The Azteca stadium, the soccer shrine where Pele and Maradona became world champions, will open its doors this Saturday after a major renovation that has rejuvenated the venue just weeks shy of its 60th birthday and a few months before the 2026 World Cup.
Inaugurated on May 29, 1966, the colossus in the south of Mexico City has played host to many of the best soccer players in history, including Pelé, world champion with Brazil in 1970, and Diego Maradona, with Argentina in 1986.
The renovated Azteca hosts a high level duel
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In this remodeled Azteca stadium, the Mexican national team, which is battling injuries to a dozen of its candidates to play in the 2026 World Cup, will face Portugal in a friendly match.
Fifth in the FIFA rankings and favored to win soccer’s top tournament.
Two months ago, long-suffering Mexican fans celebrated the possibility of seeing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the best soccer players of this century, play at the Azteca within days of each other.
The Portuguese, who had been tipped to lead the Lusitanians’ attack in the friendly, was injured.
And Messi’s presence in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Cup was spoiled because his team, Inter Miami, was eliminated.
The party doesn’t stop
With their great ability to adjust so that nothing can spoil a party, Mexican fans quickly overcame the bitterness of not being able to watch Ronaldo and Messi from the stands.
This Saturday they will arrive en masse to show off the fact that they will be among the first to see and feel what this temple of football looks like.
“The field is beautiful; it will be the ideal stage to face a great rival like Portugal. We are privileged.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, who played at the Azteca stadium in the World Cup 40 years ago and coached a number of times in his three stints as coach of El Tri, said a few hours ago.
The Azteca stadium turf, where Mexico and South Africa will inaugurate the 2026 World Cup on June 11, underwent a major renovation with the installation of hybrid grass.
As well as 95 percent natural and 5 percent synthetic fibers, with a sophisticated irrigation system, water suction and air injection at the level of the best stadiums in the world.
It was inaugurated on May 29, 1966
QuéOnnda.com
First-class lights, displays and technology
Starting this Saturday, the Azteca stadium will have a capacity of 87,500 fans who will experience the soccer party in an atmosphere of lights.
Dozens of modern LED screens, inside and outside the stadium, will guarantee more than just first-class lighting:
A lavish environment, completed with improved access and more than a thousand antennas installed to guarantee quality internet.
Security will be enhanced with more than 200 cameras, and fans will benefit from a state-of-the-art audio system with more than 250 state-of-the-art speakers.
There is still work to be done on outdoor areas, parking lots and the fine detailing inside the facility.
But it is already a fact that the Azteca stadium will be ready with an air of modernity to, in 76 days, become the center of the world’s attention for the inauguration of the 2026 World Cup.
With information from EFE
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com
