Rating the Liga MX Femenil 2023-24 offseason
A look at how all 18 teams have fared (so far) in the short winter offseason.
The Liga MX Femenil offseason has been its usual few weeks of chaos, with most teams announcing players coming and going. We’ve seen some blockbuster moves as well as some moves that seem to be more of a roll of the dice, and while there’s still a few days left for teams to make moves before the season starts, I thought it would be good to look at what teams have (and have not) done ahead of the start of the 2024 Clausura.
This also shouldn’t be construed as being a ranking of the teams’ overall stature in the league hierarchy, rather a look at which teams improved their squad by addressing needs or upgrading versus which ones didn’t help themselves. And of course there’s subjectivity involved in these rankings, so please feel free to let me know where you think I got it wrong (or right!) on social media or via email.
Liga MX 2023-24 Offseason Transfer Tracker
It’s always difficult to try and keep track of all the offseason moves in Liga MX Femenil, especially since we only find out about them when (if?) the clubs announce them or a player announces it. So I’m back to compiling what I can find to keep track of everything.
Best offseasons
FC Juárez - Juárez continues to bring in quality players that address real positional needs while not losing any real impact players. Credit to Sporting Director Balbina Treviño and club leadership for not panicking after narrowly missing the playoffs last season and showing faith in the quality of the project they have there. While Juárez lost a solid goalkeeper in Natalia Acuña and quality defenders in Fátima Arrellano and Miriam García, none of them were key pieces of the puzzle. Acuña wasn’t going to challenge Renata Masciarelli for the top job, and Juárez addressed their defensive needs by promoting Alejandra Anchondo from the U19s and adding Mónica Rodríguez from América and Janelly Farías from Pachuca.
Tigres - It was difficult not putting Tigres as having the best offseason when they added Thembi Kgatlana and Jenni Hermoso, but I’m rationalizing my decision like this: Tigres’ bar was already really high in terms of their squad, and while these players are absolutely raising the level of the club, I just think Juárez’ moves will be more impactful for them than Tigres’. Tigres also lost a quality player in Alex Chidiac, and while she didn’t feature too much for them in the last tournament, that also weighs in to the decision. Even so, Tigres had a great offseason and should be considered among the favorites to see their name etched on the trophy in June.
Chivas - This has less to do perhaps with the overall player moves and more to do with Sporting Director Nelly Simón having (by my count) eleven players under contract through 2025 and some into 2026. With that kind of long-term stability, it’s easy to sell players on the vision of the club. And while they did lose quality players in Litzy Serna and Michelle González, bringing in Viridiana Salazar to join Licha Cervantes and Dr. Adriana “Boyi” Iturbide up top will surely give opposing coaches and analysts nightmares.
Tijuana - Sometimes, less is more. Finishing fifth was no small accomplishment, and there wasn’t a need to blow up the team or make radical changes. While they lost goalkeeper Fer Tarango this offseason, Tijuana also brought in Itzayana González, Daniela Carrandí, and Paty Jardón. Xolos Femenil did a lot right last season, and I think it’s smart not to rock the boat too much.
Santos Laguna - There’s no real way to sugarcoat how bad Santos was last season. The team saw several high-profile departures at the beginning of the season and never fully recovered. They’ve brought in Karla Maya from Atlas’ U19s to be their new head coach, which should bring in some fresh ideas, and added Sofía García from Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia without losing too much in terms of quality. While there’s still a long way to go, these are steps in the right direction for a club that has been backsliding.
Necaxa - I was going to put Las Centallas in the “Poor offseasons” category because they haven’t brought in a single player despite being dreadful last season (and beyond). But any time a team is rid of a coach who is alleged to have done what Jorge Gómez is alleged to have done, it’s a good offseason. I sincerely hope this marks the dawn of a bright new era for Necaxa.
Mid offseasons
Toluca - Toluca added some quality in Sonía Vázquez, Michelle González, and Michaela Abam, but they lost long-time goal scorer Destinney Duron and midfielder Paty Jardón. They’re still really close to being a consistent Liguilla team, so maybe they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeves.
Rayadas - Moving Eva Espejo to Sporting Director was a good move, and Tanna Sánchez is a good pickup out of the University of Alabama. Sánchez should be a good replacement for Mariana Cadena, and they picked up Daniela Monroy as well on defense. They however also lost Carlee Giammona in the attack, and brought in Amelia Valverde, who while she lead Costa Rica to the World Cup (where they lost all three games), she hasn’t coached a club team since she managed Flores de Heredia back in 2011. The jury is still very much out on Rayadas.
