Beñat San José has coached in seven nations across four continents.
The Spaniard has seen plenty of the world’s game as both a player and manager, from the Basque Country to the Persian Gulf to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. And he did not hesitate to praise Real Salt Lake after the Utah club defeated his Atlas FC in the Leagues Cup group stage last week.
“In general, I don’t know. What I can say is MLS teams are at a top level,” San José said in Spanish when asked about the pattern of MLS bettering their LIGA MX counterparts in the tournament’s opening days. “Real Salt Lake is an extraordinary team. They’re very good technically, physically, tactically. You can tell they’ve been working together for a long time.”
It was an extension of the perspective he’d shared after Atlas’ defeat of Houston Dynamo FC in their opener, which, combined with Houston’s win over RSL, saw Los Zorros through to the Round of 32.
“It is a high-level opponent. We have found a more organized game, in the opponent there are less distances between the lines than perhaps in Mexico, where it’s more back and forth – and that also has a beauty,” he said. “The game here is a little more tactical, and then there is the physical issue.
"Without a doubt, the truth is that physically it’s powerful, not only in speed but also in size … this also occurs in the Mexican league, but I think that in MLS it is worth highlighting there.”
Differing styles
The 44-year-old is one of several coaches to speak along these lines. Among the many storylines around Leagues Cup, the contrast of styles and systems when teams from the two leagues clash has consistently intrigued both observers and participants. MLS adversaries are asking different questions than LIGA MX outfits face at home.
“Yeah, it's a little bit of everything,” Tigres UANL boss Veljko Paunovic told Houston-based journalist Glenn Davis in an appearance on the 'Soccer Matters' radio show. “There's a cultural context, a difference between the recruitment and the profiles of the players and all that, I think it's getting more even in the last years.
"I think Leagues Cup showed that and proved that last year; it's getting very, very tight, the challenge between the teams, between the two leagues, it's every time much more even.”
The Serb can speak with authority, having led the Chicago Fire for four seasons from 2015-19. His résumé reflects another area of progress for the northern league: A growing appeal to coaches from across the world, in parallel with increased investment in managerial hires. Atlético San Luis’ Domènec Torrent oversaw New York City FC for a year and a half in 2018-19 and made a similar point last month.
“Two things are obvious to me: the difference in pace,” said Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, “and then it seems to me that we don't pay enough attention to football in MLS. MLS’s football has improved greatly. We would be wrong to think that Mexican football is better, but it is not worse, either. But it is very much equalizing.
“Look at the recent national team results between Mexico and the United States; this already tells you about the capacity they have. They have improved a lot in many things, infrastructure, coaches, the players they sign are no longer players who come to retire in MLS. So I know it and it doesn't surprise me, maybe it surprises you from Mexico; I don't know what vision you have of MLS.”
MLS development
The two leagues have locked horns in Concacaf Champions League and Champions Cup for a quarter-century, and over most of that period LIGA MX has enjoyed a pronounced superiority, particularly in the latter rounds and most dominantly when its elite clubs like Tigres, Monterrey and Club América are involved.
MLS’s maturation continues to chip away at that advantage, however, closing the gap in technique, athleticism and tactical nous. Toluca’s Portuguese manager Renato Paiva sees MLS sides imposing themselves on their Mexican opponents in ways they experience less often south of the border.
“The most important difference that I feel vis-à-vis LIGA MX is that the MLS teams are very physical – not that they don’t have technical and tactical quality, because they do have it, but they're very physical – set pieces, playing in the air, one-on-one play, physically that's very demanding for the players,” Paiva told MLSsoccer.com in Spanish on Thursday.
“Very well-organized teams, both in the attack and defense; if they play compact they will be able to defend and attack better. About the physical part, in one-on-one [duels] it is very difficult, in two-on-one it's going to be even more difficult, both in defense and attack, and that's why the teams should be more compact. So that's the clearest difference that I feel, that the matches are very physical.”
Measuring stick
Santos Laguna have inflicted plenty of pain on MLSers in Concacaf action over the years, yet found themselves on the receiving end of one of the group stage’s most surprising results, a 3-0 thumping by D.C. United at Subaru Park. Speaking to reporters ahead of Friday’s Round-of-32 visit to FC Cincinnati, veteran manager Ignacio Ambríz warned that even the proudest LIGA MX sides can take lessons from these occasions.
“We come with the responsibility of knowing that Santos needs international matches,” said Los Guerreros’ leader. “We have taken it with great responsibility. Every time I’ve had to come, I take it with the seriousness that it needs.
“Competing with MLS teams is very beneficial for LIGA MX,” he noted after Santos’ tight match vs. Atlanta United earlier in the week, where a shootout win after a 0-0 scoreline edged them into the knockout phase. “It's an opportunity to measure ourselves against different styles and a high level of competition.
"I would like for whoever wins the group to not have to move from their home base, since currently Mexican clubs suffer greater wear and tear by having to travel to distant venues. However, I'm happy to participate in the Leagues Cup, especially now that Mexico no longer competes in South American [club] tournaments.”
It’s important to note this is very much a two-way street: Leagues Cup poses new experiences for MLS teams, too.
“It's always about different style of play,” new Nashville SC head coach B.J. Callaghan said during his side’s two-and-out Leagues Cup campaign. “You don't have the familiarity of the player pool, and even the tactical sort of setup that you would by just watching week in and week out of your own league.
"And so I think it extends your players in a good way to really be challenged and face different profile of players, different tactical setups, and having to do it on kind of short preparation time. I think it's a great opportunity for us, and a great opportunity to sort of challenge the group on our first match and challenge our identity that we're trying to build.”
