The 2022 Liga MX Apertura season is now officially over. While the celebratory confetti has finally settled in Pachuca after Los Tuzos lifted Liga MX's trophy last Sunday, runner-ups Toluca will remain hopeful after greatly exceeding expectations through their odds-defying sprint into the championship series.
With a short break before our attention quickly focuses on the World Cup and the upcoming start of the 2023 Clausura tournament in January, let's highlight our awards and team-by-team grades for the Apertura.
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Biggest surprise: Toluca
Pachuca may have won the title, but few could have predicted a few months ago that Toluca -- who were 15th in the previous season -- would be there alongside the back-to-back finalists in the Apertura championship series. No matter the fact that Los Tuzos battered their opponents 8-2 on aggregate over two legs last week, Toluca were essentially playing with house money as the plucky No. 6 seed that were a work-in-progress but also capable enough to sneak into the final.
Masterminded by manager Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz and his roster overhaul in the summer, there seems to be a project being built that will only gain more strength when 2023 rolls around.
Biggest letdown: Tigres
Sure, some can make an argument here for No. 1 seed Club America and their exit in the semifinal round of the playoffs, but if we have to point a negative spotlight on a team, Tigres has to be the top choice.
With the investment made through their all-star caliber roster and two-time champion manager Miguel "Piojo" Herrera, and of course the raucous home atmosphere, Tigres should have been title-favorites in the Apertura. Instead, inconsistencies carried them to fifth place in the regular season and a quarterfinal exit of the Liguilla.
MVP: Henry Martin
Things may not have gone as planned for Club America in the playoffs, but that shouldn't take away from the near-perfect run that striker Henry Martin had. From the regular season into the Liguilla, the 29-year-old Mexican was mesmerizing with his 13 goals and six assists in 21 appearances. Were it not for a narrow offside call in the dying minutes of the semis, Martin could have had 14 goals and a place secured in the finals for Las Aguilas.
Once a questionable member of the national team, the Club America striker is now a strong candidate to get invaluable minutes in the World Cup this winter with Mexico.
Best manager: Guillermo Almada
Ambriz is a very close second, but the award has to go to Pachuca's Guillermo Almada. The Uruguayan manager fully embraced the club's ideology of providing minutes to academy talent and thrived throughout the Apertura with a well-balanced roster.
Fiery and vocal on the sidelines, Almada got the most out of his squad that was defensively solid and decisive in the attack. In the playoffs, he helped Pachuca reach another level with 14 goals in their last four games that pushed them to the Apertura title.
Best U23 player: Erick Sanchez
There's a list of candidates that includes Puebla's Israel Reyes, Toluca's Marcel Ruiz and Leonardo Fernandez, Monterrey's German Berterame, Club America's Emilio Lara and Pachuca fullbacks Mauricio Isais and Kevin Alvarez.
In the end though, Pachuca's Erick Sanchez is the worthy winner. Seemingly capable of doing the work of two players in the midfield, the 23-year-old was a menace with his defensive interventions and playmaking in the heart of the pitch. After claiming a Liga MX title, could a spot in Qatar with Mexico's national team be next?
Best XI of the 2022 Apertura
Goalkeeper: Carlos Acevedo (Santos Laguna)
Defenders: Maximiliano Araujo (Puebla), Emilio Lara (Club America), Kevin Alvarez (Pachuca)
Midfielders: Luis Chavez (Pachuca), Erick Sanchez (Pachuca), Alvaro Fidalgo (Club America), Arturo Gonzalez (Monterrey)
Forwards: Leonardo Fernandez (Toluca), Henry Martin (Club America), Nico Ibanez (Pachuca)
Bench: Nahuel Guzman (Tigres), Mauricio Isaias (Pachuca), Igor Lichnovsky (Tigres), Jesus Gallardo (Monterrey), Fernando Gorriaran (Santos Laguna), Ignacio Rivero (Cruz Azul), Marcel Ruiz (Toluca), Jean Meneses (Toluca), Alejandro Zendejas (Club America), Israel Reyes (Puebla), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres)
Team grades for the 2022 Apertura (in alphabetical order)
CLUB AMERICA
Regular season: 1st place, 12W-2D-3L
Playoffs: Semifinalists
Grade: A-
They fell just short of the constant expectation to fight for a championship, but an immense amount of credit must be given to manager Fernando Ortiz and his roster. In the regular season, Las Aguilas powered through with 38 points and a spot at the top of the table. All that was missing was the chance in the final round to battle for a trophy.
ATLAS
Regular season: 17th place, 3W-4D-10L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: F
A bittersweet end to the Diego Cocca era. The back-to-back champions from the 2021 Apertura and 2022 Clausura completely ran out of gas after the summer and limped to a spot at second-to-last. Cocca has since been fired as manager, and in his place, Benjamin Mora will seek to reawaken the organization.
ATLETICO SAN LUIS
Regular season: 13th place, 4W-6D-7L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: D
Manager Andre Jardine didn't have the best roster to work with, but he undoubtedly stumbled in the final weeks with just one win in his last six games. An additional point and just two extra goals in their favor was all that San Luis needed from that stretch to qualify for the Liguilla.
