Arya News - El Tri star Alexis Vega returned from injury to help Toluca capture the Liga MX championship on Sunday, but the debate over whether the club ranks among Mexico`s biggest and best supported teams is far from settled.
Toluca hero Alexis Vega stepped up to the spot for the second time. Once again, he delivered. Once again, Toluca became Liga MX champion.
In a penalty shootout that extended to a dozen rounds, Vega fired Toluca past Tigres and to a 12th Liga MX championship .
But even before he stepped up to the spot, the debates in Mexico already had begun. Were either of these teams, coming off the back of regular seasons in which they lost three games combined, worthy of being called grandes ?
Mexico has four historic grandes, the most successful and best-supported teams over time. Three (Club América, Cruz Azul and Pumas) are in Mexico City with Chivas de Guadalajara also fitting the bill. But the Toluca win, its second in a row in Mexico’s short-tournament format, means it moves into a tie for second place all-time with Chivas when it comes to league titles won. Toluca has more title wins than Cruz Azul or Pumas.
Tigres, too, would’ve been denigrated as a “small club” had it won a ninth Liga MX trophy — which for much of the match it looked like it would. Few foreigners, however, would see Tigres or crosstown rival CF Monterrey as anything other than big teams.
After all, Tigres bolstered their title chances this summer by signing Angel Correa from Atlético Madrid. He joined a team that was undoubtedly the team of the 2010s, with Andre-Pierre Gignac and Co. winning six league titles since the 2011 Apertura, getting to the final four more times including this season’s loss and also winning a first-ever CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2020.
Meanwhile, Monterrey headed to the Club World Cup this past summer with Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos in its employ, later added Manchester United ex Anthony Martial and also boasts rising Mexican talents like center back Victor Guzman and midfielders Fidel Ambriz and Iker Fimbres.
But look at the comments of any post celebrating the achievements of the Nuevo León teams. They’re not even being accused of being “nouveau riche.” They’re just being taunted for being small.
Who decides who gets to be a grande? Generally, it’s powerful media commentators based in Mexico City. Rarely would they give teams from far north Monterrey the time of day, and even Toluca, around 40 miles to the west in the State of Mexico, is seen much more as a provincial team than one that belongs.
It’s time to change the thinking.
Toluca has assembled a team with few weaknesses. The injured Vega returned for a late cameo in the second leg of the final after more than a month out with a hamstring issue suffered two weeks before the end of the regular season. After the match, he noted that he “wasn’t doing very well” physically but believed he had avoided making the injury any worse by rushing back onto the field.
But the Toluca academy product, who returned after a miserable spell with Chivas in which it seemed he was out on the town more than he was on the training ground, so badly wanted to help the team become back-to-back champions that he said he never doubted the choice to risk it. “It was a very important day for me, my family, the fans who have been with us at all times,” he said.
Even without their playmaker, Toluca has seen others step up to fill the void. Top scorer Paulinho arrived from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2024 and two league titles and three top scorer awards later, he is pushing to get back into the Portugal national team setup ahead of the 2026 World Cup . He linked with Mexican midfielder Jesus Angulo and Brazilian winger Helinho to provide a spark in attack while Vega was absent.
Two-way midfielder Marcel Ruiz stayed at Toluca despite summer interest from clubs in the English Championship and Brazil’s top division and also was one of Toluca’s most important players. Uruguayan defender Federico Pereira anchored things at the back, allowing the Diablos Rojos to do their work going forward.
And their impressive manager Antonio Mohamed added a fifth Liga MX crown, his first time winning two at the same club. He’s had stops at the grandes, having won at Club América. He’s worked with smaller teams, pushing Club Tijuana to its first Liga MX title in 2012.
“Let me enjoy this right now. After that, we’ll have time to organize the squad, prepare well. Right now, we’ve got an end of year period of celebration. It’s just about celebrating with the fans tomorrow and after that take a well-deserved rest” Mohamed said as he left the Estadio Nemesio Díez. “I’m very happy. We’re now grandes.”
Media commentators can keep shrugging off Toluca’s sustained success. Rival fans can continue putting “too small” emoji in the Instagram comments. Toluca will be busy planning another parade, enjoying more title celebrations and — after what Vega said would be five or six days of partying — looking at another title defense, another Liga MX trophy and another piece of evidence that no matter the size of the market, what they’re doing on the field is what matters.