The No. 10 and LigaMX vs. MLS: Positional Playmakers as a Benchmark of Success
Although Inter Miami may have won Leagues Cup, we learned a hell of a lot more about the two leagues competing than any one team
The inaugural edition of Leagues Cup delivered everything one could ask for from a mid-season tournament: drama, competition, controversy, and some stellar solo displays. Beyond the elephant-sized goat in the room, several stars broke into the limelight in just a few games. Minnesota United’s Bokonghule Hlongwane, LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, and even Inter Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi all performed excellently. It goes without saying that the tournament was overshadowed by Messi and Miami dominating, yet there were still a few takeaways that went beyond “Messi is good.” One prime example is how Leagues Cup served as a momentary glimpse at how far MLS has come in comparison to Liga MX.
Liga MX has always been the older brother, they were here before MLS, they will likely be here after MLS, and for the most part, the dynamic has always been this way between the two North American leagues. As a result, there has always been a notable gap in talent between teams of both leagues—and a notable sense of mounting frustration on the MLS side. And yet, MLS has never managed to bridge that gap. That may now be changing. In just the last few weeks, the Leagues Cup has shown a completely different dynamic of competition: just look at the semifinal between Nashville SC and Monterrey.
Nashville came into the game having struggled to maintain strong form in MLS play this season, but had recently incorporated the new addition of a talented striker in Samuel Surridge. Monterrey, on the other hand, had been on a hot streak in the Leagues Cup before the two teams met and were definite favorites for the tournament. The winner would face Leo Messi’s Inter Miami in the final, and for all intents and purposes, this could have counted as the final.
Despite Monterrey controlling possession and creating more shots, it was Nashville who struck first in the 12th minute, with Hany Mukhtar curling a supposed cross into the top right corner before the goal was taken away by Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The game would progress with both teams creating chances—including a crossbar hit by Monterrey—until the 67th minute, when Nashville would secure the lead for real this time, with newcomer Surridge slotting a shot into the bottom corner. Nashville would seal the game in the 96th minute after Picault roofed a shot into the net, ending the game 2-0.
In this landmark moment that signified much more than one team versus another, MLS had won. The question must then be: why?
Although there are many possible reasons, explanations, or plain theories as to why MLS seems to be passing LigaMX or at the very least matching it, today, I want to take a look at one of the most integral positions in football, and one of the most influential positions in both leagues. The number 10 position, or the Center Attacking Midfielder (CAM) has long been the hallmark of LigaMX, and after, MLS. In Mexico, the likes of Carlos Reinoso, Alberto Garcia Aspe, and more recently, Andre-Pierre Gignac. In the USA, Landon Donovan, Carlos Vela, and even David Beckham all had lasting impacts on how the game was played and what formations were used; for years, in both LigaMX and MLS, the game has gone through the middle, channeled, controlled, and played into attack by that classic #10. So today, let's take a look at that position, and use it to decide where the leagues are, and what the future might hold.
Pre-Messi Playmakers
There are a few different ways we can analyze this position, but for today, I’ve chosen to look at just a few specific statistics in order to assess the level of quality of each leagues’ no. 10s.
Firstly, let's take a look at assists. I think it’s worth it to note that just because a player has a lot of assists doesn’t mean they are a good playmaker, while having few assists doesn’t mean that player is a bad playmaker either. Often, the number of assists a player has can be attributed to the quality of striker they have ahead of them. Take two Premier League superstars as an example: Leandro Trossard had 12 assists last season in the EPL, while Bruno Fernandes had just 8. However, only one of Trossard’s assists came while he was at Brighton—a stretch of 13 games–with his next 12 being scored by the likes of Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard, who combined for 44 goals all season.
Bruno Fernandes, on the other hand, had a different story. Although many of his assists were scored by the inform Rashford, United rarely played with a true no. 9, and Bruno’s 3 most frequent attacking compatriots (Rashford included) combined for just 28 goals in the EPL. It is likely that any good Premier League fan would tell you that Bruno is better than Trossard, but how can we check that beyond pure assists? Well, instead, we can take a look at expected assists (xA). Let’s look back at our EPL example: last season, Trossard had just 5.99 xA, much fewer than Bruno’s 10.73 xA. This shows a more accurate view of who is the better playmaker, and we can apply this same principle to MLS and LigaMX.
Above, we can see a comparison chart of xA/90 plotted against minutes played in league competition. It is worth noting that these statistics were drawn from the 2023 MLS season up until Leagues Cup and the 22-23 season of LigaMX due to scheduling differences (this is why LigaMX players have all played more minutes than MLS players). The plotted points in orange are LigaMX players, while the blue points are MLS players, and the hollow circles are used to identify Under-23 players. Although there are some outliers, we can see that for the most part, LigaMX and MLS are fairly similar in terms of player distribution. The two leaders consist of one LigaMX and U23 player, Leonardo Fernandez, and one MLS player, Cristian Espinoza. Behind them are three more MLS players and one LigaMX player to round out the top group.
Interestingly, it seems as if playing more minutes in a season is not advantageous for creating more xA/90, with no one playing more than 2100 minutes and having an xA/90 over 0.30. Although the results are interesting, I think this metric is close enough between the two leagues to call it a tie.
Next, we can take a look at a couple new statistics in order to gauge how good these players are at progressing the ball.
On the x-axis, we have progressive carries per 90 (PrgC/90) and on the y-axis, progressive passes per 90 (PrgP/90). Essentially, these are terms that are used to describe passes or dribbles that move the ball forward 10 yards or more from its furthest point in the last six passes. All that to say, these are more than just your average forward passes. And who leads far ahead of the pack? Riqui Puig. The former Barcelona midfielder dominates in both statistics, with over 5.5 PrgC/90 and over 11 PrgP/90. One more name stands out, Francisco Antonio Figueroa, who seems to be a master dribbler despite lacking in the passing department. Interestingly, both players are U-23, a good sign for both MLS and LigaMX. But, yet again, this one seems close, so I’ll call it a tie.
Finally, let's take a look at one last graph that combines both of the previous graphs to create an ultimate playmaker comparison. It incorporates ball progression and play-starting with final third production and chance creation, so whichever league can edge out the other in this final comparison will take all the marbles.
This one shows a little bit more of a gap between leagues. 5 MLS players have over 0.28 xA/90 and 10 PrgP+C/90 while no LigaMX players reach that mark. Although there are certainly a few advanced LigaMX players on the graph, the top right corner is mainly blue dots. Notably, MLS talent Thiago Almada comes in second overall, with a good mix of progressive and creative play. Carles Gil seems to be the best of the best overall, while Leon winger Elias Hernandez dominates in xA/90 and Puig is the favorite in terms of progression.
So, who wins? Well, although I might be inclined to give MLS the edge in that last graph, it’s fairly obvious there’s no one clear winner. As much as I hate to say it, the biggest takeaway from the data above is how far MLS has come, and maybe how much LigaMX has fallen. Where LigaMX once had Hirving Lozano, MLS now has Almada. Pepi and Santi Gimenez (respective league products) occupy no. 9 spots at two of the largest clubs in the Dutch league. And in the Leagues Cup, a competition that gave MLS home field advantage, Nashville triumphed. We have reached the moment where both leagues are equal. What remains to be seen is where we go from here.