The football rivalry between Mexico and the United States has had the greatest echo in recent years. Although geographical proximity and history between nations formed the breeding ground conducive to the birth of the struggle, the first time the faces were seen they were summoned by a dictator residing beyond the Atlantic Ocean. In May 1934, Benito Mussolini called the two teams to play a match in Rome and define the last guest at the 34th World Cup in Italy.
Unlike the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, for the tournament in the European country a qualifying round by confederation became a requirement. For this, Mexico had to overcome the Cuban National Team, which eliminated Haiti, in a series of three matches played at the Social Security Park, in the Mexican capital. By beating the Caribbean on every occasion, they secured their ticket to Italy 34 but, at the last minute, the organizers reported that the US National Team had entered the tie.
To ratify its stay in the World Cup Joust, FIFA indicated to the Tri the dispute of a single match against the United States. The match became more relevant when it was announced that the winner would face the local team in the opening and first elimination round, scheduled for May 27 at the National Stadium of the Fascist Party in Rome. For this reason, dictator Benito Mussolini requested that the match be played at that venue to meet the rival of his national team.
The indication was followed by the Mexican players, who on April 20 embarked on a voyage aboard the ship Orinoco to know their destination in European lands. The conditions were not the most favorable, as the fifteen days with uncomfortable bedrooms, poor nutrition and small spaces for exercise on the deck took a toll on the physical and mental state of the players. On the contrary, those of the stripes and stars underwent a two-month preparation.
On the eve of the meeting, Mexico experienced a couple of sensitive casualties. According to Juan Carlos Vargas, in his book “Fernando Marcos yesterday, today and always”, Luis El Pirata de la Fuente and Fernando Marcos went out to walk through the streets of Rome and ran into a demonstration. They decided to join the Black Shirts contingent, but in the midst of the turmoil they shouted “I care about mother Benito Mussolini!” , for which they were arrested and missed the meeting.
Finally, on May 24, Mexico presented itself to the sports arena. The stands of the stadium were filled with European fans eager to know how two American teams played English sport. Among the attendees, Duce was present who, due to his absence, delayed the start scheduled for 15:00 hours by 15 minutes. Thus, when about 50 thousand people took their seats, the referee gave the initial whistle.
The chronicles of the time pointed to the physical superiority of Americans over Mexicans who, by the way, coupled with the inclement weather of the trip did not come from a professional league. The figure of the match was Aldo Donelli, also known as Buffalo due to his physical presence, who scored four goals against the two that brought Mexico closer on the scoreboard. This is how the country of stars and stripes won the first Classic.
Mexico had to return after a long trip in which they could not compete in the world cup fair. On the contrary, the Americans paraded on the stadium lawn in Rome, greeted the Duce with the characteristic fascist gesture while the dictator applauded them and an orchestra sang the anthem of the winning players.
Three days later the representatives of the stars and bars suffered the same fate as Mexico. They were the right tool for the Italian national team to give their first overwhelming show, as they beat the ones from Concacaf 7-1. It is worth mentioning that, at that time, Mussolini was looking for an expression in football to legitimize his regime and advance before the world, so the tournament was full of fixes in favor of his national team.
On his return to the American continent, Buff Donelli left soccer to join college football. He ventured into the new discipline as a player and coach for college teams, as well as for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1941 and the Cleveland Rams in 1944. For its part, Mexico headed towards the professionalization of its league in 1943 and returned to play a world cup until Brazil 1950. At the same time, Concacaf's biggest rivalry was born.
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