As the referee's watch clicked out the final seconds, every Santos fan in Estadio Corona sat on the edge of their seat. Comfortably celebrating a trip to the finals just minutes before, a furious late rally by Morelia had everything suddenly in doubt. Up 3-0 at home in the second leg of their semifinal series, Santos had inexplicably conceded two late goals while holding a man advantage. One more and Morelia would improbably be moving on to the championship round.
Time eventually ran out on Morelia, but the game's anxious final minutes stand as a classic Liguilla moment. If there's one lesson that Mexican Primera fans have learned over the years, it's to never take anything in the postseason for granted.
How they finished
Chivas was able to draw in the final two rounds of the regular season and still claim the top seed in the Liguilla - not that it helped them come playoff time.
| Pos. | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chivas | 30 |
| 2 | Cruz Azul | 29 |
| 3 | Tigres | 28 |
| 4 | Santos Laguna | 27 |
| 5 | Jaguares | 26 |
| 6 | Pachuca | 26 |
| 7 | Morelia | 26 |
| 8 | Querétaro | 26 |
More: HOME | LATIN AMERICA | MEXICO
In the Liguilla, surprises become the rule rather than the exception. Not even the top team is safe, as the number one-seed has been eliminated in the first round the last four seasons in a row. This year it was both top teams, Chivas and Cruz Azul, crashing out dramatically in the opening round. Their quick exit gave Mexico's "big four" – Chivas, Club America, Cruz Azul, and Pumas UNAM – no representation in the semifinals. It was only the seventh time in history that none of the four grandes advanced past the first round. With Chivas, America, and their 21 titles at home, fans were left with Santos, Tigres, Morelia, and Queretaro in the semifinals, four teams with only six championships between them.
Mexico's biggest clubs may have had only a fleeting presence in this season's playoffs, but that's not the point of the tournament. The Liguilla is not a platform for the clubs with biggest fan bases. It's not set up to promote teams with the most expensive rosters, or to advance Televisa corporate interests. It's not designed to showcase the biggest trophy cases. What it does provide is a recipe for excitement.
Some still criticize the format, saying that it produces excitement while demeaning the regular season. Chivas fans were especially perturbed this year after a great season went up in smoke seemingly in a matter of minutes in the first round against Queretaro. The league's top team was undone in part by an untimely red card suspension for goalkeeper Luis Michel, in part by a fluke injury to star attacker Marco Fabian. Chivas fans were left asking what good was their four months of regular season success if it could all just evaporate in an instant?
The suddenness of that moment of finality is of course magnified in the playoffs, but that's the nature of the beast. That doesn't make the system unfair. In fact, the brevity of Mexico’s regular season almost necessitates the Liguilla. Mexico's football calendar features two seasons per year, each with just 17 games. Liguilla play – and the six extra games played by the two finalists – serves as the final portion of the schedule.
How they got here
After one round, Tigres and Santos became the top seeds, advantages they carried through to this week's final.
Quarterfinals
#1 Chivas 1-2 #8 Querétaro
#2 Cruz Azul 2-4 #7 Morelia
#3 Tigres 4-0 #6 Pachuca
#4 Santos Laguna 4-3 #5 Jaguares
Semifinals
#3 Tigres 1-0 #8 Querétaro
#4 Santos Laguna 4-4 #7 Morelia
Final
#3 Tigres vs. #4 Santos Laguna
More: HOME | LATIN AMERICA | MEXICO
The Liguilla is also set up to give substantial advantages to the top seeds. The top four teams get a built in tie-breaker in the first round, as well as home games in the second and deciding match. In addition, the setup isn’t a straight bracket. Everything is re-seeded for the semifinals, with the top remaining team matched up against the lowest remaining team. In this form, the Liguilla adds a layer of excitement while also giving significant weight to regular season results. And let’s be honest, if you can’t win a two-game series of this fashion against the eighth-best team in the league, do you deserve to be crowned champion?
If you've spent the last few weeks bemoaning the lack of – insert your favorite big club name here – you've got it all backwards. If you've been focusing on what teams aren’t still standing, you've completely missed the point. You've also missed some special moments.
You've missed Morelia’s near-epic comeback. You’ve missed the always entertaining and explosive Santos scoring attack. You've missed the brilliant goalkeeping of Queretaro’s Liborio Sanchez. You've missed the defensive mastery of Tigres, who have yet to concede a single goal in the postseason.
These moments have now culminated in an enticing final matchup between Tigres and Santos, arguably the league’s two best teams this season. Tigres brings the league’s best defense to the table, while Santos counters with the league’s highest-scoring offense. The Tigres and Santos trophy cases certainly won’t be mistaken for those of the bigger clubs, but that has no bearing on the matchup. Trophies don't play the games.
The reality is, the viability of the Mexican Primera is not predicated on the success of its biggest clubs. Chivas has played in only one Liguilla final over the past 10 seasons. America has also appeared in just one. During this time the league has done just fine. The beauty of the Primera isn't the consistent success of a handful clubs; rather, it’s the hope that every team carries into the next season. Fans tune in at the start of every season to a truly blank slate. The last 10 seasons have produced seven different champions. The Mexican Primera in this regard is more NFL than Barclays Premier League, and much of this is due to the Liguilla.
As Tigres and Santos prepare to kickoff the Apertura championship series, it’s time to celebrate the system. Don’t blame the Liguilla for your team’s failures. Embrace it for all the positives it brings to the game. This season the playoffs have produced a high quality, evenly matched final between two northern rivals. Tigres has the chance to end a nearly 30-year title drought while Santos, having finished as runners-up two of the last three seasons, can make up for their more recent finals misery.
If you’re a Primera fan who hasn't been watching this season’s Liguilla for some reason, let this be your final warning before it’s too late: Now is the time to tune in.
