LIGA MX
Why are Club América the most popular and most hated football team in Mexico?
'Las Aguillas' have their sights on claiming the 2021 Liga MX Apertura title with a potential victory set to be greeted with equal measures of joy and despair.
A recent Statista survey discovered that 32% of Liga MX fans claim support to support Club América with 'Las Aguillas' topping the poll followed by Chivas Guadalajara (16%), Cruz Azul (9%) and Tigres (8%).
A parallel study by Mexican consulting agency Mitofsky that América also top the ranking when it comes to 'Mexico's most hated club'.
So why do 'Las Aguillas' polarize opinion on the love-hate scale for the side currently managed by Santiago Scolari?
CA, Mexico's most successful team
When it comes to success, 'Las Aguillas' are the most successful domestic side in Mexican football. The side from Mexico City boast 13 Liga MX titles, six Copa MX and seven CONCACAF Champions League wins. The bulk of football fans want a successful side and América's grip on championships and glory is an attractive proposition for supporters.
'Club América is great and that’s why they hate us, let them hate us more tomorrow,' said billionaire Emilio Azcarraga Jean, the team’s owner after the squad obtained the league title in 2013.
América, capital city bourgeoisie
Mexico City is one of the most inhabited capital cities on the planet with a population of more than 20 million inhabitants in the full metro area of the city. The capital boasts three Liga MX sides in CA, Cruz Azul and PUMAS Unam with América and Cruz Azul the best supported teams in the city, pulling in fans from this huge catchment base. Traditionally 'Las Aguillas' have been associated with the upper class of Mexican society (something less prevalent in modern times) and this has been a turn-off for many fans from Mexican fans across the country and even more so in other major Mexican cities.
Media backing
In 1959, América were taken over by Mexican media giants Televisa and this has long viewed through suspicious eyes by non América fans who feel there is a media bias to the way CA stories are reported. Referee decisions also come under the microscope with many feeling that calls go in favor of the Azteca based side with other interests at heart in a successful América team performing well on the pitch as the media giant pumps money into securing the finest players and coaches for the team from Mexico and overseas.