In Mexican football, the Big Four (Spanish: Los Cuatro Grandes) refers to a group of clubs traditionally considered the most successful and widely supported in the country. América, Guadalajara, Cruz Azul, and Pumas were historically assigned this designation, though the designation has been debated over the years given the rise of other successful teams in Mexico's Liga MX.

In the 2020s, Toluca surpassed Cruz Azul and Pumas in league titles and drawn level with Guadalajara, leading some to argue for Toluca's inclusion in the group, replacing Pumas, or the recognition of an expanded Big Five.

Clubs

Mexico City is home to three members of the "Big Four"; América (16), Cruz Azul (10), and Pumas (7) have 33 Liga MX titles among them. Guadalajara (located in Zapopan), with 12 titles brings the total count of Liga MX titles amongst them to 45.

Club Founded City Venue Capacity América Mexico City Estadio Azteca 87,523 Cruz Azul Mexico City Estadio Azteca 87,523 Guadalajara Zapopan Estadio Akron 48,071 Pumas Mexico City Estadio Olímpico Universitario 58,445

Rivalries El Súper Clásico

One of Guadalajara’s principal rivalries is with Mexico City-based América. Their matches are known as El Súper Clásico and are generally played at least twice during each league season. Guadalajara won their first meeting 3–0, while América won the second 7–2. The rivalry developed over subsequent decades and included confrontations between the teams in 1983 and 1986. FourFourTwo included the fixture in its list of the world’s 50 biggest derbies.

Clásico Capitalino

The rivalry between América and Pumas is known as the "Clásico Capitalino" (Spanish for "Capital Classic"), due to the fact that both teams are based in Mexico City—the country's capital. The first match between the two clubs took place on 1 July 1962, where América hosted Pumas, who had recently been promoted from the second division. In Mexico the match is often perceived as the representation of a struggle between two antagonistic powers and institutions: América is regarded as the club representing the establishment and the wealthy. The fact that the club is owned by the mass media company Televisa has further intensified this image. Pumas representing the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, identifies itself as the club of the intellectuals and middle-class. The rivalry is particularly fierce from Pumas's side: according to surveys the majority of their supporters consider América as their main rival. However, America's fans see it as an important match but deem the match against Chivas as more important.

Clásico Joven

América's other capital-based rival, and the most important, is Cruz Azul, with whom they compete in the derby known as the "Clásico Joven" (Spanish for "Young Classic"). Although both teams reside in Mexico City, Cruz Azul was founded in Jasso, Hidalgo. In a similar perspective between América and Pumas's rivalry, the rivalry between América and Cruz Azul is also seen as based on social class differences: América representing the wealthy and powerful while Cruz Azul is said to represent the working class, hence fans of Cruz Azul and the team itself being dubiously referred to by the nickname of "Los Albañiles" (Spanish for bricklayers), a reference to Cruz Azul's eponymous parent company, which is one of Mexico's major companies specializing in concrete and construction.

Pumas vs. Guadalajara In recent years, Pumas and Guadalajara have increased their rivalry. Most of it is due to the 2004 Final; Pumas vs. Guadalajara. Also, Pumas went 36 years without winning an away match against Guadalajara.

On 6 October 2018, Pumas faced Guadalajara away in Liga MX. They had won this fixture ten days earlier in the Copa MX Round of 16 by a score of 3–1, though many considered the winless streak still unbroken because it did not occur in Liga MX play. Guadalajara quickly took the lead, Isaác Brizuela opening the scoring. However Guadalajara had little time to celebrate, as Pumas tied the game shortly thereafter. The score remained 1–1 until the 66th minute, when Felipe Mora scored on a header to give Pumas the lead. Pumas then saw out the 2–1 win, officially ending the 36-year record of not winning against Guadalajara in an away match in the Liga MX.

