It may be the best view at the World Cup. Some believe it is literally out of this world.Estadio Monterrey — usually known as Estadio BBVA — is built in the shadow of the Cerro de la Silla, a mountain which rises 1,820 metres above sea level and is part of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico. Its distinctive peaks are visible from inside the stadium, which will host four games this summer, including a round of 32 match.It is an icon of Monterrey, and one that has spawned its fair share of myths and legends. Its name — ‘saddle hill’ in English — is said to come from Portuguese conquistador Alberto del Canto having seen that likeness in the mountain’s ‘U’ shape in the 16th century. But the city’s inhabitants have given it plenty of other nicknames, including the Giant of Monterrey, the Silent Guardian and the Crown of the City (because of its various peaks).One story told about its origins explains that the mountain is a fallen giant frozen in time. Another claims it was home to a birdman — a humanoid figure with wings — who lived in its caves. More recently, UFO (unidentified flying object) enthusiasts have seized on an unexplained case involving a ‘witch’, floating spheres and what they believe could be otherworldly encounters. The Giant of Monterrey looms behind the stadium (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)In January 2004, a 20-something police officer, Leonardo Samaniego Gallegos, was carrying out his nighttime rounds on the outskirts of Monterrey — a five-minute drive from where Estadio BBVA now stands and just below the Cerro de la Silla — when he says he saw a mysterious figure. “A person fell from a tree, moving as if they were a bag of rubbish,” he said in a YouTube interview with paranormal investigator A. Guts Villarreal in 2019. “She stopped about 50 metres from the ground after falling backwards with her hands like this,” he said, with his arms held out to his sides. In the headlights of his Volkswagen patrol car, Samaniego Gallegos said the creature’s eyes were “completely black”. According to his testimony in that interview, it began to fly towards him as he called for back-up and reversed. There was a blow to the windshield and the figure was suddenly on top of his car bonnet, trying to grab him through the window. He let go of the steering wheel and “lost consciousness until my commander came and saw I’d fainted”.TV reports from the time show a visibly shaken Samaniego Gallegos being attended to by paramedics while explaining “she didn’t have a broom or anything, she was flying by herself”. In that 2019 interview, he said he spent two days in hospital while doctors carried out tests on him, and also claimed that four men in suits had taken away the police uniform he was wearing that night.