Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, commonly known as Tigres UANL, is a professional football club based in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at Estadio Universitario. Founded in 1960 as Club Deportivo Universitario de Nuevo León, the club represents the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) and adopted its current name in 1967.
Domestically, Tigres UANL has won eight Liga MX titles, three Copa MX titles and four Campeón de Campeones. Internationally, the club has won one CONCACAF Champions League, finished as runners-up in the 2015 Copa Libertadores, and reached the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup final, becoming the first Mexican and CONCACAF club to reach the final of a FIFA global competition. Regionally, the club has won two Campeones Cup titles and one North American SuperLiga.
Tigres' first major trophy was the 1975–76 Copa México, defeating Club América 3–2 on aggregate in the final, becoming the first club from Nuevo León to win an official national title. Since 1996 the club has been managed by Sinergia Deportiva, a sports-management company associated with Cemex. The club's traditional colors are gold and blue. It is one of the two major professional clubs in the state of Nuevo León, alongside their rivals C.F. Monterrey; their rivalry is known as the Clásico Regiomontano.
History
Founding and promotion to Primera División, Cup and League champions
Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León was founded on 7 March 1960. They previously were named the Jabatos de Nuevo León. In 1967, their venue, the Estadio Universitario was built. In the 1973–74 season, José "Ché" Gómez guided the team to the title and promotion to the Primera División de México, now Liga MX. They defeated the Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara for 3–2. In the 1975–76, Tigres won their first domestic cup, the Copa México (now Copa MX), against América after winning 3–2.
Under the command of Uruguayan coach Carlos Miloc and players such as Tomás Boy and Gerónimo Barbadillo, for the 1977–78 season Tigres aimed to the league championship. In the quarter-finals of the liguilla (play-offs), they defeated Estudiantes Tecos by 1–0 and 3–2 (4–2). In the semi-finals Tigres defeated Cruz Azul 0–1 and 3–0 (3–1). In the finals they defeated UNAM 2–0 and 1–1 (3–1). Tigres made their best season ever with 48 points in the 1978–79, but did not reach the finals.
In the 1979–80 season, Tigres made it to the finals against Cruz Azul. In the first leg, Cruz Azul won 1–0 at the Estadio Universitario, and in the second leg, at the Estadio Azteca, Tigres, although down 3–0 at one point, rallied back to ensure a 3–3 draw. Nonetheless, Tigres still lost the finals by an aggregate scoreline of 4–3. In the 1981–82 season, they won their second League championship against Atlante at the Estadio Azteca. In the quarter-finals of postseason, they tied with Guadalajara 1–1 and 1–1 (2–2). In the semi-finals, they defeated América 2–0 and 0–1 (2–1), and in the finals they tied 2–1 and 0–1 (2–2) against Atlante. Tigres won by penalty shoot-out ending 3–1 (5–3 aggregate). In the 1983–84, they lost in quarter-finals against Pumas UNAM 1–0; 0–3 (1–3). In the 1986–87 season, they lost in the semi-finals against Monarcas Morelia 3–2 and 0–2 (3–4). In 1988, after fourteen years in the team, the iconic Mexican midfielder Tomás Boy retired. In the 1989–90 season, meanwhile, Tigres finished the tournament as the first place of their group with 40 points and went to liguilla. They lost in quarter-finals by 3–2 and 1–3 (4–5) against Club Universidad de Guadalajara. In 1990, Tigres lost the finals of the 1989–90 Copa Mexico against Puebla. In the 1992–93 season, they earned 44 points and went to play-offs. In the quarter-finals, Tigres lost 0–2 and 2–4 (2–6) against Club León.
Relegation, quick return to Primera División, 2001 and 2003 runner-up In 1996, Tigres hired the Chilean international forward Claudio Núñez and after several years of ups and downs the team won their second domestic cup defeating Atlas by 2–1 but were relegated to Primera División A, now Ascenso MX, because of negative results of past seasons. Note that the Mexican League uses a percentage-based relegation system, in which the team with the worst performance percentage by year (instead of the worst team in the season) is relegated. Under the command of Victor Manuel Vucetich, the team qualified to play-offs in 1996 but because of the relegation they were unable to compete. After some negotiations, the administration of the team was given for ten years to Sinergia Deportiva, a trust-holder run by CEMEX. In 1997, after two consecutive Primera División A championships, the team returned to the Primera División. In 1998, Tigres hired international striker Luis Hernández.
Under the command of the Brazilian coach Ricardo Ferretti, Tigres finished the Verano 2001 season in the fourth place with 27 points and secured postseason. In the quarter-finals Tigres lost by 3–1 and 2–2 (5–3) against Puebla. In the Invierno 2001 season, Tigres finished the tournament as leader with 36 points. In the play-offs, they beat Santos Laguna in the quarter-finals 1–1 and 3–0 (4–1). In the semi-finals, they tied with Cruz Azul 1–1 (0–1 and 1–0), and because of the 36 points they achieved in the tournament, they went to the next stage. In the finals, Tigres lost 2–0 and 1–1 (3–1) against Pachuca in the Estadio Universitario. In June 2002, the talented Argentine attacking midfielder Walter Gaitán was hired, a player that later would become an icon of the team. In the Clausura 2003, Tigres finished the tournament as the fourth place with 34 points, and went to postseason. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Toluca by 2–1 and 2–2 for an aggregate of 4–3. In the semi-finals, Tigres lost against arch-rival Monterrey. In the first game they lost by 4–1, while in the second Tigres won 2–1 for an aggregate score of 5–3. After the loss, coach Ricardo Ferretti was fired.
