MEXICO CITY -- Stepping onto the pitch of a hostile Estadio Azteca in Mexico City as an opposing team can be intimidating under normal circumstances. Having to do so only days after one of the darkest moments in Mexican soccer history takes it to another level.
But that is what CF Montreal is facing on Wednesday night when it visits Mexican club Cruz Azul in the opening fixture of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals.
The match between the two clubs comes less than a week after a riot broke out in the stands during a Liga MX match in north-central Mexico involving hosts Queretaro and reigning league champions, Atlas. According to local authorities, at least 26 people were injured, three of them in critical condition.
Play was halted in the second half when violence erupted in the stands and eventually spilled out onto the pitch after security personnel opened the gates to the field so that fans, including women and children, could escape the horrific scenes.
All matches in Mexico's top division were cancelled on Sunday, but the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League tie between CF Montreal and Cruz Azul will go on as scheduled Wednesday night with fans in the stands.
For CF Montreal manager Wilfried Nancy, it was hard for him to watch the footage of the riot but he and his MLS club remain focused on what they need to do on the pitch.
“Unfortunately, I saw it,” Nancy said of the video and pictures from the riot. “Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it was too difficult and it made me sad. My No. 1 objective is to give joy to the fans and fans are important to the club and every team.
“This is not why we do this job. This is not why we play football and I hope they will do something to fix the problem [of violence among fans]. I think now with video we can see the people and those people should be punished.”
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Despite CF Montreal’s visit to Mexico coming only a few days following the incident, Nancy said he had no doubts about making the trip, though his wife was initially concerned for his safety and well-being.
“For the moment, we have security with us and everything is fine. It is important to disassociate the good people from the bad,” he said.
Initially, it was thought that this match would be played behind closed doors. When given the option between having an empty stadium and one filled with fans, the CF Montreal manager opted for the latter, saying that it’s important to have the ambiance and feel to the game that fans provide.
“Me, personally, I like to feel this kind of emotion," Nancy said. "As a coach, I love to have this big stadium with huge crowds. For me, this is football.”
One of the main issues in Queretaro was the lack of security personnel to handle all the chaos and Nancy feels that more work needs to be done across all of soccer to avoid similar situations in future.
“Nothing can be taken for granted and security is the most important thing. Again, it is a shame that it happened," he said. "For me, I feel when you go watch a game you bring your kids, your family and it’s sad that it happened but we need more [safety measures in place].”
CF Montreal’s keeper Sebastian Breza echoed his coach's sentiments.
“It was a horrible event and it’s sad to see human beings doing that to each other,” Breza said. “We need to remove the football aspect from it but we need to soldier on and play the games.”
CF Montreal reached the quarters of the competition by beating another Mexican club, Santos Laguna, in the Round of 16. They made the trip to Torreon, Mexico for the first leg, hanging on until the 88th minute before surrendering a late goal and losing the match 1-0. They returned to Montreal to play the second leg at Olympic Stadium and dominated from start to finish, beating Santos Laguna 3-0 to advance 3-1 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Cruz Azul faced Canadian club, FC Forge, in the opening round. The Mexican team managed to win the first leg 1-0 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton before closing out the tie with a 3-1 win at Azteca to secure their spot in the final eight of the tournament.
Both clubs haven’t had much success in their domestic leagues. CF Montreal lost its first two games of the MLS season to Orlando City and the Philadelphia Union, while Cruz Azul dropped its most recent league match to Puebla last week.
