Azteca, the temple where Pelé and Maradona were crowned will be reopened with the national team

The team will have the honor of reopening, this coming Sunday morning (2am), March 29th, the historic Azteca Stadium, in Mexico City. The game between the Mexican and Portuguese teams is another milestone in this imposing place also known as the Colossus of Santa Úrsula, which in its early days it had a capacity for more than 131 thousand people, but now it can receive 87 thousand spectatorsafter renovation work that began in May 2024 and has now been completed to host, for the third time, World Cup matches.

Now with the we de Estado Banorte, Azteca was inaugurated on May 29, 1966 with a game between the Mexicans of América and the Italians of Torino. But This majestic venue became famous for hosting the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals, in which two of the greatest kings in the history of football were crowned: Pelé and Maradona.

On June 21, 1970, Brazil beat Italy 4-1, in one of the best finals ever, in which Pelé won his third world title and said goodbye to the main national team competition. Edson Arantes do Nascimento scored the first goal of the match and launched the Brazilians into a dream performance.

16 years later, Azteca opened the doors to the phenomenon Maradona, who left an unforgettable mark in a famous match against England, in the quarter-finals of the 86 World Cup, when he scored a goal with the famous “hand of God” and, four minutes later, dribbled past more than half of the English team to score what many call the “goal of the century”. Maradona would score twice again against Belgium, in the semi-finals, and then be crowned in the final against Germany, in a game in which he decided with a touch of class for Burruchaga’s goal in the 84th minute, which established the final score at 3-2.

Since that June 29, 1986, almost 40 years have passed and Azteca is preparing to gain new life, with new roof, remodeled stands, a state-of-the-art pitch, modern lighting and sound systems, as well as significant improvements in access and transport. There were few who believed that everything would be ready in time, but the new Aztec opens the door with the hope of making history again in the five games he will host at the 2026 World Cup.