After playing just 95 games with the LA Galaxy, the club that trained him and saw him grow as a professional player, Efraín Álvarez has set out towards the Mexican league where he expects a much more active participation and the opportunity to establish himself as a starting midfielder in every game, a feat that he could not achieve in the North American club.
Efraín Álvarez and his time in the MLS
In the 2019 season, the professional debut of the LA Galaxy youth academy player was announced, so expectations regarding his participation grew because his game was praised by those who saw him train.
The player’s performance had managed to surprise his teammates, so much so that soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic predicted Efraín’s success, declaring that the boy “dominated in training” and that he was the player with the most promising future in the MLS.
Fans also hoped that the youngster’s participation in the LA Galaxy could give him a growing reputation. Even so, the player managed to complete a total of 95 games played in all his minutes on the court, in which he had a start in 43 of them, 15 assists, and 6 successful shots on goal.
However, and despite the predictions of his teammates, at 21 year-old is being transferred to Liga MX, where the Xolos de Tijuana are waiting for him in the coming days to be part of this first division team and play in the 2023 closing tournament.
Luckily for fans of this midfielder, they will still have the opportunity to continue supporting the player in whatever club he is in, and they can do so through a Mexican betting house that offers the best odds on American sports.
The MX League
The Mexican professional soccer league has shown interest in the player for some time, in fact, teams such as Club Puebla and Chivas de Guadalajara expressed their desire to make the player part of their squads, but the North American club did not reach an agreement with these clubs, so the possibility was nullified.
Currently, Los Xolos de Tijuana was the one who managed to close the transfer and soon the player will begin his training with the Mexican team. His current objective is to gain experience and consolidate himself as a player to reach the level he needs, a feat that he could not achieve at his former club.
Does Liga MX have a higher level than the MLS?
The decision to transfer the midfielder to the Mexican league has given rise to a debate in which it is discussed whether its level is perhaps higher than the MLS. These comments perhaps arise from the potential that some professional players have seen in the boy. However, others established that the young man did not have the opportunity to exploit all of his talent due to the lack of ownership in more than half of all the games in which he played.
Efraín Álvarez’s numbers clearly indicate that he did not obtain the necessary participation to establish himself as a starter, and this was a measure taken by coach Greg Vanney, who indicated that he would not get more minutes due to a “tactical decision”, which makes it clear that Álvarez was not a priority for him.
The player was dissatisfied with his lack of participation, which is why he was considering returning to Liga MX, a wish that is currently being fulfilled. His goal is to reach the level necessary to be called up to the Mexican national soccer team, and he would not achieve this from the bench of the North American team.
The MLS is known to be a great exporter of players, especially to the European league, so the decision of the boy and the club to transfer him has surprised a large number of fans, while others expected just this to happen.
A percentage of the Mexican fans and Álvarez estimate that by playing in the Mexican first division, he will be able to reach a high level of play, since he will have the opportunity to acquire and enhance his skills, something important that he would never have in mind. the MLS. In a way, they are expressing that Liga MX has a higher level of football than the MLS, at least in the case of this player.
Conclusion
Some experts point out that the MLS is superior to Liga MX, due to its high percentage of player exports to the European league, but also for other reasons.
And it does not only have to do with the level of play that the players reach, but also with other elements that have made the MLS more successful and raised more income than Liga MX (at least 100 million more).
This is one of the reasons that make the MLS the second most valuable league in America, while Liga MX is in third place.
