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Mexican soccer’s roughest rivalry

By Jeremy Schwartz | Thursday, October 19, 2006, 05:24 PM

Imagine Texas vs. Texas A&M and Red Sox vs. Yankees rolled into one. Add a dose a street violence and you get an idea of the rivalry between the Mexican soccer teams Pumas and America.

The two teams face off again at 4 p.m. Sunday at America’s massive home stadium, the 130,000-seat Estadio Azteca. It’s the latest chapter in Mexico’s most brutal sports rivalry.

Hard-core fans take things to another level when the two Mexico City teams play. Last year, fans fought a pitched battle outside the Pumas’ stadium, hurling rocks at each other. Before every game it seems, the fans vow to keep things nonviolent, but it rarely works. In March 2005, members of the respective fan clubs began a fistfight just minutes after signing a peace pact at police headquarters. Rumbles on Mexico City’s subway are expected on game day, which occurs just two times a season.

My wife and I were treated to some unexpected Pumas-America violence a month ago when we took in a game at Azteca between America and the lightweight squad from Veracruz.

On our way to the stadium, we saw a couple of toughs from America’s porra, or cheer squad (the word loses some of its edge in the translation), arguing with a carload of people in the pregame traffic. Suddenly one of the America fans began punching the driver, landing several hard shots to his head, and kicked the back of the car, leaving a big dent. We were speechless, and it wasn’t until we passed the car that our taxi driver told is it was because the driver was wearing a Pumas shirt.

The rivalry dates back at least until the 1960s, and perhaps stems in part from their proximity in southern Mexico City. Pumas are the official team of Autonomous University of Mexico, whose students and employees have spread their cause throughout the country and beyond. America is kind of like the Yankees of Mexican soccer, with deep pockets that allow it to sign lots of high-priced free agents.

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