CARSON, Calif. – No rivalry means as much to LA Galaxy supporters as the California Clásico.
For 22 years, the Galaxy and the Clash/Earthquakes have feuded in a play for dominance of the Golden State. In that time, the Galaxy have proved tops over their Northern California rivals winning five MLS Cups to San Jose’s two, a pair of U.S. Open Cups to zero for the Quakes, and leading the all-time series 30-22-14
"No new team, no manufactured cross-city rivalry can match up to years and years of hatred between the Galaxy and San Jose. There have been countless games between the two where you are at a game and you feel it. It’s in the atmosphere inside the stadium, in the stands, on the pitch,” Antonio Magana of Angel City Brigade said. “Just think about all those games and how many hard fouls and red cards have been handed down. That tells you something: those players hate to see that Quakes crest. Those players who understand the history of the rivalry look at the Quakes uniform and their blood boils and it makes them play that much harder.
“Whenever we play them, it’s a must-win game. Three points in the bag and there is no other option. In the stands, you look at your fellow supporters and you see it in their faces, they truly hate San Jose and everything it stands for. Their uniform, their crest, their colors, their supporters, even their mascot. Only years of truly intense games can create that sort of feeling towards another club, and I don’t see it going away any time soon.”
Given all the legendary matches the two have played across the two decades of hatred, it’s no surprise that there is no love lost for Galaxy fans. From San Jose’s MLS Cup victory over the LA Galaxy to Los Angeles thwarting the “Goonies” en route to an MLS Cup of their own in 2012, the history, and the vitriol is all there to see.
“This is a rivalry that dates back to the league’s early days,” Angel Figueroa of ACB said. “You name it, the rivalry has everything."
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Friday’s match will be the first of two games between the two rivals, with the pair meeting again next month at Stanford Stadium for the Earthquakes’ annual July 4 matchup. Perhaps nothing shows the scope of the rivalry than the fact that the venue – Stanford Stadium – is just another portion of the storied feud.
“They base their whole season around trying to beat us,” Ed Rodriguez of LA Riot Squad said. “They know we are the best thing going for them and that shows when they choose to play us in a bigger stadium because they know we draw a bigger crowd even in their own city.”
