NEW YORK - Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and Chivas USA together with the Federacion Mexicana de Fútbol, announced that the Mexican National Team will finalize its preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with a prestigious international soccer match on Friday, May 5, 2006 against the national team of Venezuela at Pasadena's Rose Bowl (8:00 p.m. local, Telemundo, Futbol de Primera) in the fifth and final match of the Mexican National Team's 2006 U.S. Coca-Cola presents Real Mexican Soccer tour prior to its departure to Germany.
Tickets starting at $25 will go on sale to the general public beginning Wednesday, April 12 by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1, 1-213-480-3232 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
México versus Venezuela on Cinco de Mayo, a date of celebration for the Mexican community, will be played among festivities and events that will be announced in the coming weeks. The match and surrounding events will be the last opportunity for Mexico's U.S.-based fans to send off their national team, prior to its FIFA World Cup 2006 participation a few weeks later.
The May visit marks Mexico's eighth ever trip to the Rose Bowl. The last match in the area was a scoreless tie against South Korea on January of 2002 during the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The international game on May 5 will mark the sixth encounter between Mexico and Venezuela. "El Tricolor" has all six previous wins in its encounters, three of which came in official tournaments.
Venezuela will be Mexico's fifth test in 2006 in preparation for the World Cup. Coached by Argentine Ricardo Lavolpe, Mexico (No. 7 in the latest FIFA world rankings) is the seeded team in the World Cup's Group D, joined by Iran, Angola and Portugal. El Tri's first match is against Iran on June 11 in Nuremberg, Germany.
The Mexican National Team's U.S. 2006 tour has averaged almost 40,000 fans on four stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago. Mexico will next travel to Pasadena, Calif., for one final send-off match before traveling to Europe for the World Cup. As part of the tour this year, Mexico has defeated Norway (2-1 on Jan. 25 in San Francisco), Ghana (1-0 on March 1 in Frisco, Texas) and Paraguay (2-1 on Mar. 29 in Chicago) while dropping a 1-0 result to Korea Republic in Los Angeles in February.
All-Time Mexican National Team Games vs. Venezuela
14 Feb 1938 C. & Caribbean Games @ Panama 1-0
24 Jan 1984 Friendly @ Mexico 3-0
9 Jul 1995 Copa America @ Uruguay 3-1
6 Jul 1999 Copa America @ Paraguay 3-1
5 Jul 2000 Friendly @ Mexico 2-1
Coca-Cola presents Real Mexican Soccer - 2006 Tour Schedule
Date Opponent City Stadium Results
Jan. 25 Norway San Francisco, CA Monster Park 2-1, Mexico
Feb. 15 Korea Rep. Los Angeles, CA L.A. Coliseum 0-1, Korea
March 1 Ghana Frisco, TX Pizza Hut Park 1-0, Mexico
March 29 Paraguay Chicago, IL Soldier Field 2-1, Mexico
May 5 Venezuela Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl
