Just as the UEFA Champions League brings together the top clubs in Europe, so, too, does the Concacaf Champions Cup feature the best of the best in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The New England Revolution will experience that firsthand in the competition’s quarterfinal round, running up against reigning LIGA MX champions and historical powerhouse, Club América.
The significance of a meeting with Las Águilas – the Eagles – cannot be overstated. Club América is widely regarded as the most successful and most popular club in North America, and the team’s glittering, trophy-laden history paints that picture in stunning detail. In this region of the world, it does not get any bigger than Club América.
Ahead of Leg 1 (Tuesday, April 2, 9 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium) and Leg 2 (Tuesday, April 9, 10:30 p.m. ET at Estadio Azteca) of this series, let’s get a better sense for who the Revs will be facing in the Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals.
NORTH AMERICA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL CLUB
Formed by college students in Mexico City more than 100 years ago (1916), Club América’s history of success far surpasses even their closest competitors in the region. On the domestic stage they’ve won a record 14 league titles, a record six Copa México titles, and six Campeón de Campeones cups. Internationally, they lead the way in Concacaf with 10 FIFA-recognized club trophies, including a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League titles, two Copa Interamericana cups, and one Concacaf Giants Cup.
Two of those Champions Cup triumphs have come within the last 10 years (back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016), and they were runners-up as recently as 2021. Through the course of those three tournaments, they took out four different Major League Soccer opponents along the way.
One of two clubs in Mexico to have never been relegated – along with their biggest rival, Chivas de Guadalajara – Club América ranks first all time domestically in wins, points, goals scored, playoff appearances, and playoff finals appearances. By every conceivable metric, Club América has long been Concacaf’s giant.
With success comes attention, and Club América has certainly earned its fair share, considered both the most popular and most hated team in Mexico. In 2021, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics named América as , and a 2020 survey by Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing named América the ninth-most popular soccer team in the United States, the only non-European team in the top 10.
Reigning champions in Mexico, they ran away with the 2023 Apertura, losing just once while racking up 40 points (12-1-4) and accruing a +23 goal differential in the 17-game schedule. They sit second in the current Clausura standings, again with just a single loss (7-1-4) and just three points back of league-leading Monterrey. In the 2023-24 season, Club América has a combined record of 19 wins, eight draws, and just two losses.
THE FAMED ESTADIO AZTECA
It’s only fitting that North America’s most historic team plays in the region’s most historic venue, and there’s little doubt that Estadio Azteca is Concacaf’s cathedral of soccer. That’s where the Revs will head for the second leg of this series on Tuesday, April 9.
With an official capacity of 87,523 – the largest stadium in Latin America and the eighth-largest soccer stadium in the world, which has at times featured crowds well north of 100,000 – U.S. Soccer fans will likely know Azteca as the home to the Mexico National Team. Former Revolution forward and current radio analyst Charlie Davies has a bit of experience there, too.
Azteca’s biggest moments have come on the international stage, standing as the first venue to host two FIFA World Cup Finals, with Pelé’s Brazil (1970) and Diego Maradona’s Argentina (1986) the winners. That 1986 tournament was one of the most memorable in World Cup history, featuring both Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal, and his mazy “Goal of the Century” … both scored in a 2-1 win over England at Azteca.
The World Cup will return to Mexico City and Azteca for a third time in 2026, as the iconic venue will host the opening game of the tournament hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But before hosting a World Cup opener, Azteca will host the New England Revolution on April 9.