Mazatlán - Another offseason full of churn for Mazatlán. They lost Silvana Flores, Rubí Ruvalcaba, and Andrea Hauksdóttir among others and fired head coach Alejandra Rosas. They did however bring on forward Hildah Magaia and midfielder Sinoxolo Cesane, both of whom have represented South Africa (Magaia at the senior level and Cesane at youth levels). Can new manager Eliud Ruiz right the ship and get results out of the squad he’s been given?
Atlas - I like the moves they made by bringing in Kayla Fernández, Valeria Miranda, Selene Cortés, Miroslava Maprigat, and Litzy Serna. Fernández is coming out of the NCAA system in the US, while the rest are solid league vererans. They did however lose their talisman Fabiola Ibarra and Sporting Director María Fernanda Pons, both of whom will be difficult to replace. I don’t think Atlas did what they needed to do to make the jump to that next level, but I also don’t think they'll fall far either.
San Luis - Over a couple of contentious offseasons, Atleti stuck with head coach Fernando Samayoa and let talented players like Bea Parra, Natalia Gómez Junco, and Marta Perarnau leave while remaining stagnant on the table. Samayoa is out and Daniel Flores is in, but Flores will not have Cristel Sandi or Dani Carrandí to work with. They’ve brought in Farlyn Caicedo from Perú’s Club Universitario de Deportes which should provide an offensive spark, but this club needs a direction. Perhaps Flores can succeed where Samayoa failed?
América - I almost put them lower since they lost Alison González, Eva González, and Kheira Hamraoui, but Hamraoui didn’t really do much of anything with the club. They also brought in Mariana Cadena, which should help tamp some of the bleeding in the defense, which was exposed against Tigres in the Final. Still, for a club like América who has ambitions of being one of the best clubs in the world, this offseason has been shockingly quiet.
Poor offseasons
Cruz Azul - A ton of turnover for La Máquina, who lost Dani Monroy, Norma Palafox, Dani Flores, Itzayana González, and head coach Cecelia Cabrera among others, and brought in Sporting Director Iván Alonso, head coach Julio Cevada, Skylynn Rodríguez and Thaiz Hernández from Cal State University - Los Angeles and others. There’s going to be a lot of work to do for this project, and while the moves might be good long-term, I think it’s going to be difficult for Cruz Azul in the short term to get everyone in the organization on the same page.
Querétaro - For a team that fell as far as Querétaro did last season, they haven’t done a whole lot. I’m excited to see what former Nacional midfielder Sol Lemos can do, and Alondra Camargo is also a solid pickup on defense. But this team has struggled to find an identity and stick with it. I thought they were onto something with the defense-first mentality of their 2023 Clausura where they allowed just 16 goals, but they reverted to trying to play more two-way soccer and while their goals scored jumped from 11 to 25, their goals conceded jumped to 28. The constant flux can’t be conducive to getting the organization heading in the right direction.
León - Like Querétaro, they needed to do a lot more this offseason and really haven’t so far. They let Lucero Cuevas, Sophia Braun, Pau Gómez, Mitzi Martínez, and Maria Souza Alves go and brought in Dinora Garza, Natalia Acuña, and Karen Díaz, but there doesn’t seem to be much of an overall plan to what they’re doing.
Pumas - Pumas eked into the playoffs last season, showing grit and fire down the stretch. Of course they got knocked out in the first round by Tigres, but they were the only team to score on the champions in the playoffs. So instead of building on the success, they got rid of coach Jhonathan Lazcano and long-time players Brenda García, Dinora Garza, and Bibiana Quintos among others. They’ve brough in Marcelo Frigério, a coach with as well-rounded of a résumé as I’ve ever seen, but that’s it. I know Pumas as an organization thrives on building from their cantera, but to not bring in anyone despite the deficiencies on defense and in the midfield with the plan seeming to be “play the kids” is awfully risky.
Puebla - Puebla let Daniela Auza, Priscila Gaitán, Micaela Britez, and Adriana Calzadillas go and haven’t brought in anyone. Had they finished 11-2-4 it would have been one thing, but they finished 4-2-11 and nowhere near a Liguilla berth. This simply isn’t going to be good enough.
Pachuca - I was excited for Puebla when they brought in Fabiola Ibarra, thinking she might be the missing piece to get them over the hump to their first Liga MX Femenil title. Then they let go of Viridiana Salazar, Janelly Farías, Selene Cortés, Karen Díaz, Marta Cox, and Jenni Hermoso as well as head coach Juan Carlos Cacho and a couple other players. This has been a disastrous offseason for Pachuca, who now seem back to square one when it comes to the project.
Alejandra Rosas was Mazatlan’s sporting Director.