Wow, what a day, this 2nd day of the trip!
We began the day after a good night's sleep. The first thing on the agenda was barbacoa, tender sheep meat, cooked slowly over an open fire (or traditionally, cooked in a hole dug in the ground).
On our way to the open-air market, we bought some freshly squeezed orange juice: no concentrate, no water, just pure orange juice. Once at the market Ruth and Marty took over, ordering all the right stuff for our breakfast. Barbacoa on its own is not picante, but as is the case with most Mexican food, you just add spice by way of salsas, lots of salsas.
Below, from left to right: Marty, Sanjit, Jennifer.
We began the day after a good night's sleep. The first thing on the agenda was barbacoa, tender sheep meat, cooked slowly over an open fire (or traditionally, cooked in a hole dug in the ground).
On our way to the open-air market, we bought some freshly squeezed orange juice: no concentrate, no water, just pure orange juice. Once at the market Ruth and Marty took over, ordering all the right stuff for our breakfast. Barbacoa on its own is not picante, but as is the case with most Mexican food, you just add spice by way of salsas, lots of salsas.
Below, from left to right: Marty, Sanjit, Jennifer.
From left (far side of table): Ruth's mom (Ruth), Ruth, Marty, Mauricio (Ruth's friend), Sanjit, and Jennifer.
Our cooks:
After a scrumptious breakfast, we walked a few blocks to the "Eje 3" avenue where we took a taxi to the Estadio Universatario. Next up: a partido de fútbol (soccer game), between the UNAM Pumas from Mexico City and the Tigres from Monterrey. The game started at noon, but we got there just after 11am, in order to take in some of the atmosphere and buy our souvenirs.
In addition, we met up with some other long lost souls: Tatiana and Ruben, ex-Vancouver soccerinos who've returned to their home soil. This trip, after all, is sort of a reunion trip, bringing together friends that met up on the soccer fields of Jericho Beach.
Here we are, soccerinos in Mexico City! From left to right: Jennifer, Ruben, Cub, Marty, Tatiana, Ruth, and Sanjit.
Jennifer:
Jennifer and Cub:
The game itself was fell-fought. It was a hot and sunny day, so we all wore headgear to keep us from getting sunburnt. The atmosphere was good, not awesome, but good. I guess once you've been to a World Cup game or two, all other games are just "good" or "great"...
The stadium:
In addition, we met up with some other long lost souls: Tatiana and Ruben, ex-Vancouver soccerinos who've returned to their home soil. This trip, after all, is sort of a reunion trip, bringing together friends that met up on the soccer fields of Jericho Beach.
Here we are, soccerinos in Mexico City! From left to right: Jennifer, Ruben, Cub, Marty, Tatiana, Ruth, and Sanjit.
Jennifer:
Jennifer and Cub:
The game itself was fell-fought. It was a hot and sunny day, so we all wore headgear to keep us from getting sunburnt. The atmosphere was good, not awesome, but good. I guess once you've been to a World Cup game or two, all other games are just "good" or "great"...
The stadium:
The next picture was taken with about 3 minutes left in the game. The Tigres had 5 minutes earlier tied the game at 1, after the Pumas had led most of the game. Here the Pumas just about score the go-ahead goal, but the arquero (goalkeeper) makes a great save.
Here's the game-winning goal. It came with about a minute left in the game. The goal-scorer is none other than Dante Lopez, a Paraguayan striker who'd just been substituded into the game about a minute earlier. His first touch on the ball was a header that found the back of the net. Needless to say, I was a very happy fan. I made sure that everyone around us knew where the striker hailed from. Final score: Pumas 2 - Tigres 1.
The stadium wasn't full, but the hardcore fans were there and they let themselves be heard. Here they are, chanting and waving their flags after the game-winning goal.
The game ended about 2pm, and I'm glad it did, because I was hot, thirsty, and hungry. We went to a nice restaurant on the grounds of the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México).
If barbacoa and a soccer game wasn't enough activity for a day, then adding a 2nd game to our agenda certainly was, and that's exactly what we did! After a hurried lunch (lunch, by the way, was so-so, I had a sandwich with papas fritas. The french fries were good, but my sandwich-bread was stale), we took another taxi, this time to another stadium, the mythical Estadio Aztéca.
