Clásico Tapatío

Lore & Background

The rivalry was born shortly after the founding of Atlas in August 1916 (Club Deportivo Guadalajara was founded in May 1906). There was a difference of social class between the two teams: Guadalajara were followed by the middle class, while Atlas represented the upper class, as its founders came from wealthy families and learned football in their travels as students to the United Kingdom. The first encounter between the two clubs was a friendly shortly after Atlas was founded, resulting in a 0–0 draw.

The first tournament match came in the 'Torneo de Primavera' of 1917, where Atlas won 2–1 despite complaints of bad refereeing by Chivas. Chivas were so angered that they refused to play in the next Liga Amateur de Jalisco tournament of 1917–18 unless the president of refereeing, Justo García Godoy, resigned; when he did not, Chivas refused to join the tournament. After the tournament, Atlas had won their first amateur league and the leader of the collegiate had resigned; Chivas challenged Atlas to a series of three matches.

Each team won one of the first two matches by a single goal, and Atlas won the third; there were complaints because Atlas used seven substitutions from the no longer existent Club Colón. There is a legend that the first match was 18–0 in favor of Atlas, but the first reference is a newspaper note published about 50 years later; there is no data to confirm the confrontation. In 1955, the most curious Clásico Tapatío happened: goalkeeper Jaime 'Tubo' Gómez, insulted by fans, after seeing Chivas leading 5–0, requested a magazine, sat next to a goalpost, and began reading it in mockery of Atlas faithful.

Atlas and Guadalajara have faced twice in playoffs, both in the quarter-finals: in summer 2000, Chivas advanced by tying both encounters 1–1 due to better position; in the Opening Tournament 2004, Atlas eliminated Chivas with a global score of 4–3. In both games, Guadalajara failed a winning penalty kick. Neither team advanced past the semi-finals on either occasion.

Reader's Guide

Official matches include Liga Amateur de Jalisco, Copa México, Campeón de Campeones, Primera División, Play-In, and Playoffs. Statistics updated 13 August 2022: P (matches played), WA (wins for Atlas), WG (wins for Guadalajara), D (draws), GoalA (goals for Atlas), GoalG (goals for Guadalajara). In total there were 44 games where the result is unknown.

Did You Know?

• The first tournament match was in the Torneo de Primavera of 1917, not the 1917–18 Liga de Occidente.
• Jaime 'Tubo' Gómez read a magazine by the goalpost in 1955, not 1956.