On the Apertura 2003, now under the command of Argentine coach Nery Pumpido (with a team that Ferretti build), Tigres finished the tournament as leader now with 38 points. In the play-offs, they tied 1–0 and 1–2 (2–2) with Cruz Azul in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, they faced Toluca, who was now under the command of Ricardo Ferretti, and defeated them 0–1 and 2–0 (2–1). In the finals, Tigres lost 1–3 and 1–0 (3–2) once more against Pachuca in the Estadio Universitario. In the Clausura 2004, Argentine striker Andrés Silvera finished the tournament as one of the top goal scorers, but Tigres ended in 12th place and missed the play-offs. That same tournament they scored the biggest result in a Clásico Regiomontano, beating archrival Monterrey 6–2.
In October 2004, Sinergia Deportiva purchased the rights to a franchise in the MISL called the "Monterrey Tigres". However, due to conflicts with the previous MISL franchise "Monterrey Fury", the team elected not to complete the purchase of the team, and the MISL terminated the indoor franchise in December 2004. In the Clausura 2005, Tigres went to postseason and tied with Monarcas Morelia 2–2 and 2–2 (4–4) in the quarter-finals, and Morelia went to the next stage because of the points they achieved in the regular season.
In the Apertura 2005, Walter Gaitán finished the season as the top scorer of the tournament and Tigres went to play-offs in 8th place. In the quarter-finals, under the command of the iconic Osvaldo Batocletti, Tigres played the historical "Aztecazo", a way to describe a difficult victory over América or the Mexico national team in their venue, the Estadio Azteca. In the first game, Tigres lost in the Estadio Universitario by a 1–3 score. Against all odds, however, they defeated América in the second game 4–1 for an aggregate scoreline of 5–4, leaving América out of the postseason. In the semi-finals, Tigres drew Monterrey after 1–0 and 1–2 (2–2) scorelines, although Monterrey progressed to the next round because of the points in the tournament.
On 3 August 2006, CEMEX, the company that controls Tigres, celebrated its first 100 years with a match between Tigres and Barcelona in Monterrey. The game ended with the locals losing by 3–0. Sindey Balderas of Tigres scored an own goal, Ronaldinho scored with a free kick and later passed to Eiður Guðjohnsen for a third goal.
Tigres finished the Clausura 2007 season as eighth with 23 points, securing play-offs. Tigres lost in quarter-finals against Guadalajara 3–1 and 3–2 (6–3). In December 2007, Tigres hired who would become the last idol of the team, the skilled Argentine attacking midfielder Lucas Lobos. On 19 July 2008, Tigres played Atlético Madrid as their official presentation for the Apertura 2008 tournament. Atlético opened the score with goals from John Heitinga and Diego Forlán for a sturdy 2–0 in favour of the Spanish side. Tigres responded well to this for Blas Pérez and Manuel Viniegra tied the game 2–2. In the Apertura 2008, under the command of Manuel Lapuente, Tigres ended the tournament as sixth place and qualified for the play-offs. They tied in the quarter-finals against Atlante 1–1 and 1–1 (2–2), though Atlante progressed to semi-finals because they finished the regular season higher than Tigres, in third place.
Close call, third Ferretti era, Team of the Decade, 2023 champions
In 2010, Santiago Martínez presided over the team's worst season in the past few years. On 27 March 2010, after their seventh loss in the season, and with only 25% effectiveness, the fans and media heavily criticized coach Daniel Guzmán. Eventually, Martínez was fired and replaced by a former president of the team, Alejandro Rodríguez. He signed Ricardo Ferretti as the head coach for the third time, upon which the face of the team changed completely. Tigres was saved from relegation and became one of the most competitive teams in the league. With the adherence of Argentine winger Damián Álvarez, Brazilian attacking midfielder Danilinho and Chilean striker Héctor Mancilla to captain Lucas Lobos, the offensive line of Tigres became the so-called "Cuatro Fantásticos" ("Fantastic Four").
In the Clausura 2011 season, Tigres finished the tournament as leader with 35 points and as the best defence in the history of the short seasons, allowing only 9 goals in 17 games. Tigres faced Guadalajara in the postseason. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, Tigres lost 3–1, while in the second they tied to 1–1 at the Estadio Universitario. With an aggregate score of 4–2, Tigres was eliminated. On the Apertura 2011, Tigres hired Carlos Salcido and was the best defense again, this time allowing 13 goals in 17 games. In playoffs, they faced old rival Pachuca: In the first leg of quarter-finals, Tigres defeated Pachuca by 1–0, while in the second they won 3–0 at the Estadio Universitario for an aggregate score of 4–0. In the semi-finals, Tigres beat Querétaro 1–0 in the second leg after a 0–0 draw in the first. In the finals, they faced Santos Laguna. In the first leg, Tigres won 1–0 in Torreón with goal from Damián Álvarez. On 11 December 2011, with goals from Héctor Mancilla, Danilinho and Alan Pulido, Tigres won 3–1 at the Estadio Universitario, becoming champion for the third time after 29 years.