Wednesday night marks an historic event for Chivas USA. For the first time in the club's history, the Red-and-White will take on sister team and namesake Chivas de Guadalajara. The two will do battle at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (8 p.m. PT) in the first-ever ChivaClásico.
"It should be a fun game," said Chivas USA head coach Preki. "Two good teams who have never played each other before. I'm sure the fans in the area are very excited about it and, hopefully, it's a good game."
Chivas USA have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Chivas de Guadalajara since the MLS club came into existence on Aug. 2, 2004. The two share nearly identical logos and color schemes, and have exchanged players on a number of occasions. The most recent transition was the Los Angeles arrival of Jesús Padilla from Guadalajara.
"It's something special to play against your old team," said Padilla. "I was in Mexico for eight years with Guadalajara, so I have a lot of friends there, but right now my heart is with Chivas USA."
Padilla is one of a few Chivas USA players who has personal experience with Chivas de Guadalara. Veteran defender Claudio Suárez played for the team from 1996-1999, and Eduardo Lillingston and Mariano Trujillo both played against the famous squad as members of opposing Mexican Primera División teams during their careers.
"I played against them a lot of times in Mexico," said Trujillo. "It's always a special feeling for me to play against them. I'm definitely going to do my best and try to win the game."
The ChivaClásico arrives just as Chivas USA are making their final push toward the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Red-and-White players see it as a chance to continue their run of good form and gain some momentum ahead of Saturday's league match against New York.
"We're taking it as a good test and a good preparation game for this weekend," said Trujillo of Wednesday's friendly. "We've started to play better, and if we win tomorrow, then we'll have a few games in a row of playing well and getting good results. It will be a good game for us to measure where we're at heading into the playoffs."
With three games in eight days for the Red-and-White, it's likely that Preki will use a wide assortment of players on Wednesday evening to avoid overworking his squad and to give a few younger players a chance for some game minutes.
"We'll play mixed lineups," he said. "Two different groups, one in the first half and one in the second. Hopefully, everybody gets a little bit of the game."
Chivas de Guadalajara are just a few weeks into their season. The team most recently secured a solid 1-0 win against Jaguares last weekend and is preparing for a game against Pumas on Sunday.
"[The ChivaClásico] will really help us as we prepare our match on Sunday against Pumas," said midfielder Gonzalo Pineda. "American soccer is very fast, very strong, and very physical, and Pumas is a team that likes to run for 90 minutes and likes to bring a lot of pace to the field. This game against Chivas USA will really help."
While Wednesday's game is officially just a friendly, neither team is planning on taking it easy. Both sides trained hard on Tuesday and are looking for a win in the first-ever ChivaClásico.
"Even in friendly matches, it's always important to maintain a high level of soccer and to look for the win," said Chivas de Guadalajara head coach Raúl Arias. "That's how it will be for us tomorrow."
Regardless of who comes out on top, Wednesday night's game will be a great display of some of the highest quality soccer in North America and a celebration of the Chivas name and of its heritage.
"It's going to be a great match," said Guadalajara striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernández. "It will be a huge event for the Chivas name and for the Chivas fans, who have supported the institution faithfully in Los Angeles."
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
