The Clásico Joven (Spanish for: The Young Classic) is an association football rivalry between Mexico City-based teams Club América and Cruz Azul.

[4] The rivalry between América and Cruz Azul began prior to the match that officially gave rise to the term "Clásico Joven."

This match, regarded as the catalyst for the rivalry, followed América's elimination by Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals of the Copa México during the previous season.

In the final, Héctor Pulido opened the scoring for Cruz Azul with a well-placed shot past América's goalkeeper Prudencio Cortés.

Cruz Azul's goalkeeper, Miguel Marín, delivered an outstanding performance, making several crucial saves to secure the victory.

However, Cruz Azul responded in the same season by defeating América 2–1 in the 1974 Campeón de Campeones, avenging their Copa México loss from five months earlier.

The goals for Cruz Azul were scored by Horacio López Salgado and Eladio Vera, while Osvaldo Castro netted for América.

During the 1970s, Cruz Azul established their dominance by remaining unbeaten at home against América in all competitions, including Copa México, Campeón de Campeones, and the group-stage liguillas of the 1978–79 season.

Between 1970 and 1979, Cruz Azul won eight official titles across various competitions, while América secured six, including an Copa Interamericana victory against Boca Juniors.

Peña observed that both squads featured a significant number of young players, including Rafael Toribio, Guillermo Mendizábal, Sergio Rubio, and Adrián Camacho for Cruz Azul, and Héctor Zelada, Mario Trejo, Alfredo Tena, and Cristóbal Ortega for América.

The decade also saw the most lopsided victory in the history of the rivalry when, in the 1981–82 season, América defeated Cruz Azul 5–0, eliminating them from any chance of reaching the playoffs, which were ultimately won by Tigres UANL.

In the 1991–92 playoff repechage, Cruz Azul eliminated América with a commanding 4–0 victory in the first leg, featuring goals from José Manuel de la Torre, Carlos Hermosillo, and Mario Ordiales.

However, Cruz Azul exacted revenge in the 1994–95 playoffs by defeating América 3–2 on aggregate to advance to the final, where they ultimately lost to Necaxa.

In the second leg, Francisco Palencia and Hermosillo gave Cruz Azul a 2–0 lead, but they were unable to score the additional goal needed to advance.

One of the match's defining moments was a missed opportunity by Kalusha Bwalya, who hit the post with an open goal, allowing goalkeeper Norberto Scoponi to recover the ball.

Cruz Azul experienced a seven-game unbeaten streak at the Estadio Azteca that ended in 2004 with a 2–1 loss to América, sealed by a last-minute goal from Álvaro Ortiz.

Cruz Azul secured a 2–1 victory with a brace from Uruguayan Nicolás Vigneri, while América's goal came from Argentine-born naturalized Mexican Alfredo Moreno.

This included their elimination in the quarterfinals of the Apertura 2017, where both legs ended in 0–0 draws, with América advancing due to their higher position in the league table.

América's dominance ended during the second leg of the Clausura 2019 quarterfinals, when Cruz Azul secured a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal by Uruguayan forward Jonathan Rodríguez.

Further fueling the rivalry, Cruz Azul had returned to the Estadio Azteca as their home venue for the tournament, which sparked controversy and dissatisfaction among América supporters.

The first leg ended in a goalless draw, with few notable moments apart from a post-match scuffle between América goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín and Cruz Azul's fitness coach.

In the second leg, Edson Álvarez broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, capitalizing on an error by Iván Marcone after a ball was intercepted by Oribe Peralta.

Three minutes later, Henry Martín capitalized on a bouncing ball that went over Pablo Aguilar and scored with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box, putting América ahead 2–1 by halftime.

A long clearance by Corona found Orbelín Pineda, who dribbled past two América defenders and scored with a precise left-footed strike.

Cruz Azul sealed the victory in the 74th minute when Jonathan Rodríguez scored after an impressive solo run, chipping the ball past Ochoa for the fifth goal.

This 5–2 victory marked the first time Cruz Azul scored five goals against América, making it their most significant result in the history of the Clásico Joven.

The two teams arrived in vastly different circumstances: América, under the management of Fernando Ortiz, was fighting to secure a direct playoff spot after a rocky start to the tournament.

In contrast, Cruz Azul, now led by Diego Aguirre, had lost many key players who contributed to their historic ninth title and was struggling at the bottom of the standings, outside playoff contention.

Eight minutes later, Henry Martín took advantage of a defensive lapse by Ramiro Funes Mori and set up Jonathan Rodríguez to double the lead.

However, following a VAR review, referee Luis Enrique Santander disallowed the goal due to a prior foul on América's Emilio Lara.