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Estadio Azteca

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Template:Infobox Football (soccer) stadium

File:Estadioazteca.jpg
Aztec Stadium, safe stadium...kind stadium
File:AZTECA.jpg
Estadio Azteca

Estadio Azteca is a football stadium in Mexico City. Designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and built in 1966 for football matches during the 1968 Summer Olympics, it is one of the largest stadiums in the world, with a capacity of 114,600 seats. Alternative names include Coloso de Santa Úrsula and (obsolete) Estadio Guillermo Cañedo.

It is the home stadium of the Mexican National Team and the Mexican clubs Club América and Atlante and the one-time home of Cruz Azul and Necaxa. It is the only stadium ever to host two World Cup final matches, in 1970 and 1986. It also hosted the 1986 quarter-final between Argentina and England in which Diego Maradona scored both the Hand of God goal and the Goal of the Century, in memory of which a bronze plaque of his goal was placed outside the stadium. As if this wasn´t enough this stadium also hosted the Game of the Century, when Italy and Germany played in a fantastic match, at the end Italy won 4-3. In honour of this match there is a monument in front of the stadium.

Estadio Azteca has been host to a wide variety of competitions. Throughout the stadium's history, it has hosted the following international sporting events:

The stadium has also hosted international club tournaments such at the Copa InterAmericana and the Copa Libertadores.

File:Otra N.jpg
An aerial view of Estadio Azteca.

Estadio Azteca has also been used for musical performances throughout its history. Madonna (1993), Michael Jackson (1994), U2 (2006), Queen, Elton John, Robbie Williams (2005), Maná, Juan Gabriel, Gloria Estefan, Ana Gabriel, The Three Tenors all have become part of the stadium's mystique. But what perhaps is most remembered amongst the Mexican people is the visit from the late Pope John Paul II in 1999.


Access and Entrance

It is served by the Estadio Azteca station on the Xochimilco Light Rail line. This line is an extension of the Mexico City metro system which begins at Tasqueña metro station.

Due to its size and the closure of the Maracanã in Rio, Azteca is currently the planet's biggest football stadium (though behind May Day Stadium in Pyongyang and Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata), tickets are usually readily available, up to kick-off times, from the ticket office which is located at the front of the stadium, just down the exit ramps from the Estadio Azteca station. Tickets start from as little as 50 pesos (about USD 4.70). For bigger matches such as Club América's games against Chivas and Pumas where sellouts are common, numerous touts circulate offering tickets at competitive prices. For such games, be careful to check that your tickets are within the same section of the ground.

Naming

The stadium is owned by Mexican TV consortium Televisa. In order to avoid people associating the stadium's name with that of its competition TV Azteca, Televisa officially changed the stadium's name to "Estadio Guillermo Cañedo", a top executive and long-time football advocate at Televisa. The change took place in early 1997, following Cañedo's death (January 20th, 1997)[1]. However the change did not go well with the general population, who generally refused to refer to the stadium by its alleged new name. Following a cism where two of Cañedo's sons, who worked at Televisa, switched camps and went to TV Azteca,[2] Televisa quietly returned the stadium's name to its old version. Most people did not even notice, as they usually referred to the stadium as "Azteca" anyway.

Preceded by FIFA World Cup
Final Venue
1970 		Succeeded by
Preceded by FIFA World Cup
Final Venue
1986 		Succeeded by

See also

Trivia

  • At the time of its inauguration it was probably the most modern sports arena in the world. The opening game was between Club America and Torino F.C. on May 26, 1966, with seats for 107,494 spectators. The first goal was scored was by Brazilian Orlando Dos Santos Cruz and the second one by Brazilian José Alves "Zague", later the italians tied the game and ended 2-2. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz President of Mexico made the initial kick and Sir Stanley Rous FIFA President was the witness.
  • There is Commemorative plaque with the name of the first goal scorer in the first daylight game and in the first nightly game.

References

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