Pumas Reach New Heights of Success Defying All Odds

The National Autonomous University of Mexico's football team, Pumas, have reached new heights in their careers with them winning more titles than any other team in the Mexican league.

The Guardian noted that the team got this new achievement even though they are one of the lowest paid teams in the league.

Aside from producing great homegrown stars like Hugo Sanchez, the team has also achieved a huge following, not only in Mexico but in other countries as well.

"The Pumas had no business topping the league during the regular season, before overcoming a team owned by the country's media monolith Televisa in the semi-final -- but they did," detailed The Guardian.

It also noted that during their game versus Monterrey's Tigres, they were able to accomplish a new achievement for the team.

Despite the 3-0 win for the Tigres, ESPN said the Pumas did not give the victors an easy fight. It recalled seeing the Pumas turning the entire game "into a dogfight, clawing and scratching their way back into contention by tying up the aggregate score 3-3."

An overtime in the game gave the Tigres another goal, but the Pumas did not lose hope and even sent the match to the counting of penalties, where the latter fell short versus their opponents.

In a similar report, Daily Mail said that the Tigres admitted that the win was hard to pull off versus the Pumas.

"It was a very complicated match, a good test for the crowd's hearts. We would have liked less suffering but what matters is we are champions," said Tigres' Brazilian midfielder Juninho.

ESPN added that the match was one of the most exciting and exhausting games in the history of the league since the Pumas were able to push the Tigres to the end, though they failed to seal the win.

Even though they lost to the Tigres last week, the Pumas were still able to prove that they can produce great results despite not having big names on the team.

They were also able to survive despite the low salaries of the players, with former defender Marco Antonio "Pikolín" Palacios admitting that the numbers reached historic levels.

"Yes, it is and that is historic! It is the nice thing about this team, which makes you see that there are other values that are important aside from that of money alone," he was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

The same report noted that the motivation of the team has always been based on the support of their fans and their enthusiasm.