About Tigres
With some fans against the majority decision, on the night of this Wednesday the Tigres, one of the two teams from the First Division that Monterrey city has, will be the representatives of all Mexico, in search of the long-awaited dream of obtaining their first Copa Libertadores, something that Mexican clubs have tried since they were invited to the tournament 17 years ago.
For every Mexican fan, as surely happens in the rest of the continent, the big dreams are placed on winning the World Cup someday, but at the club level, nothing, not even the world tournament organized each year by FIFA, is worth as much as the Copa Libertadores de América.
The UANL team has already closed the tournament undefeated at home, but as visitors they were overcome twice, against Emelec in the quarterfinals and against Inter in the semifinals, both by one goal difference. This time they need another draw against the Millonarios (it would be the fourth of the year) to at least force extra time and penalties, if necessary.
The Feline Step
Tigres dispatched Juan Aurich 3-0 at Uni; went to draw 1-1 with River, in Buenos Aires; overcame San José 0-1 in Bolivia; gave the same San José a 4-0, but at home; confident and qualified, they drew 2-2 with River Plate in the Volcán, and defeated Aurich 4-5 in Peru.
In the second phase, they defeated Universitario Sucre 1-2 and then drew 1-1 in Monterrey; they lost 1-0 visiting Emelec, which they overcame 2-0 at home; they lost 1-2 in Porto Alegre, against Inter, which they later defeated 3-1 at the Universitario Stadium, to advance to the Grand Final, where they drew goalless with River in the first leg.
The Other Finals
Tigres needs victory at the Monumental Stadium to bring the Cup home and it would not be the first final in which a Mexican club defeats their rival in the decisive game, playing away.
On June 20, 2001, Cruz Azul went on to beat Boca Juniors 1-0, with a goal by Juan Francisco Palencia at 49 minutes. However, on that occasion the victory was not enough for the Cementers, who had previously been defeated by the same score at the Azteca Stadium, with the trophy being decided on penalties, in which the winner (and two-time champion) was the Argentine team, by 3-1.
The other precedent of Mexican teams in the second leg of the Libertadores final occurred on August 18, 2010, with the defeat of Chivas Rayadas de Guadalajara 3-2 against Internacional de Porto Alegre (recently defeated by Tigres), with a goal by Rafael Sobis, today a feline attacker. The overall of that final, in which Guadalajara did not win a game, was 5-3 in favor of the South Americans.
So, up to now, the balance in finals for Mexicans is three defeats, one victory, and one draw.
Good Mexican Memories
The debut of Mexican teams in the continental tournament took place on March 4, 1998, with Guadalajara's 1-0 defeat against America, with a goal by Alberto García Aspe (who has the honor of having scored the first Mexican goal in the tournament), through a penalty kick. By the way, the Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals, while the Chivas stayed in the group stage.
On April 12, 2000, America thrashed Olimpia 8-2 at the Azteca Stadium, in the biggest victory for a Mexican club in the tournament. In that season, Coapa's team was eliminated in the semifinals by Boca Juniors, in an exciting match at the same Coloso de Santa Ursula.
Salvador Cabañas is the player who has scored the most goals for a Mexican team, with 18 goals in two tournaments in which he finished as the leading scorer, 2007 and 2008.
There are now 17 Mexican teams that have participated in the Copa Libertadores: America, Chivas, Monterrey, Atlas, Cruz Azul, Morelia, Pumas, Santos Laguna, Tigres, Pachuca, Toluca, Necaxa, San Luis, Estudiantes Tecos, Jaguares, León, and Tijuana.