We love nothing more than supporting our teams. While the bumper sticker itself may have stayed in the 1990s the sentiment very much remains. “I have two favorite teams,” it used to go. “(Team X) and whoever is playing my team’s biggest rival.” Sometimes it’s just as fun to hate-watch against the team we despise than it is to root for the one we love.
And when they play each other? Those are the most special moments. Bragging rights — and, in Leagues Cup, a spot in the next round — are on the line. That was the scene in Houston in 2023 when Tigres and Monterrey met in the first Clásico Regio outside Mexico since 2019’s Interliga meeting. Sergio Canales’ penalty in the second half pushed Rayados past their rival and on their way to an eventual fourth-place finish in Leagues Cup.
There will be renewing of rivalries again in the 2024 Leagues Cup, not only as a whole with the tournament colliding MLS and Liga MX clubs but also at the micro level.
Early on in the tournament, there are games between teams that are not yet rivals but could have a dose of extra motivation because of things that happened in past tournaments, be it Leagues Cup or Concacaf Champions Cup play, plus geographic pride or other reasons.
In the latter rounds, we could see those true rivalry contests like last year’s Clásico Regio. Let’s take a look at a few of the grudge matches on tap — and also think about what could be:
Toluca vs. Sporting Kansas City (August 5, Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.)
Toluca won both its group matches in the 2023 Leagues Cup and headed to Kansas City with aspirations of making a deep run. Sporting KC had high hopes after drawing FC Cincinnati and then getting a win over Chivas.
But it was not going to be SKC’s day. An own goal opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, with the Diablos Rojos doubling their lead before the half. They’d run off four unanswered goals before a Willy Agada consolation goal led to a 4-1 final and Toluca moving into the Round of 16.
It wasn’t the clubs’ first high-stakes battle. Sporting KC got past Toluca in impressive fashion in the 2019 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 with a 3-0 win in the first leg and a 2-0 triumph in the second, making it all the way to the semifinals of the competition before being bounced by Monterrey.
Now, they’re set to meet again in the group stage, and plenty of players on both rosters will remember last year’s meeting.
LAFC vs. Club Tijuana (July 26, BMO Stadium in Los Angeles)
It’s fewer than 150 miles from LAFC’s BMO Stadium to the Estadio Caliente, the home of Club Tijuana. That closeness has led to a fair amount of interchange from fans attending matches in both markets and, feeding that rivalry fire, the youth academies of both teams vying for some of the same players — though Tijuana’s most notable battles were fought with LAFC’s Southern California rival LA Galaxy.
This has the makings of an interesting contest, though. LAFC and Tijuana both enter it in good form, with Tijuana thriving under new manager Juan Carlos Osorio, a former MLS manager, and LAFC having lost just once in its last 13 MLS games.
Xolos are getting an even closer MLS rival next season with San Diego FC set to come into Leagues Cup, this series could build into a special one thanks to the geographical and cultural ties.
Monterrey vs. Austin FC (July 30, Q2 Stadium in Austin)
These teams are yet to play each other in official competition, but it’s been coming since Austin FC was announced as a new club. Since then, The Verde and Black has welcomed Rayados’ rival Tigres to town for a friendly and also hosted LIGA MX squads Atlas and Pachuca.
Monterrey, meanwhile, will feel at home not just because it has hub privileges after earning a top seed, but also because it has played in Q2 Stadium before, utilizing the central Texas venue for friendly matches against South American giants River Plate and against Club América.
With so many fans who support the Nuevo León sides in Texas, it will be a vibrant atmosphere for this contest as these two squads finally meet. And with a potential for a rematch in the knockout stage should both teams advance, it could be the start of something deeper than simply neighbor playing neighbor.
Charlotte FC vs. Cruz Azul (July 31, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte)
A lot has changed for these two teams since their meeting in last year’s Leagues Cup. Neither team was able to score in the 90 minutes, leading to a tense penalty shootout to decide who would move into the Round of 16. Charlotte FC won thanks to goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Neither team has the same manager. Both have brought in a number of star names. And neither has had much trouble scoring.
