Whatever we’re told, however the game has developed, all true football supporters know deep down that our game, our obsession, is about more than just where the next three points are coming from or being abused by the plastic fan in the office over a result that didn’t even involve his team. Football is not defined by 90 minutes between two clubs of untold wealth but by 150 years of history and the storylines and experiences within.
And so as well as enjoying the gritty, everyday reality of life on the terraces - just for the sake of it - the life and perceptions of the football supporter are shaped by far away phenomena and intangible icons that have been written into football folklore. In this series, twofootedtackle.com will look at those football monoliths - dead, living and inanimate - that are simultaneously shrouded in an aura and just there.
The first of the TFT Icons is one of the game’s greatest stadiums. Standing tall in the Santa Ursula area of Mexico City, Estadio Azteca has all the attributes of a perfect football stadium and, to many, edges out Camp Nou, San Siro, the Maracana and Wembley (among countless others) as the best in the world. Of course, that list consists of grounds that have earned their place not because of what they are, but what’s happened inside. And if this a great stadium makes, Azteca is the greatest of all.
Vitals: Estadio Azteca
Altitude: 7,200 feet
Capacity: 104,000
Teams: Club América, Mexican national team
As you weave through the notorious matchday traffic on the streets of Santa Ursula, the monolith that greets you is an imposing physical presence and one with a magnificent history that seems inextricably entwined with the story of football itself. The home of both El Tri and América, the Azteca was built in the first half of the sixties and officially opened in May 1966 by the visit of Torino to America for a friendly.
Even the building itself has an engaging history. Having undergone a formal name change inspired not by sponsorship but in order to prevent association with a brand (it’s now changed back), the first NFL regular season game outside the United States, a host of tenants including Necaxa, Atlante and Cruz Azul, and an unexpected World Cup, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that so much has happened there.
The real story of Azteca is what’s happened there. It’s a tale not just of great players, amazing games and wonderful goals but the very best of both. Known as the Game of the Century, Italy’s semi-final win over West Germany in 1970 lives up to its billing. Goals at the beginning and end of the 90 minutes left the score at 1-1 and gave no indication of what was to come: five goals in 30 extra time minutes, with Tarcisio Burgnich and Gigi Riva turning 1-2 into 3-2 before the Germans equalised again. Gianni Rivera got the thrilling winner.
Italy went on to face Brazil in the final in 1970 and were beaten by one of the finest World Cup final performances ever. Pele and Roberto Boninsegna (who also scored the first against West Germany) exchanged goals before the break, and in the second half Gerson and Jairzinho scored to set the scene for a fabulous fourth goal. In the 86th minute, Pele laid the ball out to Carlos Alberto with a pass that looks on television as if nobody was there to receive it - nobody, that is, until Carlos Alberto arrived to thump the ball home and score one of the World Cup’s most famous goals.
In 1986, the World Cup arrived in Mexico once again and Diego Maradona’s rise to superstardom - almost inevitably - was set in stone (eventually literally) at the Azteca. This isn’t just any stadium; this is where arguably the greatest player in the history of football came of age, became infamous, scored the best goal in history and lifted the World Cup for one of the game’s most respected and fascinating nations. Azteca is the home of the Hand of God and its much more beautiful follow-up. 16 years on from Pele’s moment, Maradona made the tournament his own.
And that’s why the Azteca has such mystique in the minds of football enthusiasts around the world. This isn’t just a giant, intimidating and imposing structure in Mexico City; here, two of the greatest players in history carved out significant portions of their own iconic narratives. In Pele and Maradona, the Azteca story has two protagonists of such quality and mythology that it is inevitable that the stadium that shares the most famous moments of both should become a legendary football artefact in its own right.
Of course, it’s important to remember that a number of Mexico’s most famous clubs have called the Azteca home and it is the supporters who fill its giant capacity that really matter in all this. The national team’s historical record in the stadium is not far short of astonishing, as CONCACAF rivals USA will be all too aware. The place has an intimidating aura - visiting nations, particularly those who play there regularly, fear Azteca. As well they might.
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Tags: Azteca, Diego Maradona, Mexico, Pele, Stadiums