Santos Laguna generally isn’t considered one of the giants of Mexican soccer, but their fans, like the people of Torreon in general, seem to be everywhere.
A big contingent of them were at Southwest University Park in Downtown El Paso on Saturday night, July 5, to watch their team take on FC Juárez, the nominal home team whose stadium was two miles from there, in the first Liga MX vs. Liga MX friendly at Southwest University Park.
Santos jerseys outnumbered Bravos jerseys by about two-to-one in the crowd of 4,000, the second time in a year FC Juárez fans were outnumbered in El Paso.
Last year, their El Paso friendly was in the Sun Bowl against Mexican giants Club America and drew 29,500 fans.
The Santos majority left happy after this exhibition ended 0-0 after regulation, then was won by Santos Laguna on penalty kicks, 5-3.
One of the many Santos fans was Joel Estrada of El Paso, who was in line more than 90 minutes before kickoff.
“I was extremely happy, this is my first time seeing (Santos Laguna) in person,” Estrada said. “I’m super excited.”
He was one of the first people at Southwest University Park Saturday, though he did step out of line to run over to cheer the Santos team bus when it arrived at the nearby service entrance, leaving his girlfriend Jasmine Sandoval to hold his spot.
Estrada was already proclaiming Sandoval the MVP after she surprised him with tickets to the game. She was also in a Santos Laguna jersey. Her bigger passion is the U.S. version of football but she was all in with her boyfriend.
“She’s awesome, she’s awesome,” Estrada said. “I couldn’t thank her enough.”
‘I’m excited about this season’
FC Juárez did have a number of fans at the game, who spend some of it trying to shout down the frequent Santos chants.
Fernando Valera, an El Pasoan who goes to games in Juárez and was decked out in his Bravos gear, was excited to see his team in his town.
“I’m very excited, it’s great,” the 17-year-old said. “They are coming from Juárez, they’re meeting us here. It feels good having the neighbor city here.”
Liz Ortega agreed.
“I don’t get over there to watch them so I’m glad they came over here,” said Ortega, who last saw the Bravos in person at their Sun Bowl friendly with Americas last year. “I’m excited about this season.”
Fans like Ortega are a major reason why FC Juárez came here in the first place.
“It’s always exciting when FC Juárez comes back to El Paso,” said Joe Rodriguez, the soccer expert for 600 ESPN El Paso. “The soccer fans in this city, who for whatever reason don’t go to Juárez to check them out, this is their opportunity to watch them.
“This is the final match before the regular season, so it’s going to be an entertaining match, a good 90 minutes of soccer.”
The Bravos open their Apertura campaign Friday at Club America in Mexico City.
El Paso Locomotive general manager Andrew Forrest was happy for what this friendly meant to El Paso.
“This is great,” he said. “To have two Liga MX teams in Southwest University Park, it’s something we’ve never done before. This is fun for the fans and good for the city.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Pro-Santos Laguna crowd enjoys friendly against FC Juárez at Southwest University Park
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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