Chivas Vs. Pumas, 2011 Liguilla: Youth Systems Fuel Rivlary - FMF State Of Mind

Chivas and Pumas are two of the top producers of Mexican talent in the Primera, which only seems to add fuel to the rivalry between the two teams that kick of their first-round Liguilla match on Thursday. Chivas, of course, is known for only having players of Mexican decent on their team, while Pumas has a less strict framework. FMF State of Mind, SB Nation’s Mexican soccer blog, elaborates:

Today the rivalry is between which has the better youth system. Chivas Sporting Director Rafael Ortega this week challenged Pumas to play strikers from their youth team and leave the likes of Martin Bravo, Dante Lopez, Juan Carlos Cacho and Juan Francisco Palencia, none of which came through the Pumas youth system, on the bench.

“One test is that we are purely Mexicans,” said Ortega in a press conference when asked about the different youth systems. “If they are so sure about themselves then they should play with lots of Mexicans. If they have this (amazing) youth system, why do they need foreigners?”