georg Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 There are no limits to appeal of ChivasThe club is the winningest in Mexican league history. Its policy to sign only players born in Mexico is a big reason for its popularity. By Jaime Cárdenas, Times Staff Writer July 28, 2007 http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/galaxy/la-sp-chivas28jul28,1,515429.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-soccer-gal&ctrack=1&cset=true Claudio Suarez, now captain of Chivas USA, is nearing the end of a long soccer career. But he remembers vividly his debut as a young player with Mexico's celebrated Chivas de Guadalajara club in 1996. He left the stadium thinking the worst part was the final score, a 2-0 loss to Toros Neza. It wasn't. Rabid fans of Chivas, loving called "El Rebaño Sagrado" (the sacred flock) or the Goats, were expecting to see more from Suarez, and they hurled every possible insult in his direction. "Why don't you go back to where you came from," Suarez remembers one fan screaming at him. Suarez knew Chivas fans were demanding, but was unprepared for this reception. He'd signed with Chivas because it's one of the oldest, most successful and popular soccer clubs in Mexico, but after his first game he had second thoughts. "At that point, I was doubting a little bit having gone there. I was like, 'I don't think things are going to turn out good,' " said Suarez, who now laughs about the situation. Suarez played with Chivas for four seasons, and helped the team win the league championship in 1997. The fans' reaction after the championship game was much different than his debut. "They began to party right on the streets," Suarez said. Team officials "told us that the fans wanted to see us and that a parade was going to start soon." So moments after the game, Chivas players got on an old fire truck and drove around the streets of Guadalajara. Playing for Chivas comes with great responsibility, Suarez said, and with that comes great adulation or fierce criticism. "It's not easy to play for this club," he said. Chivas, along with Club America, are the most popular soccer teams in Mexico. No matter where Goats' fans live, they seem to carry their affinity for their old team, and Southern California probably has more Goats fans than anywhere else in the country. "We know that in the United States we have many fans that came [here] to start a better life for themselves," said Chivas defender Jonny Magallon. "And they are just waiting for us to come over here to see us play." Last year a pro-Chivas crowd of 92,650 jammed into the Coliseum to see "El Rebaño Sagrado" play Barcelona. Organizers are not expecting as many people for tonight's Chivas-Galaxy game, but the fans will be just as rabid. On Sunday, Chivas' official local supporter club, Legion 1908 — founded in 1999 — spent the day at the Home Depot Center finishing up an 81-foot by 147-foot long flag it will unveil during the SuperLiga game. The flag, with Guadalajara and Chivas USA logos and the fan club's insignia, is so big that it will take about 40 people to carry it into the stadium. Fan club president Obideo Mojarro, who grew up in Guadalajara, said the volunteers were working on the flag from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It was quite a sight to see the flag stretched out in the parking lot between the Home Depot stadium and the David Beckham academy's soccer fields. The flag, Mojarro said, cost about $10,000 to make and the volunteers have been working on it since January. "It's a labor of love," he said. "We do it from the heart and because we want to be part of the history." Chivas players know what type of fans they have. "It feeds the hunger to go out and fight and win games," said current Chivas midfielder Patricio "El Pato" Araujo, 19, who is considered the future of the franchise. "Very few people get the privilege to play for a club like this." Part of the lure of Chivas is its history, its winning tradition and its policy to sign only players who are born in Mexico. Chivas was founded in 1906 by Edgar Evaraert. He was of French descent, so he modeled the team's red, white and blue colors after the French flag. The team became Club Guadalajara in 1908. Their nickname, Chivas, was given to them by a newspaper writer in 1948 after the club played poorly and the writer said they just ran around the field like crazy goats. The insult was embraced by fans. And after the team won its first title, the Cardinal of Guadalajara held Mass in its honor and blessed the team, thus the name "El Rebaño Sagrado." Chivas is the winningest team in Mexican league history, with 11 trophies; its most recent title came in 2006. But what endears the team to the heart of Mexican fans most is their long tradition of playing only Mexican-born players. "It's like playing for the national," said Suarez. "Even better, actually, because the national team has begun to allow naturalized players. Chivas doesn't even allow naturalized and the people really love that." Suarez said that Chivas' widespread popularity amounts to "a social phenomenon that's very important. And it crosses borders into the U.S. as you can see." -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- jaime.cardenas@latimes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealGooner Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 And the relevance of some Mexican team to to MLS and or TFC is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georg Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 quote:Originally posted by RealGooner And the relevance of some Mexican team to to MLS and or TFC is? If you would of read the article, you would notice how enthusiastic their fans are and Toronto FC fans are creating the same atmosphere in Toronto and MSL are impressed... Last year a pro-Chivas crowd of 92,650 jammed into the Coliseum to see "El Rebaño Sagrado" play Barcelona. Organizers are not expecting as many people for tonight's Chivas-Galaxy game, but the fans will be just as rabid. On Sunday, Chivas' official local supporter club, Legion 1908 — founded in 1999 — spent the day at the Home Depot Center finishing up an 81-foot by 147-foot long flag it will unveil during the SuperLiga game. The flag, with Guadalajara and Chivas USA logos and the fan club's insignia, is so big that it will take about 40 people to carry it into the stadium. Fan club president Obideo Mojarro, who grew up in Guadalajara, said the volunteers were working on the flag from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It was quite a sight to see the flag stretched out in the parking lot between the Home Depot stadium and the David Beckham academy's soccer fields. The flag, Mojarro said, cost about $10,000 to make and the volunteers have been working on it since January. "It's a labor of love," he said. "We do it from the heart and because we want to be part of the history." Chivas players know what type of fans they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealGooner Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Thanks Georg, but I don't really care. And by the way, its MLSnot MSL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealGooner Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Thanks Georg, but I don't really care. And by the way, its MLSnot MSL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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