Is the Azteca just another stadium?

So, the Azteca, it’s just another stadium isn’t it?

For one thing, it holds a place on the top of many people’s bucket lists, myself included, and after a night there watching Mexico triumph in a World Cup clash against Ecuador, I can testify there simply is no venue like it.

Spending a few nights in Mexico City ahead of my visit had already ticked a number of boxes. A vast, sprawling conurbation seasoned in history, passion and a fusion of cultures, this place demands attention but is also mysterious.

The people of the city were overwhelmingly friendly, welcoming football fans from around the world and even as we made our way into the Azteca the random Ecuador fans were treated to simply pantomime boos and wolf whistles.

As the venue filled the atmosphere became more charged as one of the common electrical storms rolled around the area, adding to the sense of mystery and foreboding.

A delay for an hour simply allowed stadium officials to turn this into more of a festival, drowning out the rolling thunder and turning up the tunes, starting the party before a ball had been kicked.

Then, from my seat in the back row, yes the very back row, it went from disco party, to high octane knockout match at the flick of a switch.

But there was something in the charged air of this game which felt positive for the raucous home support.

From the outset the team responded to the constant chants of ‘Mexico, Mexico’ by going on an offensive they never relinquished.

A first goal was greeted with loud joy, the tension clearly broken. The second goal however was something else. In my 60 years of watching sport around the world I’ve never heard such a noise. To call it a cheer underplays how it rose to a crescendo then rolled around the stadium in a wave, with a life of is own. It was a noise of disbelief but also of joy, the home fans knew the job was already done.

And so it proved.

The Azteca was a cauldron which the outsiders in yellow couldn’t escape from with their lives - and like the vanquished by the Aztecs of previous times, their World Cup lives were ended in sacrifice.

Of course while the Azteca is the centre of global attention, the true World Cup party in Mexico City is a few miles north. Angel and Zocala are just two fan centres that host the big shows but in truth the whole place came alive after the triumph.

As we took buses back from the Azteca to the centre, we were greeted by cheering flag waving Mexicans, men, women and children, old and young, families, all out late and all, in the best possible way, proud of a flag, a team and a country.

The Azteca is the best I’ve seen, as a stadium and as a venue to generate an atmosphere.

But it takes people to make it live and perhaps the stadium is a reflection of the population itself, proud, passionate and welcoming and in 2026 ready to show that it really is the best in the world.