CHIVAS
Regular season: 9th place, 5W-7D-5L
Playoffs: Defeat in play-in round
Grade: D+
Another tumultuous season for the Liga MX giants who should be aiming for more than a narrow playoff qualification and immediate exit in the first round. Changes are now underway in the front office with new hires like Fernando Hierro as sporting director and Veljko Paunovic as manager.
CRUZ AZUL
Regular season: 7th place, 7W-3D-7L
Playoffs: Quarterfinalists
Grade: B-
Interim manager Raul "Potro" Gutierrez salvaged the team that was once 17th in the table at Week 10. Stepping in late into the Apertura, he galvanized the middling club and helped them qualify for the playoffs. Unless if Cruz Azul have a big coaching hire set, Gutierrez deserves at least a full tournament in charge.
FC JUAREZ
Regular season: 11th place, 4W-7D-6L
Playoffs: Defeat in play-in round
Grade: C-
Although qualifying for the Liguilla was an improvement from the abysmal first half of 2022 in which they were last, the hope for Juarez was to make a noteworthy splash with their upgraded roster. Manager Hernan Cristante might need additional time to correctly implement his ideas.
LEON
Regular season: 10th place, 6W-4D-7L
Playoffs: Defeat in play-in round
Grade: C
Leon never seemed ready to bounce-back from a mid-season slump, eventually getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. There's a stagnant feeling in the team that could be fixed through much-needed changes in the roster once the transfer window opens this winter.
MAZATLAN
Regular season: 14th place, 3W-8D-6L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: F
Liga MX's newest team still has some growing up to do. Toothless in the attack and far too reliant on goalkeeper Nicolas Vikonis to keep them in games, Mazatlan were dull to watch in 2022. Unless if serious alterations are made over the next couple of months, expect the same in 2023.
MONTERREY
Regular season: 2nd place, 10W-5D-2L
Playoffs: Semifinalists
Grade: B+
Only Club America spent more weeks in the regular season at the top of the table. An embarrassing 6-2 aggregate loss in the semis will hurt, but Los Rayados have all of the right ingredients to be title-contenders in the upcoming Clausura competition.
NECAXA
Regular season: 12th place, 5W-4D-8L
Playoffs: Defeat in play-in round
Grade: D
Necaxa should consider themselves lucky that they were in the playoff conversation to begin with. Needing other results to work in their favor at the end of the regular season, it wasn't much of a shock to see manager Jaime Lozano and his squad exit the Liguilla in the first round. By October, Lozano was fired.
PACHUCA
Regular season: 4th place, 9W-5D-3L
Playoffs: Champions
Grade: A
Efficient with their attacking chances, defensively organized and never falling to consecutive defeats, Pachuca and Almada were a well-oiled machine in the Apertura. Once in the playoffs, they hit another gear with dominant displays in the semis and final. With academy players helping lead the way, Los Tuzos were the best run club in Mexican soccer this year.
PUEBLA
Regular season: 8th place, 4W-10D-3L
Playoffs: Quarterfinalists
Grade: C
How do you grade a team that went on an 11-game run with 10 draws? How do you grade a group of players that are greater than the sum of their parts under promising young manager Nicolas Larcamon, but also capable of losing 11-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals? If only Puebla could be graded on intrigue alone.
PUMAS
Regular season: 16th place, 2W-8D-7L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: F
The great Dani Alves experiment was a bust. Despite his own efforts that were commendable on the pitch, the Brazilian didn't have enough support around him to at least earn a playoff spot. Now it'll be up to new manager Rafael Puente Jr. to shake things up for the Mexico City side.
SANTOS LAGUNA
Regular season: 3rd place, 10W-3D-4L
Playoffs: Quarterfinalists
Grade: B+
Los Guerreros deserve recognition. Somehow flying under-the-radar, manager Eduardo Fentanes and his men were brilliant as the joint-top goalscorers (38 with Club America) in the regular season. However, occasional defensive issues emerged, especially during their 6-4 aggregate loss to Toluca in the quarterfinals.
QUERETARO
Regular season: 18th place, 1W-6D-10L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: F
No Liga MX club allowed more goals or secured fewer points in the Apertura than Queretaro. A lack of motivation was easily apparent for the team that is up for sale and playing home games behind closed doors due to punishments for a fan riot that broke out in March of this year.
TIGRES
Regular season: 5th place, 9W-3D-5L
Playoffs: Quarterfinalists
Grade: D+
This may seem like a harsh grade, but as mentioned earlier, the bar must be significantly higher for Tigres. With the talent and players available, the squad should be putting up PSG-like numbers in Liga MX and not lumbering to fifth place or collapsing in the quarterfinals.
TIJUANA
Regular season: 15th place, 4W-5D-8L
Playoffs: Didn't qualify
Grade: F
A promising start to the Apertura rapidly transformed into a freefall down the standings. Tijuana have the unfortunate mark of being the only Liga MX team that lost to last place Queretaro. As per usual, ownership will be expected to take a gamble on plenty of roster changes this winter.
TOLUCA
Regular season: 6th place, 7W-6D-4L
Playoffs: Finalists
Grade: A
Going from 15th place to 6th is worthy of a good grade by itself, but to then defeat legitimate title-contenders on the way to the final is something even more exceptional. The championship series didn't go as planned, but that may not matter for fans of the club who were singing in their home leg as if they had already won a trophy. Keep an eye on Ambriz and his squad in 2023.