Honours National +Liga MX Club Titles Recent 16 Apertura 2024 12 Clausura 2017 10 Clausura 2026 7 Clausura 2011

+Copa MX Club Titles Recent 6 Clausura 2019 4 Clausura 2017 4 Apertura 2018 1 1974–75

+Campeón de Campeones Club Titles Recent 7 1970 7 2024 4 2026 2 2004

+Supercopa de la Liga MX Club Titles Recent 1 2022 1 2024 — — — —

+Supercopa MX Club Titles Recent 1 2016 1 2019 — — — —

Continental +CONCACAF Champions Cup/League Club Titles Recent 7 2025 7 2015–16 3 1989 2 2018

+CONCACAF Giants Cup Club Titles Recent 1 2001 — — — — — —

International +Copa Interamericana Club Titles Recent 2 1990 1 1981 — — — —

Finals against each other +Key* Match was won on a penalty shoot-out& Match was won after a replay The "Year" or "Season" column refers to the season or year the competition was held, and links to the article about that match. The two-legged finals are listed in the order they were played. Liga MX †Copa MX ^Campeón de Campeones +List of finals between the Big Four Season/Year Winners Score Runners-up City Attendance Ref.1953–54^ América 1–1* Guadalajara Mexico City30,000 1954–55^ América1–0 Guadalajara Mexico City36,000 1964 Guadalajara2–0 América Mexico City70,000 1965 Guadalajara2–1 América Mexico City70,000 1971–72† Cruz Azul4–1 América Mexico City100,000 1973–74^América1–1Cruz Azul Mexico City2–1 Mexico City América won 3–2 on aggregate.1974 Cruz Azul2–1 América Mexico City110,000 1978–79†Cruz Azul0–0Pumas UNAM Mexico City 2–0 Mexico City Cruz Azul won 2–0 on aggregate.1980–81†Pumas UNAM0–1Cruz Azul Mexico City 4–1 Mexico City Pumas UNAM won 4–2 on aggregate.1983–84†América2–2Guadalajara Guadalajara56,7133–1 Mexico City110,000 América won 5–3 on aggregate.1984–85†América1–1Pumas UNAM Mexico City 0–0 Mexico City 3–1& Querétaro City América won 4–2 on aggregate.1986–87†Guadalajara1–2Cruz Azul Mexico City100,000 3–0 Guadalajara56,713 Guadalajara won 4–2 on aggregate.1987–88†América0–1Pumas UNAM Mexico City4–1 Mexico City América won 4–2 on aggregate.1988–89†América2–3Cruz Azul Mexico City2–2 Mexico City América won 5–4 on aggregate.1990–91†Pumas UNAM2–3América Mexico City1–0 Mexico City 3–3 on aggregate; Pumas UNAM won on the away goals rule.Clausura 2004†Pumas UNAM1–1Guadalajara Guadalajara0–0* Mexico City 1–1 on aggregate; Pumas won 5–4 on penalty kicks.2005América0–0Pumas UNAM Mexico City55,0002–1 Mexico City60,000 América won 2–1 on aggregate.Clausura 2013†América0–1Cruz Azul Mexico City30,2032–1* Mexico City85,170 2–2 on aggregate; América won 4–2 on penalty kicks.Apertura 2018†América0–0Cruz Azul Mexico City59,2442–0 Mexico City71,240 América won 2–0 on aggregate.Clausura 2024†América1–1Cruz Azul Mexico City27,2241–0 Mexico City73,604 América won 2–1 on aggregate.Clausura 2026†Cruz Azul0–0Pumas Mexico City27,5002–1 Mexico City48,445 Cruz Azul won 2–1 on aggregate.

See also Football in Mexico Big Three (Belgium) Big Three (Costa Rica) Big Three (Greece) Big Three (Italy) Big Three (Netherlands) Big Three (Peru) Big Three (Portugal) Big Three (Spain) Big Three (Sweden) Big Three (Turkey) Big Five (Argentina) Big Six (Premier League) Big Twelve (Brazil)

Notes

References