This rematch not only pits two much better teams against each other, it pits two teams with title aspirations, and it should have goals in it as well. It also gives Charlotte FC fans a chance to see their team against La Maquina at home after scheduling conflicts meant last year’s contest took place at a neutral site in Texas.
And what about some potential traditional rivalry games or fledgling feuds taking place in the knockout stage? Let’s dream a bit and see what could happen:
El Clásico Nacional
Already it’s been a fruitful year for the bitter rivalry between Club América and Chivas. The teams met in their usual league match in March but also played a two-legged series in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals and another home-and-home series in the semifinals of the Liguilla.
Yet, with back-to-back champion América enjoying a bye to the Round of 32 and locked into the the top half of the West bracket, a matchup couldn’t occur until the semifinals — no matter if Chivas advance by winning West 2 or coming out as the runner-up.
That means both teams would need to win three consecutive high-stress meetings to set up a rivalry game that would decide one of the tournament’s finalists.
TAKEAWAYS: Focus on the good times we’ve already had.
El Trafico
It’s not at all hard to imagine a meeting of MLS’ two LA teams taking place in the knockout rounds of this year’s Leagues Cup. If both teams were to win their groups, or both finished second during that phase, they’d only need to win their first knockout contest to set up a Round of 16 clash. Were the one team to finish second and the other, it could be a quarterfinal contest in Southern California.
TAKEAWAYS: Not as predictable as June Gloom but feels possible.
Another Clásico Regio
We already know it’s going to be an exciting Leagues Cup in Houston. The hometown Dynamo are welcoming Atlas and Real Salt Lake to Shell Energy Stadium, plus Tigres are utilizing Space City as its hub. That means a Tigres contest against Puebla in Shell Energy Stadium and Andre-Pierre Gignac and Co. welcoming a star-studded Inter Miami to NRG Stadium on August 3.
Whether it ended up in Houston or not, what would it take for the Nuevo León rivals to again meet for a place in the next round of Leagues Cup? With Tigres in East 3 and Rayados heading West 1, it’s going to require a trip to the final — or a meeting in the third place game to square off for that last Concacaf Champions Cup slot.
TAKEAWAYSe: Don’t save your carne asada budget for this one.
Sunshine State Showdown
Reigning champion Inter Miami is a team that gets a fair share of hate — perhaps most strongly from Orlando City in Central Florida. The teams met in last year’s Leagues Cup Round of 32, the first time since the arrival of Lionel Messi and his fellow stars with European experience. Messi had a double in that match with now-departed forward Josef Martinez adding another from the penalty spot in a 3-1 victory. And after a 5-0 victory in a March MLS showdown, a scoreless draw in May was plenty of reason for Orlando City to believe things might be different next time around.
So, could there be a Sunshine State rematch in Leagues Cup? Absolutely.
TAKEAWAYS: Book that train ticket, just make sure it’s refundable
Past Concacaf Champions Cup final rematches
It feels like we’ll get at least one MLS vs. LIGA MX showdown between teams who were playing for silverware in the not-too-distant past. Should Pachuca win its group in East 6, it would be a tough Round of 32 game against a team from East 3 (potentially Tigres or Inter Miami). If Tuzos win that, though, and Columbus Crew advance as well, they’d meet in the Round of 16.
The Seattle Sounders remain the only MLS team to win the CCC in the modern era, and could see the Pumas team they beat to do it in the knockout phase. Their groups cross in the Round of 16 as well. Should the Sounders and Pumas match results in their groups, one win would set up a throwback to the 2022 decider.
León and LAFC are on the same side of the bracket, but both would have to make deep runs to set up a 2023 rematch. And with Toronto FC and Chivas on opposite sides of the setup, both would have to get all the way to the semifinals to have the chance to see a final or third-place game that harkens back to 2018.
Leagues Cup is the type of tournament where anything can happen. We’ll absolutely see some rivalry matches happen during the competition and see new grudges formed along the way. Buckle in, maybe have a bumper sticker made and let the hate flow through you.
