Cool Futbol Rivalry You Never Heard Of

Not much going on in baseball tonight (hey MLB Network got anything interesting to put on?  I mean baseball has only been around for 125 years, surely you can go a little further back than 2008).

Anyway, I stumbled across this:

Yankees-Red Sox? That’s always a sure bet. Lakers-Celtics? Sure, but only recently has it been revived. Patriots-Colts? Too new. Cowboys-Redskins? Maybe, but it has lost some fizzle. Canadiens-Maple Leafs? Blackhawks-Red Wings? Depends on whom you ask.

Here is one you may have missed: Club América-Chivas Guadalajara. You knew that, right? You should.

Mexico’s most popular and successful soccer teams have been going at it for more than 60 years, and tonight they bring the latest installment of their intense rivalry to Robertson Stadium as the nightcap of an InterLiga doubleheader that also includes UANL Tigres (Monterrey) taking on Atlas (Guadalajara) in Group B action.

Just how big are these teams? They combine for 21 league championships, with Chivas holders of 11, the most in Mexico. With Chivas a 102-year-old institution and América a slightly younger 92, the respective fan bases extend generations and are in the tens of millions in Mexico alone. Both are considered the faces of Mexican soccer.

That is where the similarities end. Chivas is also popular because of its long-standing policy of fielding only Mexican players, which plays to the national pride of many. “The people’s team,” is the main feeder of talent for the national team.

Club América prides itself on spending lavishly and inking international players, most of them from South America. They are considered the league’s richest club, the Yankees of Mexican soccer.

The rest is here.


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