This Rivalry Cutting Its Teeth

The ugly images were beamed around the soccer world from Milan last week -- angry Inter Milan fans hurling burning flares and bottles down onto the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium field in the direction of AC Milan players.

The teams, two of Italy’s most illustrious, have shared the stadium since 1949. Their rivalry is intense.

It turned violent last Tuesday during a European Champions League quarterfinal, resulting in officials calling the game and Inter Milan fined $250,000 and ordered to play its next four European matches in an empty stadium.

Considering all this, Saturday’s first game between the Galaxy and Chivas USA, who also share the same stadium, is mild by comparison.

The front offices, as well as the coaches and players, to a degree, have been trying to talk up the rivalry, but in fact, Major League Soccer has yet to engender the kind of passion found elsewhere in soccer.

Whether that’s a good thing or not is open to interpretation, although nobody is condoning violence.

“I think you have all the ingredients for a clasico,” Chivas defender Ryan Suarez said. “This is your Inter Milan-AC Milan kind of derby.”

Suarez then backpedaled, having gone too far in his comparison.

“Everyone wants to look for bad blood,” he said. “There is no bad blood. At the end of the day, we’re playing something that we love. We don’t get a lot of money for doing it. It’s something we want to do. So obviously, come game time, there are going to be some emotions flying.”

Said Galaxy midfielder-forward Landon Donovan, “Give it some time. We haven’t even played the game yet and people talk like it’s this fierce rivalry.”

The coaches, Chivas’ Thomas Rongen and the Galaxy’s Steve Sampson, suggest there has to be some history before there can be any real edge.

“I think the games themselves will ultimately determine what kind of rivalry this is going to be,” Rongen said. “The players will set the tone.”

Because Chivas is built largely around Mexican and Mexican-American players, some believe the four regular-season Galaxy-Chivas matches could mimic the USA-Mexico rivalry on the national-team level.

“Over time, this could be something like that,” Sampson said. “But that took many years to develop and it wasn’t until the U.S. in 1990 began beating Mexico that it really became a great rivalry and a great classic.

“Now, it is just that. Both teams are outstanding and you never know who’s going to win. I would expect this to become just that.”

For the moment, however, it’s all talk, and even that is mild.

“Chivas is paying rent in our stadium, the way I see it,” said Galaxy veteran Cobi Jones. “They’re paying rent to use our stadium. We’re the L.A. team; they’re the second team trying to come in. I’m not going to say they’re like the redheaded stepchild or anything but

And from Chivas’ Ramon Ramirez, a veteran of Mexico’s national team, “I think the most important elements in a clasico is that we go out on the field and by our actions show the people that this is a game that we dare not lose.”

Galaxy midfielder and captain Peter Vagenas agreed.

“I think you’re going to see a different level of intensity,” he said. “Overall, you’ve got to say the Galaxy has the edge because it has been around for 10 years now. It’s been one of the flagship teams of this league and Chivas is obviously an expansion team. So in that regard, I guess we’ve got a leg up.”

Whit Haskel, who spent six years with the Galaxy before becoming Chivas USA’s vice president and general manager, scoffs at the Galaxy’s decade of history. Chivas USA is an offshoot of Chivas of Guadalajara, founded in 1906.

“Obviously, we’re the new kid in town, but we’ve got 100 years of soccer under our belt while they’re celebrating 10,” he said. “I guess you could say they may have an edge, but I think that in the long run, a team that’s got all this history and all this passion to build on, like Chivas, is going to win out.”

Saturday night’s match is a Galaxy home game and Doug Hamilton, the team’s president and general manager, expects Galaxy fans to outnumber Chivas fans, three to one, in the expected sellout crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center.

“Our fans are going to be there in force and our fans are as committed as our players,” he said. “They’re going to let them know they’re the away team. But it will all be well done and tasteful.”

Regardless, Los Angeles will take a step toward soccer’s big-time Saturday.

“We’re going to see if we play futbol or soccer this coming weekend,” Sampson said, taking a dig at Chivas USA’s slogan: “Adios soccer. Futbol is here.”

“I think in this first matchup, no one wants to come out a loser.”

*

GALAXY vs. CHIVAS USA

* When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

* Where: Home Depot Center.

* Television: ESPN2.