Clásico Regio highlights Liga MX slate on Matchday 12

Guadalajara forced to defend Super Clásico fraternization

The Chivas had won two straight on the road before getting stymied by América at Estadio Azteca on Saturday night. A bitter loss against their most-hated rival and the sixth time they’ve been blanked in 11 games, tops in Liga MX.

They were also left to deal with considerable fall-out from post-game images showing Chivas players sharing laughs with Aguilas players on the pitch after the loss. The criticism focused specifically on Oribe Peralta, a late-game sub who came to Guadalajara from América where he played for five years.

Management claimed to have no problem with Oribe’s actions, saying the interaction with the club’s bitter rivals was “in the spirit of healthy competition and good sportsmanship.” This is a far cry from the early days of the Jorge Vergara era.

Vergara – father of current team president Amaury Vergara, and Guadalajara’s majority owner from 2002 until his death last November – worked to ratchet up the best rivalry Liga MX has to offer. He issued an edict forbidding jersey exchanges with América players and announced the club would never sign anyone who ever played with the Aguilas.

Former Chivas players freely criticized the post-game, on-field actions of Oribe (and Uriel Antuna), using terms like “shameful,” “team pride,” “respect for the fans” and “defending the colors.”

On Monday, Isaac Brizuela told reporters the team had addressed the issue in the locker room, emphasizing that players should be mindful of appearances. He said Oribe’s actions did not offend his teammates, but everyone understood why fans of “El Rebaño Sagrado” would be upset.

My take? Much ado about nothing. Only four players on the Chivas roster are home-grown products and only two Aguilas came out of their academy. The rivalry is not the same when players don’t come up through the system hating their Super Clásico rivals.

I understand that seeing members of your team laughing it up with opponents after losing a derby can be aggravating, but sportsmanship is a positive value.

Then again, the advice of former El Tri goalie Oswaldo Sánchez (who played for both clubs) is worth considering: “I showed my respect to the fans by greeting my friends (on the other team) in the tunnel before or after the match.”