Clásico de los Pumas

Lore & Background

Cruz Azul was founded in 1927 in Jasso, Hidalgo, by workers of the cement cooperative Cooperativa La Cruz Azul. The club relocated to Mexico City in 1971. Pumas UNAM was founded in 1954 and entered the top division in 1962–63. The rivalry began in the 1964–65 season, when Cruz Azul first played in the top division. Cruz Azul maintains a long-standing rivalry with América (the Clásico Joven), and together with América, Guadalajara, and Pumas UNAM, these clubs are considered the Big Four of Mexican football.

In Their Own Story

The afternoon sun hangs low and white over the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, baking the concrete into a furnace. The stands are already a living thing—black and gold scarves snapping, the *grullas* and *pumas* in the upper tier barking in unison, the smell of *tacos al pastor* and cheap beer threading through the air. Down in the tunnel, the Cruz Azul players can hear it: a low, grinding roar, like the cement mixer that gave them their name. The captain runs a hand over the crest, feels the blue thread, and steps onto the pitch. The first touch of the ball is met with a sound like a wave breaking. Somewhere in the Portales, a kid in a size-too-big Cruz Azul shirt is watching on a cracked TV, convinced that today, just today, the university boys are going to lose. The whistle blows. The city splits in two.

Reader's Guide

Cruz Azul plays its home matches at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Pumas UNAM also plays in Liga MX. The first official match between the two clubs occurred in the 1964–65 season.

Did You Know?

• Cruz Azul was founded in 1927 in Jasso, Hidalgo, not in Mexico City.
• Cruz Azul relocated to Mexico City in 1971.
• Pumas UNAM was founded in 1954 and first played in the top division in 1962–63.
• Cruz Azul debuted in the top division in the 1964–65 season, after Pumas.
• Cruz Azul's home ground is Estadio Azteca, not Estadio Azul.