Chivas fans show off passion in loss to Juventus in Las Vegas
It’s around 110 degrees outside almost two hours before kickoff between Juventus and Chivas Guadalajara at Allegiant Stadium.
Standing at his grill in Lot C, with a blue apron over his red and white Guadalajara shirt and a straw hat decorated with a Chivas ribbon, Simon Garcia doesn’t seem to care. “We’re Chivas,” Garcia said. “We’ve got to support the team.”
A regular tailgater at Raiders games, Garcia was one of the 31,261 fans who came out to watch Chivas take on Serie A giants Juventus at Allegiant Stadium as part of the 2022 Soccer Champions Tour. Juventus won 2-0 after scoring goals in the 10th and 80th minutes.
Garcia has been a fan since 1986 and watched them play in Guadalajara, Los Angeles and even Las Vegas, when the team faced Liga MX rivals Club America at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2013. As he speaks, the aroma of the carne asada he’s cooking floats through the air, along with the music from the radio of his truck. He also has a cooler, fully stocked with beer and Gatorade.
He’s here, in full Chivas regalia, because he wanted to show off the atmosphere around Allegiant Stadium. Garcia had hoped Las Vegas was going to be named a host city for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. However, Las Vegas wasn’t selected as one of the 11 American host cities.
“This is one of the best stadiums all around the United States,” Garcia said. “Again, we should’ve had a World Cup here.”
Garcia smiles.
“After they see tonight, we will have a World Cup.”
Waiting outside the Southwest entrance, Lesly Arias, Joanny “Gio” Hernandez, John Rodriguez, Stephanie Rodriguez and Jose Rodriguez wait for the start of the game. Las Vegas natives, they’re decked out in Chivas gear — all except Hernandez, who is wearing a Juventus jersey.
“He’s disowned,” Stephanie Rodriguez said.
Hernandez doesn’t seem too phased. He says Arias promised to buy his tickets to the El Clasico game between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona tomorrow if Juventus wins tonight.
Friday is the first time Hernandez has ever seen Juventus play in-person, but he’s disappointed he’ll miss out on seeing his favorite player — Argentinian attacking midfielder Paulo Dybala, who recently departed for Roma.
His friends quickly offer to buy him a Chivas shirt to replace his Juventus one, but Hernandez swears the Turin-based club will win, even without Dybala.
For John Rodriguez though, his love of Chivas goes beyond any player. Guadalajara are famous for their policy of only playing Mexicans, and Rodriguez believes it makes them extremely special.
“If it’s a team in Mexico, you’ve got to stay with your tradition,” he said.
While a majority of the fans in attendance Friday donned Chivas jerseys, many Juventus fans made the trip to watch their team play. Gabriele Gargano is from Las Vegas and celebrated his ninth birthday by going to the game.
Most of his family are Inter Milan fans, but Gabriele and his uncle, Giovanni Gargano, both love Juventus. Giovanni flew out from Rome and arrived in Las Vegas about a week ago, mostly for his nephew’s birthday, but also partially to watch Juventus.
Friday was also the first time Gabriele had watched the 36-time Serie A Champions play in-person. The Garganos tried to see Juventus when they arrived at the Harry Reid International Airport, but it was too crowded. However, Gabriele was still excited for the game, especially the debut of French World Cup winner Paul Pogba.
“He’s a nice person,” Gabriele Gargano said. “That’s what we need in our world.”
The Garganos didn’t need to wait long to be rewarded. Just 10 minutes into the game, Juventus striker Marco Da Graca took advantage of a goal-mouth scramble to thrash the ball into the net from close range for a quick 1-0 lead.
Chivas had a few chances to level the score, including an indirect free kick from inside the penalty box, but Juventus sealed the game late. An 80th-minute counterattack saw a deflected shot fall to Italian midfielder Mattia Compagnon, who stayed calm and whipped a shot in from about 15 yards away, sealing the game for Juventus.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.