The Seattle Sounders are taking on Liga MX’s Club León on Wednesday (7 p.m. PT; ESPN2, Univision) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in the Leagues Cup Final. Here is everything you need to know about their Mexican opponent.
Full club name: Club León
Nickname: Los Panzas Verdes (The Green Bellies)
Founded: 1944
Location: León, Guanajuato
Stadium: Estadio León (Capacity: 33,000)
Club honors:
- Eight Liga MX titles (Last: 2020-21 Apertura)
- One Copa MX runners-up
- One Campeón de Campeones runners-up
Manager: Ariel Holan (Argentina)
Holan took over León in May of this year after a short stint with Santos FC in Brazil. The 61-year-old began his managerial career late, getting his first head coaching opportunity in 2015 with Defensa y Justicia in his native Argentina. He began his career coaching field hockey before switching to soccer in in the early 2000s.
2021 Apertura record (W/L/D): 4-2-3 (15 points, 4th place)
How they got here: León defeated MLS’ Sporting Kansas City 6-1 in the quarterfinals before downing Liga MX counterpart Pumas 2-0 in the semis.
Players to know:
- Ángel Mena: The 33-year-old winger leads León with four goals so far in this Apertura season and was a member of the Liga MX All-Stars that took on MLS in August. Mena is a native of Guayaquil, Ecuador, the same hometown as Sounders center back Xavier Arreaga, and is international teammates with Arreaga for La Tri. Mena joined León in 2019 and has posted an incredible 54 goals in 108 matches in all competitions.
- Luis Montes: The León captain has been with the club since 2011 and has made over 300 appearances. The former Mexico international earned 25 caps and was a member of Mexico’s 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup-winning squad. Now 35, Montes is still one of the best offensive midfielders in Liga MX despite working his way back from an injury that kept him out of the MLS All-Star Game.
- William Tesillo: The 31-year-old center back has been a rock on the back line since he joined León in 2018, logging over 100 appearances. Tesillo has 25 caps for Colombia and has been involved in recent FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches. Tesillo also represented Liga MX as a coach’s pick at the MLS All-Star Game.