The stadium is mítico for a reason. It's massive: it seats 110,000 fans; that's 5+ times the size of GM Place, and almost double the size of BC Place. More than the size though, history also adds to the glory of the stadium. As far as I know, it's the only stadium in the world that has hosted 2 World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986. The two best players to ever have graced the game played in the two final games: Pelé in 1970 (Brasil 4 - Italia 1), and Maradona (Argentina 3 - Deutschland 2).
Enough said. The stadium:
The home team at the Aztéca is Club América,where another Paraguayan striker plays. In fact, I believe Salvador Cabañas was the highest scoreer in the Mexican league in 2007, and he was voted the best player in all of South America that year. Along with the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, he's the heart and soul of Club America.
At a souvenir booth:
Unfortunately, on this occasion, his team lost 2-0, to San Luís de Potosí. Here was a wasted scoring opportunity for América (in yellow).
Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun attending the game. One of the great things about fútbol is that no matter how badly the home team does, there are always a group of loyalists who cheer the team on. These fans are the true fans, they stick to the team in good times and in bad, win or lose. Here are the Americanistas:
Us (minus Ruth and Marty who couldn't attend the game) before and after the game:
Beer was definitely the drink of choice. Perhaps that's why this bucket of pop bottles was left unattended.
Impression of the day: Mexican fútbol is good, but not excellent. It seems like the soccer here has lots of dancing - highly skilled ball-manouvering - but little headwork, little intellect; too much passion and not enough tactical work. Argentina and Brasil have the same technical know-how, but added to it is a strategic element that adds a great deal of class to the game. It's not just about the heart, it's also about the head.
Here's the game-winning goal. It came with about a minute left in the game. The goal-scorer is none other than Dante Lopez, a Paraguayan striker who'd just been substituded into the game about a minute earlier. His first touch on the ball was a header that found the back of the net. Needless to say, I was a very happy fan. I made sure that everyone around us knew where the striker hailed from. Final score: Pumas 2 - Tigres 1.
The stadium wasn't full, but the hardcore fans were there and they let themselves be heard. Here they are, chanting and waving their flags after the game-winning goal.
The game ended about 2pm, and I'm glad it did, because I was hot, thirsty, and hungry. We went to a nice restaurant on the grounds of the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México).
If barbacoa and a soccer game wasn't enough activity for a day, then adding a 2nd game to our agenda certainly was, and that's exactly what we did! After a hurried lunch (lunch, by the way, was so-so, I had a sandwich with papas fritas. The french fries were good, but my sandwich-bread was stale), we took another taxi, this time to another stadium, the mythical Estadio Aztéca.
The stadium is mítico for a reason. It's massive: it seats 110,000 fans; that's 5+ times the size of GM Place, and almost double the size of BC Place. More than the size though, history also adds to the glory of the stadium. As far as I know, it's the only stadium in the world that has hosted 2 World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986. The two best players to ever have graced the game played in the two final games: Pelé in 1970 (Brasil 4 - Italia 1), and Maradona (Argentina 3 - Deutschland 2).
Enough said. The stadium:
The home team at the Aztéca is Club América,where another Paraguayan striker plays. In fact, I believe Salvador Cabañas was the highest scoreer in the Mexican league in 2007, and he was voted the best player in all of South America that year. Along with the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, he's the heart and soul of Club America.
At a souvenir booth:
Unfortunately, on this occasion, his team lost 2-0, to San Luís de Potosí. Here was a wasted scoring opportunity for América (in yellow).
Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun attending the game. One of the great things about fútbol is that no matter how badly the home team does, there are always a group of loyalists who cheer the team on. These fans are the true fans, they stick to the team in good times and in bad, win or lose. Here are the Americanistas:
Us (minus Ruth and Marty who couldn't attend the game) before and after the game:
Beer was definitely the drink of choice. Perhaps that's why this bucket of pop bottles was left unattended.
Impression of the day: Mexican fútbol is good, but not excellent. It seems like the soccer here has lots of dancing - highly skilled ball-manouvering - but little headwork, little intellect; too much passion and not enough tactical work. Argentina and Brasil have the same technical know-how, but added to it is a strategic element that adds a great deal of class to the game. It's not just about the heart, it's also about the head.
1 comment:
this entry is #2 on the google search for "soccerinos" even though the name is not in the title
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