It's a dream matchup for local lovers of world-class soccer.

Real Madrid will play in San Diego against the popular Guadalajara Chivas as part of the World Football Challenge tournament being played this summer in various cities across the United States.

Spain's team and the Chivas will square off at Qualcomm Stadium on July 20, starting at 8 p.m.

Real Madrid, led by Portuguese coach José Mourinho, begins its participation in the tournament in Los Angeles, playing against the Galaxy, of Major League Soccer (MLS).

The tournament features storied teams from Europe, such as Manchester City and Manchester United, from the English Premier League; Real Madrid and Barcelona, from Spain; América and Chivas from Mexico; and teams from the MLS. The tournament is from July 13 to August 6.

Chivas and Real Madrid are the two teams that have won the most championships in their respective leagues.

Since the team was founded in 1902, Real Madrid has won 31 titles as the best team in Spain.

Over the decades, great international soccer stars have worn the Real Madrid jersey. These include Argentinean Alfredo di Stéfano in the 1950s, José Araquistáin, Pedro de Felipe and Manuel Sanchís in the 1960s, and Mexican Hugo Sánchez, who was the league's top scorer five times in the 1980s.

From 1990 to date, players such as Emilio Butragueño, Raúl González, Jorge Valdano, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo have made this one of the top three teams in the world, along with Manchester United and Barcelona.

For their part, the Guadalajara's Chivas has been the launching pad for several icons of Mexican soccer since its founding in 1906.

These include Tomás Balcázar, José "Jamaicón" Villegas and Salvador Reyes, who helped the team win seven league championships between 1956 and 1965.

In all, Guadalajara has won Mexico's top soccer championship 11 times.

Polls show that Chivas is the most popular team in that country. A study conducted by International Futbol Federation estimated that Chivas has 30 million fans across Mexico.

More information is available at www.WorldFootballChallenge.com.

Abraham.nudelstejer@sandiegored.com