Cruz Azul vs. Chivas
A rivalry born in the 1960s, not the 1930s.
Cruz Azul and Chivas have a notable rivalry in Mexican football, but their first meeting in the Primera División occurred during the 1964–65 season, as Cruz Azul debuted in the top flight that year. The rivalry does not date back to the 1930s or 1940s, as Cruz Azul was not in the top division until 1964.
- Cruz Azul founded
- 1926, Mexico City (Industrial Zone)
- Chivas founded
- 1906, Guadalajara, Jalisco
- Cruz Azul nickname
- La Máquina (The Machine)
- Chivas nickname
- El Rebaño (The Flock) / Chivas
- Cruz Azul primary colour
- Blue
- Chivas primary colours
- White and red
- Rivalry type
- Inter-city, class-based, philosophical (all-Mexican vs. open roster)
Lore & Background
Cruz Azul was founded in 1927 in Jasso, Hidalgo, and spent its early years in amateur and regional competitions. The club did not join the Mexican Football Federation as a professional side until 1961, and it earned promotion to the Primera División in the 1963–64 season. Therefore, any rivalry with Chivas could only have begun after Cruz Azul's arrival in the top flight in 1964.
In Their Own Story
The bus pulls into the lot behind the stadium at 14:40, and the air already tastes of smoke and cheap beer. A Cruz Azul support section is already stacked in the lower tier, blue scarves draped over the concrete like a second wall, their chanting a low, rhythmic drone that vibrates in the chest. Opposite them, the white-and-red wall of Chivas fans has been building since noon, their drums a sharper, more percussive beat. Between the two, the pitch is an emerald strip of silence, the goal nets still damp from the morning rain. A player from La Máquina jogs the perimeter, blue boots cutting the grass, and the blue section roars as if he's scored. In the white section, someone spits. The referee's whistle splits the air, and for ninety minutes, two cities argue in the only language they both trust: the language of the ball, the body, and the boot against the shin. Nobody is watching a match. They are settling a debt that has no ledger.
Reader's Guide
The rivalry between Cruz Azul and Chivas is a fixture of Liga MX, but its origins are not documented in the source article beyond the fact that Cruz Azul first played in the top division in the 1964–65 season. The source does not provide specific details about the history or intensity of this particular rivalry.
Did You Know?
- Cruz Azul was founded in 1927 in Jasso, Hidalgo, and relocated to Mexico City in 1971.
- Cruz Azul debuted in the Mexican Primera División during the 1964–65 season.
- Cruz Azul is one of only seven Mexican clubs to have never been relegated from the top flight.
- Cruz Azul holds the joint-record for the most CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League titles, with seven.
More in Great Rivalries & Derbies
Elsewhere in the Cruz Azul universe
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