America vs Necaxa: this was the title that the Rays “gave” to the Eagles in the Summer of 2002

The final of the 2002 summer tournament in Mexican football will always be remembered for the controversy it represented. The title of America against its “brother” Necaxa (because they are teams of the same owner) was shrouded in accusations of rigging. At that time, those from Coapa had accumulated more than a decade without titles in the league tournament.

Already with the format of short tournaments, bluescreams and stripes played the championship in the final with round trips. In the first of the commitments, Necaxa won by two goals to zero with America playing home (although both matches were played on the court of the Azteca Stadium). The goals were thanks to the actions of Victor Ruiz del Valle and Luis Roberto Alves Zague.

For the defining game, the Eagles managed to recover in regular time by tying the overall score to two. Christian Patiño and Chilean Iván Zamorano scored. The two scores fell in the second half with a difference of just four minutes between them. The 90 minutes of the second leg ended with no further movement on the scoreboard, so extra time was necessary.

At that time the criterion for tiebreaker was the golden goal, that is, the first team to score a score even if the overtime had not run out, was the winner. And so it was. During the end of the first overtime, Argentina's Hugo Castillo managed to connect head-first with the ball in a corner-kick move to score the title goal. Armando Archundia blew his whistle and America returned to being champion after 13 years.

More than a decade later, Bam Bam Zamorano said that during the game dispute they were aware of what was being said in relation to the alleged complicity between “brothers”. “We were out of those situations, it was something that had to do with the media, although it wasn't all of them, just some. We concentrated, we thought it was a nice challenge that was not going to be easy as it happened.

“After losing the first match and turning around in the second it was a challenge and a very big merit, so we just focused on that wonderful final that gave us the opportunity to give America back the place that America deserves,” said the Chilean. For years, the club and the fans themselves have defended the purity of the title with arguments. Adolfo Rios' save in overtime, like the main one.

America and Necaxa will meet for matchday 12 of the Liga MX in their Grita México Clausura 2022 tournament. The match is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 2, at the Victoria Stadium, in Aguascalientes, at 7:00 p.m., central Mexico time.

With more than a dozen games played, the Eagles are just looking for their third win of the semester. The situation has already taken its toll on the club's technical management when Argentina's Santiago Solari was fired. America marches in the sixteenth position in the table with ten points. Necaxa in the eighth with four more units.

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