By Mark Walsh

In barely 48 hours time, the quiet streets around Monterrey’s Tec university will be thronged by buzzing hordes of soccer fans, nervous police on horseback and scores of touts flogging tickets at triple price. Faces will be painted navy and white or yellow and blue, tacos, burgers and beers will be consumed by the thousand and at 5pm a whistle will blow and a mighty roar will fill the air.

Welcome to derby day in Monterrey, Mexico. Welcome to the Clásico Regiomontano.

For fans of the beautiful game in the city they call the Sultan of the North, this is the gloriously tense moment they wait for each season. Forget about league standings, forget about qualifying for playoffs; this is the match both teams simply have to win.

Visit the World Soccer Shop for the best selection of official Mexican soccer jerseys.

For 90 minutes, workmates will hurl abuse at each other, families will split down the middle and a city will divide. Both bands of supporters will crawl through the post-match traffic nursing hoarse throats.

Although the derby between these two Monterrey soccer teams is relatively young – the first official top division clash between the clubs took place in 1974 – it must rate among the world’s most intense and insular football rivalries. The economic might of the city, its relative isolation in the northeastern corner of Mexico and two tight stadia bursting with passionate fans combine to make this match reputedly the richest in the country.

Despite its brevity, the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Clásico Regiomontano boasts a curious history. From the first official clash 34 years ago (an exciting 3-3 draw), through the shameful fight between players which caused the suspension of the 28th derby in 1985, few local rivals can have inflicted as much hurt on each other as Rayados and Tigres.

For fans of Rayados, Clasico number 51, played in 1996, is a case in point. Tigres were suffering a dreadful season, dogged by claims of corruption among the university-run management and were just one defeat away from dropping into the second tier of Mexican football.

The hordes of feline fans would no doubt have accepted relegation with good grace if they could have claimed a face-saving derby win on the way down. Nonetheless, goals from Sergio “El Pibe” Verdirame and Luis Miguel Salvador secured a 2-1 victory for Rayados –not to mention a delicious humiliation of their fiercest foes.

The 1996 crisis marked a turning point for Tigres. The team was privatized in the face of the corruption scandal and Cemex, the world’s biggest cement company, agreed to take over the team’s administration. Bankrolled by the Cemex billions, the club bounced straight back to the “Maximum Circuit” by winning both halves of the second division championship the following season.

The revival continued all the way to the next momentous derby, in 2000. The stunning Clasico 61 match, at Rayados’ Estadio Tecnológico, exploded into life with four early goals for Tigres, before a determined fightback from the home side left the game hanging in the balance at 3-4. Two further Tigres goals secured a memorable 3-6 win in the enemy’s backyard and newspaper El Norte christened the clash with the superlative headline “Clasicazo!”

The score alone would have been enough to secure legendary status for Clásico 61, but the aftermath ensured the match would never be forgotten. Soon afterwards, the Mexican football federation ruled that Osmar Donizete, one of the Tigres players, had been registered incorrectly. Despite Tigres’ fury, Rayados insisted the game was replayed and the most exciting Monterrey derby in history was erased from the record books. Ironically, fate had the last laugh: the return match finished 0-0.

Rayados retained the upper hand with two play-off wins over their rivals in the following years. In 2003, striker Guillermo Franco helped fire Rayados to a 4-1 win in the first leg at Estadio Universitario. The Stripes then held on for a 2-1 loss at home, thus progressing to the final to beat Morelia and claim the second title in their history.

The dose was repeated in 2005. Rayados again inflicted semi-final heartbreak on the Felines in clásico 79, advancing on away goals after a 2-2 global scoreline. This time, however, the Blue-and-Whites lost the final against Toluca.

Followers of the Felines exacted a measure of revenge two years ago in Clásico 80 – the only derby to date played outside the city. Jaime Lozano scored the winning goal in extra time to claim a 2-1 victory in the final of the Interliga tournament, held in Carson, California. The tense triumph not only gave bragging rights to the Auriazules, but guaranteed a debut appearance in the Copa Liberatadores, the South American version of Uefa’s Champions’ League.

Tigres also hold a slight advantage historically. Under the legendary command of Uruguayan coach Carlos Miloc, the Felines enjoyed a 15-game unbeaten run in the 1970s and 1980s and have won 31 clásicos to date, against Rayados’ 29.

Tigres have also scored two more goals with 120, though no history of the Clásico Regiomontano would be complete without mentioning blockbusting Brazilian forward Mario de Souza Mota – known as Bahia – who bulged the net a record 11 times in derbies in the 1990s for Rayados.

As the statistics prove, there is seldom more than the width of a cigarette paper between the two teams and this Saturday’s derby looks as evenly balanced as ever. A single point has Rayados ahead of Tigres in the general table, though the university side is in better form, trouncing América 3-0 at home last weekend, while Rayados limped to a 2-0 defeat away to Santos.

If added spice were necessary, 63-year-old Tigres manager Manuel Lapuente made his debut as a player almost 44 years ago – with Rayados. Lapuente has never won a Clasico Regiomontano as Tigres coach, despite four attempts in his first spell at the club in the mid-1980s.

Regardless of the statistics, Rayados followers still believe their team holds the upper hand.  To that effect, the last word belongs to Argentine World-Cup winning captain Daniel Passarella. “You can win 1,000 clasicos,” he said after coaching Rayados to the 2003 semi-final victory, “But we won the most important in history.”