In the short history of InterLiga, one club has stood above the rest. Tigres UANL has lost exactly three games in their 11-game history of InterLiga. Twice, Tigres has walked away as the tournament champion and a direct berth to Copa Libertadores.
Now, though, Tigres' roar has been all but silenced. The Monterrey-based club recently suffered through one of the worst seasons in club history. Tigres finished the Apertura 2006 season with a 3-9-5 record, third worst in the league.
Still, Tigres' previous results were good enough to reach InterLiga. Should the club win its third consecutive tournament title, perhaps the negative feelings of the Apertura disaster would be erased.
Nevertheless, Tigres' fall from grace was troubling. The first part of 2006 was solid if not spectacular. Though the club's offense struggled to score goals, the defense was rock-solid. Tigres' 15 goals allowed during the Clausura 2006 campaign was a league-low; unfortunately, Tigres' 15 goals scored also ranked as the fewest in the league. The combination proved to be lethal as Tigres missed out on the playoffs.
But Tigres' failures in league did not carry over internationally. After winning their second consecutive InterLiga title with a 2-1 win over arch-rival Monterrey, Tigres advanced directly to the Copa Libertadores.
Tigres went 3-2-1 in the group phase of Copa Libertadores and finished second behind Brazil's Corinthians. In the second round, however, Tigres' offensive struggles proved too much to overcome. Against upstart Paraguayan outfit Libertad, Tigres could not score a goal in either second-round leg. The series went into penalty kicks and Tigres' cup showing ended quietly as Libertad took the shootout 5-3.
The offseason, however, gave Tigres hope that its bad memories from the domestic campaign would be overcome. Coach Ricardo "Tuca" Ferreti left for Pumas. In his place, Tigres hired Jose Luis Trejo, who led Pachuca to the Clausura 2006 title. Trejo seemed a good fit for Tigres and appeared ready to work his magic there.
After a promising 2-0-1 start, Tigres collapsed. Tigres suffered consecutive 2-0 losses to San Luis and Atlante and never recovered. Tigres slumped through an 0-5-3 stretch. Trejo did not survive as the club parted ways with their coach. Mario Carrillo, who led America to the Clausura 2005 championship, replaced Trejo. However, Carrillo won just once in his six games as coach.
Tigres finished the season even with San Luis with the fewest goals scored in the league. On the other side of the ball, Tigres was even worse. Tigres allowed a league-high 37 goals; their minus-23 goal-differential was even more ghastly.
Despite the club's year-long offensive struggles and the recently-completed Apertura disaster, Tigres' cupboard is not barren. The club counts on Walter Gaitan, who was in the mix for a Mexican national team spot when Tigres competed in InterLiga a year ago. Sebastian "Chamagol" Gonzalez and Gaitan are still a potent combination, though they have not quite produced as the club had hoped when Gonzalez joined before InterLiga 2006.
InterLiga has been Tigres' domain for two years running. If Tigres can regain the form they showed in the tournament, the club should be right in the mix for continued InterLiga success.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.
