US international and former Minnesota United attacker Miguel Ibarra saw scant action with Mexican club Leon during this fall's Liga MX Apertura season, but he hopes his performances late in the fall will lead to more playing time in the upcoming Clausura tournament.
“[It was] [a] very good [season]; I believe it was to adapt myself,” Ibarra told FutbolMLS.com in an exclusive interview. “Now I know what soccer in Mexico is all about. I believe I took advantage of the minutes I had.”
The 25-year-old UC Irvine product made the summer move to Mexico after three-and-a-half standout years in the NASL with Minnesota United. He appeared in eight of Leon's 19 games but scored an excellent goal in a 2-1 win against Atlas on Oct. 31.
Leon finished third in the Liga MX standings but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by sixth-seeded Club America. Ibarra played the final 12 minutes as a substitute in a 4-1 first-leg loss and did not appear in the second leg, a 2-1 Leon win.
Ibarra shares the Leon locker room with international teammate, US goalkeeper William Yarbrough, and said the two often discuss remaining in contention for the US national team.
“We get along very well,” Ibarra said. “We always talk, we always ask each other if Jurgen has gotten in touch with us. We talk about the national team, what we can do so that he continues to call us.”
Ibarra also revealed that other teammates, even those who are not eligible for the US national team, are intrigued by the opportunity of playing in the US.
“’El Chapo [Luis Montes] asked what it was like to live and play in the United States, that it looked very nice,” Ibarra said. “[My teammates] ask, they always have that curiosity of how the soccer is [in the US] or how they treat it here. Then we always talk about that, and they asked me if they treated the players well, and I said, 'Yes.'”
Minnesota United's impending move to MLS has many wondering if Ibarra will return to the club and to American soccer to be part of the club's transition, but the US native is not looking that far ahead.
“I’m not going to say no, because one never knows,” Ibarra said. “Something could happen and I return to the United States, perhaps with Minnesota United in MLS, or another MLS team, or likewise to another league in another part [of the world].”
