Mexico's Football League
(Liga MX) deserves the respect of its members and of those who make a living out of it because due to its high profile, large sponsorship and broadcast rights agreements are signed. There is no single team, out of the 18 part of the First Division, capable of denying that due to the penetration it has in the Mexican and U.S. markets, it earns millions of dollars and has solid structures, both football and business-wise.
Thus, it's incomprehensible to see the Guadalajara has wasted a match like they did against the Tiburones Rojos of Veracruz, that they disrespected the League that feeds them by holding back all of their star players to use them for a tournament which can only take pride in not having its worst year in recent memory.
It's not the fact they played with seven players aged 22 or less, if this were truly the project of Matías Almeyda but because it isn't, fans felt cheated when they saw – that despite still having a chance, a remote one, but a chance nonetheless, of making it to the playoffs – the Guadalajara wasted a game and, in the face of their rival, found it problematic to get the three points they needed, what with the starting lineup chosen by the Argentinian coach. The only older players were goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez , Isaac Brizuela (who played as a right midfielder), center-back Jair Pereira , and forward Alan Pulido .
Televisa
pays millions of dollars to broadcast the Guadalajara through its channel TDN – approximately, 25 million a year, according to data available – just to see that when the best deal is here, which are the playoffs, the team doesn't even try to qualify. But they do set their sights on a tournament not even broadcasted by the company paying for their broadcast rights, and to top it all off, the only prize they get is participating in an awkward Club World torunament.
The Guadalajara acted like a negligible team despite their grandeur is what they boast about on a daily basis, yet today, because of three points, the most they can hope for is 24 points in this League – which doesn't secure them a place in the playoffs. In fact, only six teams have made it to the final stage with that many points in 13 tournaments since the groups were scrapped (Apertura Tournament 2011); other three managed to pass with 23 points but that's it. That is, out of 104 clubs which have qualified for the playoffs since then, 95 have done so with more than 24 points – well beyond the possibilities of the Chivas at this point.
It's impossible to set forth regulations for these kinds of situations but without a doubt, moral quality should come first, as should the desire to excel in any competition, more so in the ones which you give you the funds needed to keep going.
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