HOUSTON — Ahead of Club America’s Leagues Cup quarterfinal clash against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night (8:30 pm ET | TUDN, ESPN+ in the US, TSN.ca in Canada), America head coach Miguel “Piojo” Herrera not only praised MLS as an "attractive" league; he even left the door open for coaching in MLS in the future.
Of course, the former Mexico national team boss made very clear he was extremely happy with the Mexican powerhouse team and plans to be there for a long time. But he said he believed MLS's growth over the years has made it more appealing than ever for players, coaches and even fans to become involved.
“The truth is that the league has grown a lot, it has become stronger, more solid," Herrera said, citing in particular more investment in bringing in younger high level foreign players in recent years. “The truth is that, I don’t know, maybe in the future I can be here. I see it as an attractive league, but right now I am at America.”
Liga MX has historically held the competitive advantage over MLS, particularly in the Concacaf Champions League, where Mexican teams have won all 11 editions of the tournaments while MLS teams have only reached three finals.
Herrera believes the Leagues Cup will provide a crucial opportunity for MLS teams, however, who are trying to close the gap between the two divisions.
“I think that obvious the rivalry will keep growing," Herrera said. "It’s something that has existed between the two leagues, it’s growing and that is very good and I hope that the MLS will take advantage of it [Leagues Cup] to continue growing and continue gaining followers."
Liga MX has historically been used as a “trampoline” for many players to eventually make a move to Europe, a model MLS has begun mirroring more consistently in recent years. Herrera believes MLS still has some ways to go to reach Liga MX's credibility in terms of the European market, however.
“We also have more years and I think that soccer in the United States is still young, it doesn’t yet have the number of years or achievements that can be turned to be seen by the people of Europe or other countries to request North American players," Herrera said. "But [some players] are still signed, I am not saying they aren’t.”
