A world champion, a Copa Libertadores champion and the highest scorer in the history of the Concachampions kick in the fields of the second division of Mexican soccer. César Villaluz, Neri Cardozo and Javier ‘Chuleta’ Orozco, once international figures, find in the MX Expansion League a platform to stay current in professionalism after having caressed the glory.
“I decided to go to Mexico for a family issue, we want to be in Mexico more than anything. We do not know when it will be possible to go up to the First (Division), if it is in one year or the second, the Federation (Mexican Soccer) will decide with FIFA and the lawyers, ”Neri Cardozo mentioned to ESPN when he was hired by the Venados de Mérida in the middle of the brawl over the disappearance of the right to promote.
Last November, the TAS (court of sports arbitration, for its acronym in English) ratified that the Liga de Expansión MX will not be promoted for the next six seasons, so these players cannot aspire to the First Division, at least according to what the rules say.
But that is not the only change. With the mutation from Ascenso MX to Expansión MX, the average value of each club decreased 60.79 million pesos, since in the 2019-20 season (last with the name Liga de Ascenso) it was 257.73 million pesos, while for January 2021, the average dropped to 196.94 million.
The value of the entire Expansion League in 2021 is 3,172 million pesos, which represents only 17.7% of the total value of First Division clubs, according to Transfermarkt figures. The most expensive team in Expansión is Mineros de Zacatecas with a value of 237 million pesos, while Rayados, the most expensive in Liga MX, is worth 1,745 million, that is, six times more.
However, the average age did drop. While in the last tournament of the Liga de Ascenso the average was 24.5 years (with 12 teams), in the first season of Expansión the average was 23.8 years (16 teams).
The few veterans left in the Expansion League are players with extensive experience in national and international soccer: in Venados, Cardozo himself stands out, former league champion in Argentina and Mexico with Boca Juniors and Rayados, respectively, as well as a former national team. from Argentina, as well as goalkeeper Armando Navarrete, formerly from América.
Cancún FC, the team led by Christian ‘Chaco’ Giménez, has in its ranks Guillermo Allison, the ‘eternal’ substitute for Jesús Corona in the Cruz Azul goal, Javier Orozco, current top scorer in the Champions League of the Concacaf (he played it with Cruz Azul and Santos), as well as César Villaluz.
In Celaya are the two of the three oldest players in the league: Cristian Campestrini, former Puebla goalkeeper, aged 40, and Leobardo López, captain of Pachuca, champion of the Copa Sudamericana in 2006, aged 37. Emanuel Loeschbor (36 years old) plays in Atlético Morelia and Luis ‘Macue’ Robles (34 years old) plays in Tepatitlán, with experience in Cruz Azul and Atlas, respectively.
In terms of player values, the difference between Liga MX and Liga de Expansión is greater than 10 times. In the highest circuit, José Juan Macías is the best-priced player with a price of 243.1 million pesos against Ronaldo González, 21-year-old midfielder from Atlante, valued at 19.4 million.
- 60.8 million pesos decreased the average value of each Expansion team from the 2019-20 season to the 2020-21
- 90% of the players in the Expansion League are Mexican, while in the MX League that percentage drops to 60.
- 7 soccer players from Tampico Madero, first champion of the Expansion League, were transferred to the First Division during the winter market
