Among the great theaters of world football, the Estadio Azteca may be the most majestic stage of all. Located in the south of Mexico City, a metropolis that rises above a high-altitude valley surrounded by mountains, Azteca is where the color, noise and energy of football come to life, and where the game's greatest kings have been crowned. Pelé and his third World Cup triumph. Maradona and his goal of the century. Epic moments in the careers of two men acclaimed in every corner of the world, both linked by the same stage: the Azteca.
Now, for the first time since 1986, England is preparing to enter this enormous stadium again, after being eliminated by Maradona's Argentina. What awaits them is something truly unique.
“There is something very special at Azteca,” Pelé recalled later in his life. “You have to be inside it, feel it, to understand.”
The design of the stadium plays a fundamental role. Although the Azteca has undergone several renovations since Pele's time and its capacity has been reduced to 87,500 seats, the architectural principles that have always made it so colossal and noisy - its steep walls, the proximity of the stands to the pitch, the changing rooms and underground tunnels - remain unchanged. Mexico had considered bidding to host the 1958 World Cup, but ultimately did not go ahead and let Sweden win the rights. After a few years of deliberation, however, they aimed for 1970 and won. Architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez was commissioned to build a facility capable of accommodating over 100,000 people and competing with the enormous spectacle of the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, built specifically for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. It was an immense feat of engineering, with an innovative column-free cantilevered roof that allowed unobstructed views, and could only be built after 180 million pounds of rock had been removed from the ground beneath.
"While I had a great passion for architecture, I had an even greater passion for football," Ramirez Vasquez later said. "The Maracanã is circular, and if people are arranged in a circle while the field is rectangular, the long sides of the field - the most interesting part - are the furthest away. The basis of the design... was that every spectator should have, from any seat, the same quality of vision as everyone else. The architecture of the Azteca still looks modern - its appearance is contemporary in every respect. You feel enveloped. From every seat you are immersed in the game, from the front row to the top."
The power of the crowd is what makes Azteca truly special. Whether cheering on Mexico, local teams Club America or Cruz Azul, or hosting neutral teams during the World Cup, the Azteca crowd is renowned for generating a ferocious soundtrack like no other. “It's practically impossible to communicate on the pitch because the Azteca is full of sounds moving around you,” says Jason de Vos, one of the few to have played and coached against Mexico in this stadium, doing so with the Canadian national team. "The Mexicans know they have an advantage thanks to the crowd and they try to overwhelm you on the pitch. When you arrive, the team bus goes under the stadium, down a ramp, and then you walk towards the locker room. When you walk towards the pitch, you have to go through a very narrow tunnel and you can hear a buzz, like a swarm of bees. To get out, you approach the pitch from below, climbing a ladder, and when you get to the top and see the light, you realize that the buzz is the people. It's the vibration of the horns, the shouts, the jumps. It's crazy. That's why you want to play football."
The Azteca is the only stadium that has hosted matches in three different editions of the World Cup: 1970, 1986 and 2026. The first two editions saw some of the most iconic matches and goals in the history of the World Cup. The 1970 semi-final between Italy and West Germany is considered by many to be the greatest match ever played. It was 1-1 after 90 minutes, before five goals were scored in extra time, with the Italians winning 4-3. But in the final they were defeated by Pelé - who won his third World Cup - and his Brazilian teammates in a team still cited as one of the greatest of all time. Brazil won 4-1, and their final goal - curled into the far corner by full-back Carlos Alberto - was a beautiful passing move in which all but three players touched the ball, and is considered one of the best team goals ever scored. "The atmosphere, the noise of that final was incredible," Alberto said later. "Wonderful, indescribable."
Sixteen years later, Mexico was chosen to host the tournament again, and this time it was Argentina and Maradona who shone under the Azteca spotlight. At 25 and having moved to Napoli from Barcelona the previous year, Maradona produced perhaps the most dominant tournament performance in football history, scoring five goals and making five assists, to win his country's second trophy. Against England in the quarter-finals he scored two goals which are among the most famous moments in sporting history, for different reasons. First, Maradona opened the scoring in the second half with his famous "mano de Dios" goal, hitting a misplaced pass with his hand and slotting the ball into the net. Four minutes later, he took the ball inside Argentina's half with his back to goal. In 11 seconds, he dribbled past five English players, beat the goalkeeper and put the ball into the net completely single-handedly. All four sides of the Azteca exploded with joy and amazement as El Diego ran towards the corner of the pitch in celebration. In 2016, four years before his death, Maradona called it the most important match of his career.
Since 1966, Mexico has built an impressive home record at the Azteca. In competitive matches, they have won 70 of 89 times, drawn 17 and lost only twice, although this record can partly be attributed to their historic superiority over rival nations in North and Central America. The first defeat - 2-0 to Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 - was such a surprise that it earned it the nickname "Aztecazo" and was labeled "a funeral" by the Mexican newspaper Reforma. Located more than 2,200 meters (7,220 feet) above sea level, the Azteca presents a grueling challenge in itself for footballers. Atmospheric pressure is lower, making the air thinner and causing less oxygen to enter the bloodstream with each breath. Players who are acclimated and know how to deal with it can gain an advantage over those who aren't used to it, helping Mexico maintain such a strong record against opponents.
The Azteca is a purpose-built stadium for football, but some of its most special moments had nothing to do with the game. In 1993 it was the scene of the largest crowd in boxing history, when 132,274 people watched as national hero Julio Cesar Chavez knocked out Greg Hauger to retain the WBC super lightweight title. “It was the most incredible night of my career and my life,” Cesar Chavez said. "Being there in the middle of the ring is something incredible." That same year, Michael Jackson held five concerts of his Dangerous World Tour at the Azteca, performing in front of a total of 550,000 people. And in 1999 a mass held by Pope John Paul II in the heart of devoutly Catholic Mexico brought a crowd of more than 110,000 to the stadium. "People who know me can attest that I have a certain affection for football," the Pope said during the mass. “It is a privilege to be here, where I have seen such beautiful football.” Whether it's sports, music or religion, Azteca is built for moments when masses of people come together to feel alive.
