to May the following year.
The Liga MX is currently ranked as one of the best football leagues in the world based on competitiveness as well as Mexican teams dominance in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Liga MX Apertura vs Clausura split season and meaning
The Apertura which means the Opening tournament runs from July to December followed by a short mid-season break and the Clausura meaning the Closing tournament runs from January to May the following year.
It follows the exact European football model. At the end of the Apertura and Clausura short tournaments, the two winners play the Campeon de Campeones game in July.
The Mexican Liga MX or Primera División de México, usually the Mexican league receives the majority of its audience from the United States and Canada.
Some Liga MX clubs like Club America, Chivas Guadalajara, CF Monterrey have more fans in the United States than some MLS teams.
Liga MX format – the Apertura and Clausura tournaments
Administered by the Mexican Football Federation, Liga MX is contested by 18 clubs. At the end of every short tournament regular season, the first 4 teams in the table qualify to the liguilla (“playoff”).
The remaining eight on the log would also qualify for another playoff that determines the next 4 liguilla or playoffs spots.
The playoffs phase begins with eight teams playing two-legged ties with the winner progressing to the next round.
The Liga MX leads the way and is currently regarded as the strongest in North America, a status that has forced the MLS to consider closer ties between both leagues.
Since the Apertura and Clausura short tournaments were introduced in 2002, more teams have emerged as a result of the competitiveness of the league.
Why the season is split into Apertura and Clausura
More money
Top teams including Club America, Chivas Guadalajara, have attracted large audiences across the United States and Canada.
The audience the league attracts is as a result of the performance by Liga MX teams in the CONCACAF Champions League as well as the competitiveness of the league.
With two short tournaments, more money is expected to be generated from top fixtures across the two tournaments.
Fixtures involving Club American, Chivas Guadalajara are the most sought after in the United States and Canada.
Increased Competition
The short tournament has further increased the competition in the domestic scene.
The competitiveness of the Mexican Liga MX is currently seen even as Mexican clubs continue to dominate the CONCACAF Champions League.
Player improvement
Unlike other North and Latin American countries including Brazil, there’s little or no exodus of Mexican players to Europe.
This has further strengthened the level of the league. Players get the opportunity to improve on themselves at all times.
Liga MX top teams in the Apertura and Clausura era
1. Club America
Club American is the most successful team in the history of the Liga MX. The club has won several titles.
2. Chivas Guadalajara
Club Deportivo Guadalajara is the second most successful team in the history of the league and is amongst the ten founders of the Liga MX.
Guadalajara and Club America holds the record as the only two teams that have never been relegated from the top flight since their establishment.
Guadalajara is the most popular Mexican soccer team despite being the second most successful in the country behind Club America.
3. Toluca
Deportivo Toluca is another top side in Mexico with a considerable number of titles in the domestic scene.
Toluca has won over ten Liga MX titles and is the third most successful team in the country behind Chivas Guadalajara and Club America.
Toluca has enjoyed success in the domestic scene. However, the club has also won the CONCACAF Champions League.
4. Cruz Azul
Club Deportivo Social y Cultural Cruz Azul Asociación is another top side in Mexico.
Although it fell short of glory in the Liga MX and Copa MX, Cruz has six CONCACAF Champions League making it the second-most successful club in the history of the competition.
5. Club León
Club León are eight times winning the Liga MX. León is one of the most responsible teams in the country.
Other top teams in the country include Pumas UNAM, Tigres UANL, Santos Laguna, Pachuca and CF Monterrey.
CONCACAF club competitions
The biggest question here is about how teams from Mexico qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League and CONCACAF League.
Since the establishment of the North American club competition, Mexican teams have dominated the CONCACAF Champions League.
Club America and Cruz Azul are the two sides with the most CONCACAF Champions League titles.
Each year, four teams from Mexico qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.
To help determine clubs that would participate as well as avoid conflict issues, the league’s governing body established rules to help clubs.
If the same two teams qualify for the Apertura and Clausura short tournaments, they’ll qualify alongside the two teams with the best record in the two tournaments.
If the runners-up of the season’s Apertura win the Clausura (facing two different teams in the finals of each tournament), the best record in the Apertura will qualify.
If a single team (e.g Club America) wins both the Apertura and the Clausura, the team with the best record in the Clausura will qualify for the continental.
Other leagues that operate the Apertura and Clausura short tournaments across include Costa Rica, Chile and Colombia.