Most European clubs approach the January transfer window cautiously, but in Mexico, where the league championship is split into two seasons, clubs shuffle their rosters during the second transfer window. At Puebla, which is in danger of being relegated at the end of the 2009 Torneo Clausura, former FC Dallas defender Duilio Davino is the club's ninth signing. In a back-handed slap at MLS, the 32-year-old Davino, one of the biggest Mexican flops in MLS history, said he was glad to be back home.

"Things are drastically different," he said. "Over there fans don't treat it like they do here, where there's pressure, players sign autographs and receive criticism in the press. But that is what I wanted, so I thank God I got the opportunity and took it."

He admitted it was a risk to join Puebla, which had the fewest points in the Torneo Apertura, but he said he looked forward to the challenge where "every game will be like a final."

Davino had spent most of his career at Club America, which never faced the possibility of relegation.

Puebla is last in the "Tabla de descenso," which tabulates a team's average points over the last three seasons to determine the one team that is relegated.

Davino is joined at Puebla by another former FC Dallas player, Ramon Nunez, who grew up in Dallas and most recently played in native Honduras.

Club America and Necaxa have the next most mid-winter signings with eight apiece. Club America has also unloaded 11 players.

Many of the signings, like Davino's, only cover the five-month Torneo Clausura, or are loan deals.

Tabla de Descenso
18. Puebla 1.0392 (53 points/51 games)
17. Indios 1.1176 (19 points/17 games)
16. Necaxa 1.1294 (96 points/85 games)
15. UAG 1.1411 (97 points/85 games)
14. Tigres 1.1529 (98 points/85 games)