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Chivas USA to face Necaxa this Friday in Aguascalientes, Mexico

November 27, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


CARSON, Calif. (Monday, November 27, 2006) - Following its first playoff run in team history, Chivas USA of Major League Soccer will close out 2006 in style, with an international exhibition against Mexican First Division side Necaxa in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Kickoff is set for this Friday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. PT) at Necaxa's state-of-the-art Estadio Victoria. The match, in which Chivas USA looks to maintain its perfect record on Mexican soil, will also serve as the farewell game for Necaxa head coach Hugo Sánchez, who earlier this month was named the new head coach of the Mexican national team.

"Chivas USA is pleased to conclude 2006 with an exhibition match of this magnitude against a storied Mexican side like Necaxa," said Chivas USA Senior Vice President and General Manager Whit Haskel. "We look forward to playing in front of a solid contingent of Chivas and Necaxa fans in Aguascalientes in what promises to be an exciting evening of soccer."

Coached by Mexican legend and MLS veteran Sánchez, Necaxa has won three Mexican First Division titles during its professional era (1994-95, 1995-96, Invierno 1998), joining América, Guadalajara, Cruz Azul, Toluca, Pachuca and Pumas in the select group of Mexican clubs with three or more league titles. Necaxa's Estadio Victoria (capacity 22,000), considered among the most modern in all of Mexico, was inaugurated on July 26, 2003, just seven weeks after the opening of The Home Depot Center, Chivas USA's home stadium. Necaxa's exhibition against Chivas USA marks the beginning of the club's preparation, under new manager José Luis Trejo, for InterLiga 2007, where Necaxa will face Cruz Azul, Monterrey and Tigres in Group A.

Chivas USA, for its part, will end 2006 in style, following its first playoff berth in team history in just its second season in MLS. Led by 2006 MLS Coach of the Year Bob Bradley, the winningest manager in the history of Major League Soccer, 2006 Gatorade Rookie of the Year Jonathan Bornstein, and a group of veteran players including Mexican legends Juan Francisco Palencia and Chivas USA 2006 Defender of the Year Claudio Suárez, as well as MLS veterans Jesse Marsch and Chivas USA's 2006 Honda MVP Ante Razov, Chivas USA finished third in the Western Conference, with a 10-9-13 record. Following the match versus Necaxa, Chivas USA players will begin their two-month winter break, before resuming training in February 2007.

Chivas USA will train on Tuesday morning at The Home Depot Center before traveling Tuesday afternoon to Aguascalientes, where they will hold training sessions Wednesday and Thursday. The team will return to Los Angeles on Saturday, the day after the match.

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