MLS' Only True Rivalry Resumes in L.A.

In the world's best soccer rivalries, the opposing clubs usually represent something greater than the pursuit of wins and trophies. Whether its socio-economics, politics, religion or geography, the antagonists have roots that transcend the sport and appeal to a certain cohort of fans whose allegiance is dependent on more than just game results and marketing.

The only U.S. rivalries that even begin to approach that sort of dynamic are those between certain universities. Perhaps, stereotypically, one sort of person roots for Michigan while another supports Michigan State. But these are pale comparisons. The truth is that soccer often thrives on those sorts of conflicts, and the sport in this country has yet to develop them. There are several factors -- our pro franchises tend to have inclusive fanbases, the sport is still developing here and the size of the country makes frequent fan interaction nearly impossible.

Except for Los Angeles, where on Saturday night, the biggest game in the short history of Major League Soccer's only real rivalry will be played.

Since Club Deportivo Chivas USA entered MLS in 2005, they and the Los Angeles Galaxy clearly have represented different segments of American soccer culture. With its global marketing, its "Superclub" ambitions and its reliance on Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Galaxy appeal to fans with domestic and/or European sympathies and those who have supported MLS from the start. Chivas, launched by CD Guadalajara owner Jorge Vergara, was a naked attempt to capitalize on the huge number of Mexican-American and Latino fans in Southern California who remained loyal to teams south of the border.

It was a project that was divisive right from the start. There were those who resented the new club's Spanish-first policy, and its admitted intent to rely on Mexican and Latino players. But they averaged more than 17,000 fans a game that first season, despite winning just four matches.

"I definitely know there were a lot of guys in the league, including myself, who were hesitant to play for an organization that was changing the way they were going to get players, changing what kind of players they were going to get, especially when they came in and said they were only going to speak Spanish, their coaches were going to speak in Spanish," recalled Sasha Victorine, a Los Angeles native who had played for the Galaxy for five years before moving to Kansas City in 2005.

"The U.S.-Mexico rivalry just being so big now, by bringing Chivas in here, they were going to basically be a Mexican club playing in MLS. It really did bring a lot, and kind of reminded everyone of the rivalry between us and Mexico."

Victorine is uniquely qualified to speak about the Galaxy-Chivas rivalry. He's Los Angeles through-and-through, an MLS lifer who has played through nearly 10 years of growing pains. He won a championship with the Galaxy, and then, after more than three years with the Wizards, was traded back to his hometown to play for the "Mexican club".

After that disastrous first season Chivas abandoned its focus on Mexican-American players. Bob Bradley was hired to coach, and players like Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan (right), Jonathan Bornstein and Ante Razov helped catapult the Goats into playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Galaxy stumbled and missed the postseason in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The fact that Chivas and the Galaxy never seemed to be competitive at the same time reduced the rivalry somewhat, but the symbolism remained strong. The Galaxy continued to wear a crest centered on the letters "LA", while Chivas' logo featured the coat of arms of the city of Guadalajara. Fans took pride not only in supporting their own team, but in the fact that they disliked the other, and the games continued to feature some of the best atmosphere in MLS simply because both were present.

"The other rivalries throughout the league, to be quite honest, I don't think they're quite what they used to be," Victorine told FanHouse. "Rivalry exists when either team has the ability to beat each other."

San Jose is an expansion team, and its relationship to the Galaxy has changed. D.C. United-New York and Houston-Dallas are one-sided, both on and off the field. Real Salt Lake-Colorado lacks visibility and championship pedigree. Chicago-New England has featured some excellent playoff showdowns, but the cities are far apart and lack any natural enmity. Perhaps when Vancouver and Portland join the league we'll see some genuine tension with Seattle, but that's still a couple of years away. For now, the Los Angeles Superclasico is the best we have.

"The crowds are different, the atmosphere, there's a feeling that there's a lot more at stake rather than just playing another team in the league," Victorine said. "You don't need a chain-link fence and barbed wire for the game to finish, but definitely people have a lot of passion and want to see their team win.

"You go into every game prepared the same way, wanting to win and giving your best. I think the difference in this game is you really dig in deep and you really understand how important this one is to win. I think some of the guys who have talked about the Chivas team's first and second years, they didn't have the most wins or the greatest seasons, and the feeling was that the Superclasico was basically a season for them. It's a mini-season. You have the bragging rights to Los Angeles, the town and the stadium itself, and definitel plays into everybody's feelings going into the games. It definitely gives you something extra."

Saturday night's edition, to be televised by ESPN2, indeed will be packing something extra. For the first time, both teams are in playoff position entering the final third of the season. The Galaxy are second in the West at 8-4-11 and Chivas is third at 10-8-3, trailing first-place Houston by just five and seven points, respectively. Beckham is getting comfortable with the Galaxy and Donovan is playing the best soccer of his career, while Kljestan and Maykel Galindo seem to be rounding into form for Chivas, which recently signed forward Jesus Padilla from the parent club in Mexico. The teams boast two of the league's best defenses.

The Galaxy lead the all-time series 9-3-5, but the clubs finally seem to be playing at a competitive level for the first time, and there is more on the line on Saturday than simply pride.

Unfortunately for Victorine, a concussion will keep him on the sidelines on Saturday. His disappointment was clear during his conversation with FanHouse, but it was also clear that Chivas' more inclusive nature (its locker room has become a model U.N.) has removed the skepticism he felt when the club entered the league. In fact, he said he hopes Chivas can build its own stadium in the Los Angeles area, in order to cement its own identity, give its players and fans a place to call home and really ramp up the rivalry with the Galaxy.

"Right now the teams are pretty friendly. We see each other quite often in the weight room, other sports around the stadium. Guys have known each other for years, played with each other on teams or in college," he said. "But it's amazing how quickly, whenever your next game comes up against the other team, how quickly those friendships kind of shed away and it really becomes a rivalry.

"It definitely means a lot to both teams. You see each other all the time, but it really becomes a rivalry when you walk around the stadium, and you know who gets to kind of walk with their heads up and basically feel like it's their stadium, your place because you won the game."

The next, and most important, chapter of MLS's most authentic rivalry, takes place on Saturday evening.