The last line of the UANL Tigres hymn goes something like this: With pride and with honor, together we go to victory, the team and their fans.
TO WIN!...
Goalkeeper Edgar Hernandez’s will and Carlos Ramirez’s timely goal helped the university squad do just that, as they edged Universidad Catolica 1-0 and moved through to the Copa Libertadores final sixteen.
The feline goalkeeper was a key player in the narrow qualification to the knockout stages of the most prestigious Latin American soccer club competition, proving last year’s quarterfinals run was no fluke.
Cubs’ 2005 Roar
One of the youngest teams in First Division, as they were born in 1958, the Nuevo Leon Autonomous University’s first international appearance ever was just last year.
They won the Interliga tournament in the US and hit the ground running into the Copa Libertadores, getting out of a tough group which included seasoned international competitors such as Peru’s Alianza Lima and Argentina’s Banfield.
Then the upstart cubs upset ’04 champs, Colombia’s Once Caldas to make it to the quarterfinals, where they fought bravely against the eventual champions, Sao Paulo.
No fluke
Proving last year’s romp was no joke, the cats won the Interliga tournament again, this time beating Nuevo Leon nemesis, Monterrey.
Tigres won arguably the best game of the tournament, a 5-4 track meet against Colombian Deportivo Cali at home after staring at an 0-2 deficit.
In their most complete game, they shut down high-powered Corinthians, knocking out Argentine ace Carlos Tevez in the process.
Pulling out all the stops
Needing a win to qualify, as the Chileans had a 10-7 points edge, Hernandez did the unthinkable:
Late in the game he left his net to help the team score the winning goal, which motivated them to do just that against a pesky U Catolica, a few minutes into injury time.
“You don’t think about it, suddenly you’re motivated, and it’s those small things that build the team’s confidence,” said Hernandez. “I think everyone’s efforts were rewarded by our qualifying.”
One of the most consistent of all the Tigres, Hernandez said he checked with his manager “Tuca” Ferreti before taking off. “He turned his head, checked the clock, then gave me the sign to go.” He added that scoring a goal would’ve been nice but injecting enthusiasm into his team was equally important.”
Carlos Ramirez, who is getting used to coming through in the clutch, and scored the crucial goal, gave credit to his teammate, Julio Cesar Santos, for setting him up.
“Half the goal is his (Santos’s) and half mine,” said Ramirez, adding that the team is not done. “There’s still work to do, all we did was advance to the next round.”
Glad about seeing the fans’ enthusiasm, Ramirez modestly quipped, “I’m not the hero, we are all heroes.”
Tuca
For the Tigres coach, Brazilian born Ricardo Ferreti, the team had the ability to win all along, they just lacked the aggressiveness to put away the opponent.
Tuca knows about winning: as one of Mexico’s most winning active coaches, he was the last coach to win a championship with Chivas of Guadalajara in ’97, before winning a pair of championships in Toluca, and was a player/coach with UNAM when they won it all in ‘90/91.
“It was a painful win because it came in the stoppage time, but I think the team always had the ability in their hands,” said Ferreti, who refused to comment on which tournament the team will focus on.
“In the second half we had other chances, and finally, when we thought it was all over, we made the play and got the ticket. It would have been unfortunate had we not made it.”
Sweet Sixteen
With a healthy ‘Chamagol’, who has three goals in the tournament, Walter Gaitan as stout as ever in the middle, and the always tough Hernandez minding the nets, the Tigres can give Libertad fits, the only question is whether they’ll be able to do it in Paraguay, away from Universitario Stadium.
Just like last year, we’ll once again see the ferocious Tigers show their fangs in the quarterfinals.