MLS-Liga MX partnership is working, but head-to-head shows there’s still a gulf

The Seattle Sounders were in their third season in Major League Soccer when they advanced out of the group stage in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) to set up a quarterfinal tie with Liga MX power Santos Laguna.

It was a significant opportunity for the club and it won the first leg at home, 2-1, but the return leg provided a common reality check for MLS teams playing Liga MX opposition over the years. Santos won 6-1, and would advance easily through Toronto FC in the semifinal before losing to Monterrey in the final.

Thursday will see another all-Mexican final, when Monterrey and Club America meet for continental bragging rights.

For the Sounders, it was a successful run and they returned to the competition the following year better for it. They advanced out of the group stage again, but this time they flipped the script on Tigres, losing the first first leg away, 1-0, then winning 3-1 at home to reach the semifinal, setting up another matchup with Santos. It was competitive but once again the Sounders fell 2-1 on aggregate.

– ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

In the decade since, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer and Santos Laguna chairman Alejandro Irarragorri have grown close. They remain in regular communication, serving as sounding boards for one another as they navigate the similar challenges of operating professional soccer teams.

Their relationship has also been influential in the increased collaboration between MLS and Liga MX in recent years.

“Alejandro and I have worked very hard on that: getting individual owners of teams in Mexico and teams in MLS to know each other,” Hanauer said. “It’s easy to point across the border and say, ‘Those guys do it like that,’ and not really understand the individuals…