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Vallarta Chivas Defeat Zacatecas 1-0 in First Game in Puerto Vallarta
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
March 11, 2010
| | The 2010 Chivas Vallarta prior to their debut game in Puerto Vallarta. | |
The Vallarta Chivas defeated CD Zacatecas 1-0 in the first professional soccer game played in Puerto Vallarta this past Saturday, March 6th at Estadio Ixtapa. The goal came in the 40th minute of play and wound up being the only goal scored and the 1-0 final margin of victory. There were many tremendous plays by goalies on both sides throughout the game but only one got through. The Chivas completely dominated the first half of play but after halftime Zacatecas played the Chivas evenly. They moved from their Guadalajara base of Verde Valle in mid-season of this tournament or season and they improved their record to 4-3-0 with 12 points.
The directors of Club Deportivo Guadalajara - Las Chivas - have signed a historic agreement for the professional second-division league soccer team to use Puerto Vallarta's Ejido Stadium, located in the Ixtapa neighborhood, as their venue for the remainder of this and the next two tournaments, which will determine which players, ascend to the "Big League."
This is professional soccer and the first professional organized team sport that Puerto Vallarta has ever been a home to. This is the first time that such an important team has chosen Puerto Vallarta as their home-base, and the decision is expected to generate significant benefits in economic and sports development. The Vallarta Chivas are in the 2nd Division and is called the called "Premiere League".
The second division team acquired the name Chivas Vallarta for local, national and international promotion. Made up of seven "Sub". 20' national players, the team will be coached by former world championship, Javier "Chicharo" Hernandez, who is also the father of famous Mexican soccer player, Chicharito Hernandez.
| | Efrain Flores, the Execuitive Director of the Chivas organization came in from Guadalajara for the opening game. | |
This tournament, which is actually a full season, concludes in May after a champion is crowned and then the next tournament begins in August, 2010 and runs through December, 2010. The third tournament will begin in January 2011 and will conclude in May, 2011. Somewhere prior to the conclusion a decision will be made as to the future of the Vallarta Chivas and where they will play.
Chivas de Guadalajara is a Mexican soccer team with more popularity and the most championships achieved throughout their 100-year history. They have the distinction of including only Mexican players.
I did some research about professional soccer in Mexico and found the league structures to be far more complex and many more professional teams than I had anticipated.
First is the elite or Premier Division which has the best 18 teams that compete in Mexico. The most popular is the Guadalajara Chivas and have won 11 championships. Others top teams are America, who has won 10, Toluca, who has won 9, Cruz Azul who has won 8, and UNAM, who has won 6. They are played on national television every weekend and in front of crowds that are 25,000 and up. The Premier Division allows foreigners to play on every team except for the Chivas, who have always utilized only Mexican players. The remainder of the following four leagues only uses Mexican players.
The next level of play is the League Ascenso and there are also18 teams in three divisions that compete. The winner of each season moves up to the Premier Division and the worst team in the Premier Division drops down to the Ascenso Division.
| | Flores kicks the honorary opening shot as the Chivas Vallarta begin their first game. | |
The next level of play is the 2nd Division, which is where the Chivas Vallarta is placed. There are three divisions of 14 teams, making a total of 42 teams playing in this league. The Chivas Vallarta plays in the North Division of the league. The winner can move up a level of play and the league is also a training league for younger players that can get promoted to the Guadalajara Chivas squad. Many current players on the Chivas have come from 2nd Division play.
The next and 4th level of play is also in the 2nd Division but is called the Liga Nuevo which has 38 clubs competing and only wants to develop talent. No teams get promoted for winning this division.
The 5th and final level of professional play is the 3rd Division. It is divided into 15 geographical groups of 12-15 teams in each group. There are currently a total of 244 teams competing in this division. Games are generally played in smaller towns and it is very rare that a player form this division gets promoted. The pay is virtually nothing and all players work a regular job.
There are 11 starters and 5 substitutes on a team and generally a total of 25-30 players on a squad. Doing the math there are 540 players in the Premier and 540 in the League Ascenso. In the 2nd Division, there are 1260 players in the upper part and 1140 in the lower part. In the enormous 3rd Division there are from 6100-7320 players. In total, there are an astounding number of at about 10,000 professional soccer players in Mexico.
The Director of the Chivas Vallarta is Carlos Elizondo and Consuelo Elipe is also working with Carlos on this new project. The team website is ChivasVallarta.com.
Don't miss the next Chivas Vallarta game at the La Preciosa Ejido Stadium in Ixtapa on March 20th at 4:00 pm. They will play against the Buhos of Hermosillo. Tickets for adults are $50 pesos each and admission is free for children accompanied by a paying adult. For more information, send an email to either Carlos Elizondo at celizondo58(at)gmail.com or to Consuelo Elipe - consueloeliper(at)gmail.com.
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