Miguel Herrera praises Cubo Torres and MLS

Miguel Herrera seems to be a fan of MLS. At least in Cubo Torres' case.

"Without a doubt, for his benefit and for me, [Cubo] should continue in MLS," Herrera told FutbolMLS.com in Miami last week. "It's his decision and his agent's and his family's, and what he thinks is best for him. What we want is for him to have the same activity he had this year."

It appears as if the Mexican manager is a bigger fan of MLS than Jurgen Klinsmann. That he is happy with someone in the league, is pushing him to the league and is valuing guaranteed playing time as opposed to always challenging themselves in Europe is very different than what we've heard from the American boss.

Of course, to say that Klinsmann is vehemently MLS would be unfair. His opposition to the league has probably being misconstrued, with criticisms of MLS -- some of them very valid, like season length, competitiveness and depth -- being taken too far by observers.

Klinsmann also manages a very different team with a very different culture than El Tri. There is no great push to overhaul things within Mexican soccer and to constantly challenge a status quo that, in the opinion of the manager, has grown stale. The system, from top to bottom, doesn't need an overhaul, like Klinsmann is trying down to the youth levels because Mexico changed their youth development several years ago. Liga MX is also an established league that has fueled El Tri for its entire existence, so there has never been a need to push players to Europe.

Still, it is notable that at a time when MLS has been under attack and is looking to its next phase in 2015, Herrera is heaping praise upon the league. He's pushing one of his brighter young talents to the league.

"I think, without a doubt, that Erick has done an outstanding job here in MLS," Herrera said. "… MLS is a growing league and very strong, with very good teams and players."

As MLS grows, it will begin to challenge Liga MX for regional superiority. It will be on that level and it may even begin competing with the league for players. There could be an influx of Mexicans in MLS, national teamers too, and when the league is at that level, it will be interesting to see how it is viewed both at home, and in Mexico.

For now, it is just Cubo, who is getting very different feedback from his manager than many MLS-based Americans are getting from their national team manager.