PUMAS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK WITH MOHAMED
When Pumas made official the incorporation of seasoned Argentinian coach Antonio Mohamed into their team, most people recognized the value that the signing would bring to a team that was having a dismal season.
The team –which stopped working with Andres Lillini after 5 tournaments, and who reached one final and one semifinal– had a decent start with their new coach Andres Puente del Rio, getting two victories, two draws and one defeat, including a categorical 4-1 against Leon in the third matchday. Then the nosedive fall began in the sixth gameday, after falling 2-4 against Tigres. The team became a losing machine, failing to get a single point other than a lone victory against Mazatlan.
And it was precisely Mazatlan the only team that got worse results than UNAM, with two victories and one draw in 15 games. Both teams shared the bottom of the table until Mohamed came in. Many fans rejoiced, not only because of his previous success in the league, and the disastrous management by Del Rio, but also because he remembered by heart the Pumas line-up from back when he arrived in Mexico as a player in 1993.
After a somber debut against Queretaro, all the high hopes seemed to vanish, but then followed a win against San Luis, where they didn’t play the better football but got the result they needed. They started to leave the bottom of the table but what would follow was a decisive game against the second best team of the tournament and last year’s runner-up Ignacio Ambriz’s Toluca.
A memorable afternoon at CU, with an inspired team that knew it was all or nothing. With an ever effective Dinenno –who has scored 8 goals in 15 matches– scoring the first goal in the first minute and an impressive Cesar ‘Chino’ huerta, who scored a superb goal coming in front the left, leaving one defender behind and nutmegging a second one, only to finish with a clinical right that was impossible for Thiago Volpi to reach. Eduardo Salvio would seal the game with a penalty coming in just before half-time, after yet another impressive run coming from the left by Huerta, who could only be stopped with a foul.
What lies ahead are two very difficult games, against both the second and first teams of this tournament, America and Monterrey. Both matches will be away, however against America the entry could be closer to a 50-50 split. Pumas are currently sitting on the 12th and last spot granting an entry to the playoffs, via wild card games, meaning that it is in their hands to advance.
It seemed that the timely sacking of Puente del Rio and the arrival of a seasoned coach with a long history of good work was exactly what the team needed to aspire to something better.
