The Clásico Tapatío has given us unforgettable moments that remind us why Guadalajara belongs to Guadalajara. The longest-standing rivalry in Mexican soccer has historical passages that sprout in the week prior to the clash between the two teams from the Pearl of the West, and these have increased in the current era.
With the arrival of the short tournaments in Winter 1996, the clashes between the Rebaño Sagrado and the Zorros have taken on a special flavor because of how they have developed, so we tell you the most important facts about the rivalry.
The history of the Clásico Tapatío in short tournaments
There have been 68 editions of the match for the Perla de Occidente (the Pearl of the West) since Wednesday, November 13, 1996, when the first match in short tournaments was played at the Jalisco Stadium, resulting in a 2-2 draw. On that occasion, 'Gabi' García and 'Gusano' Nápoles led the Red-and-White heroics to reverse the 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The first win in a Clasico Tapatio in the new format was for the Rebaño in Invierno 97, who defeated their fierce city rival on July 30, 2-1, with goals from 'Tilón' Chávez at 2' and 'Gusano' at 50'; for the red-and-black team, Jorge Almirón scored at 46'.
They have met on six occasions in the Playoffs: Summer 2000, AP04, CL15, CL17, CL22 and CL23, all in the Quarterfinals, with Guadalajara advancing in four of them. In Clausura 2017, they even began their path to their twelfth league championship by eliminating their neighbor, in addition to the fact that in the most recent direct elimination, Guadalajara left out the Zorros to advance to the Semifinals.
Chiverío's superiority was also demonstrated in the now-defunct Copa MX. It was the Fiesta Grande of the 2017 Apertura when the Red-and-White and Black-and-Red met in the Round of 16 at the Akron Stadium. A set piece finished off by Hedgardo Marín at 24' gave Guadalajara a ticket to the Quarterfinals at the expense of their greatest rival.
The longest streak belongs to Chiverío: Guadalajara won 6 Clasicos Tapatíos between AP18 and CL21, a period in which they scored 11 goals and allowed only 3, with 4 unbeaten goals along the way.
The Red-and-White team has also scored the highest number of goals in the rivalry, having beaten the city's top rival 4-1 on 3 occasions. The first was in AP09, with a brace from 'Chicharito' Hernández and goals from Omar Bravo and Aarón Galindo; they then repeated the dose in the second leg of the Quarter-Finals in CL15, with a tremendous performance from Marco Fabián and his hat-trick, a score that Omar Bravo closed with another goal at the Jalisco Stadium. The most recent meeting took place at the Fortaleza Rojiblanca when a brace from Ricardo Marín and goals from 'Nene' Beltrán and 'Piojo' Alvarado closed the score.
Finally, the balance in short tournaments is in Chivas' favor: after 68 meetings, the Red and White team has won 26 times, compared to 22 draws and only 20 defeats against the Red and Blacks.
