In downtown El Paso, there’s a beautiful hotel that’s stood since 1912. The Hotel Paso del Norte features one of the most beautiful bars in the city, with a spectacular Tiffany-style glass ceiling. The hotel is a gem and a place where most important visitors to the Sun City get a room or enjoy a drink. It’s often said that during the 1914 Mexican Revolution, when Pancho Villa was running rampant in northern Mexico, El Pasoans would flock to the roof of the Hotel Paso del Norte to look down over the border into Juarez to watch the battling armies.

Now a hundred years later, just two blocks from that same hotel, another type of border battle will kick off this evening. FC Juarez and El Paso Locomotive will play in a friendly this evening that the organizations have branded the Derby Paso Del Norte. The sister clubs, on either side of the border, are owned by the same sports group, competing in LigaMX and USL Championship, respectively.

In a prematch press conference on Friday, representatives from both organizations spoke about the excitement and potential of the international friendly. “We’re really excited to show the fans what these two teams are capable of,” said El Paso Locomotive GM Andrew Forrest, “We couldn’t be more excited…it will be called a friendly, but both teams will be looking to win the game.” FC Juárez Chief Operations Office Jesus Mesta also gave remarks in Spanish.

The timing of this year’s friendly could have been better, with both sides currently struggling to find their first win in their leagues. After finishing 15th in the Apertura (first half of the LigaMX two-part season), FC Juarez is currently last in the league and without a win. Locomotive is also winless three matches into the Championship season, sitting on one point. And while Locomotive Head Coach Brian Clarhaut has expressed frustration with player fatigue due to schedule compression, this match will be the fourth in twelve days, with another regular season match on the road at Las Vegas on Saturday.

Due to those factors, one would expect both sides to heavily rotate their rosters. Locomotive has been waiting on three transfers from FC Juarez to clear their paperwork, but since this match is a friendly, league roster rules don’t apply and give Coach Clarhaut more flexibility with the starting eleven. Forrest expressed confidence that those players waiting league approval would be in the match against their home club. “I absolutely expect [these players] to appear, if not start…they will play Wednesday, that is a fact.”

The first iteration of the Derby Paso Del Norte kicks off tonight at 7:30p MT at Southwest University Park and its expected to be in front of a packed house. The teams have created merchandise specifically for the evening, including a joint club scarf. Those will be on sale at the match. It should be a fun matchup that continues to build the prestige and reputation of the Locomotive organization and the Championship generally. The Derby exemplifies everything people love about the friendly cross-border relationship between El Paso and Juarez and bring the fan bases together for an evening of soccer.

- Dan Vaughn