Athletic have started organizing commemorative events of the club’s 125th anniversary of foundation, which will be celebrated next year. The first of them was the contest for the Tree of Gernika Trophy against Chivas Rayadas de Guadalajara, a team that, like the rojiblanco team, always plays in the highest category and only plays with Mexican soccer players.
The appointment will be played in a double match. The first leg will be on December 11 in San Mamés starting at seven in the afternoon, taking advantage of the league break due to the World Cup in Qatar and the second leg on July 16, 2023 at the Akron stadium in Mexico City.
Jon Uriarte The match against this team, which is also a hundred years old, is outstanding. “It is an honor to receive Chivas in San Mamés and that the rivalry, which has a unique meaning, serves as a prelude to the celebration of the 125th anniversary”, said the president. For his part, Amaury Vergarathe top manager of Chivas, emphasized the confrontation for being two clubs with similar philosophies: “I think this is a very strong message to the soccer community: these two teams believe in the talent of their people and believe in their traditions and their values”.
“This Tree of Gernika Trophy is, in short, a rivalry between two extraordinary teams, connected by the principle of territory that governs their sports policy. A principle that is common to the origin of football and still remains also in amateur sports, but in the 21st century Athletic and Chivas have been established as two unique clubs and turn the two-legged rivalry into a tournament that is as attractive as it is exciting ” Ibaigane said in his statement.
The relationship between the two entities goes beyond sports. One of the founders of the city of Guadalajara was the Basque Cristóbal de Oñate and another Basque, Miguel de Ibarra, was one of its first mayors. Both clubs have agreed that the Trophy will be named Tree of Gernika because there are those who believe that the tree that appears on the coat of arms of the city is derived from the town of the province.
Club Deportivo Guadalajara, known as Chivas and founded in 1906, is one of the two teams with the most titles in the history of Mexican soccer. Until now, Athletic has not had a chance to measure itself against its Mexican rival with more in common. “This two-way trophy settles a pending debt, the meeting of two teams separated by an ocean, but united by the same love for the land and the footballers who truly represent them” , argues Athletic.
Ibaigane added that this initiative is part of the internationalization strategy of both clubs, “so they will continue to work together in the design of a framework agreement between the two that covers both the sports field, as well as the social, economic and institutional”.
Tickets for the match can be purchased from December 11 to October 30. Members will have to pay 13 euros per location in any part of the field, with a maximum of two tickets at that price.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
