Talking MLS, La Liga in Chicago, Madrid Derby with Julio Baptista

The United States has been seen by European soccer leagues as a potential gold mine, and Spain’s La Liga is no different.

As the game has grown globally, leagues are being proactive in connecting with their fans and that’s what has former La Liga champion Julio Baptisa in Chicago this weekend. Baptista’s former side, Real Madrid, will once again take on local rival Atletico Madrid in the fourth and final Madrid derby of the season on Sunday. He wants to connect with the local fans in the growing American soccer market.

“We can see that in the U.S. people are becoming more passionate about soccer,” Baptista told On Tap Sports Net through a translator ahead of Sunday’s match. “And everyone’s delighted to see that. It’s seen now as something much more cultural because if we look at American culture, sport is a very important part of American culture. We’ve seen that with American football and basketball. And now we’ve got soccer which is consolidating its position within the national market.”

Baptista has experience with American soccer culture from his time with Orlando City during the 2016 Major League Soccer season. The experience was largely a positive one for the Brazilian but he did have a rude awakening after his first MLS start in the Florida heat.

“The first artificial football pitch I played on was at Orlando City,” Baptista noted with a smile. “That did my knees in a little bit, I have to say that. I think it was the first match, and I wasn’t used to playing on an artificial pitch, and I remember I ended the match with blisters on my feet and bruises – it was also really hot. It took me about three days after that first match to get my joints back in order. But I managed to recover after that first match on an artificial surface.”

Despite still having artificial pitches in the league, Baptista reveres the league he played in for a year.

“I would say that MLS is in the top ten leagues in the world thanks to the organization of [MLS]. This is also thanks to how all of the clubs have acted and performed. They have a great strategy.”

American soccer compliments aside, Baptista and La Liga are in Chicago for the final Madrid Derby of the season. The former Real Madrid forward sees a positive result in his side’s future.

I think that Real Madrid will win 2-1 although I think it’ll be a tight, difficult game. It’s a derby match, we know that anything can happen in a derby match. If we look at the recent derby matches, Real Madrid won the Supercopa de España [semi-final] then lost against Atletico in the Copa Del Rey. I think that Real Madrid lost the cup match because they were tired when they got to that game. This time around Real Madrid has had a bit more time to rest, it a bit fresher.”

Baptista and company will be at Moe’s Cantina, River North in Chicago beginning at 1 PM CT for the Madrid Derby watch party.