Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM or their nickname Pumas, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Founded in 1954, they play their home games at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.
Domestically, Pumas UNAM has won 11 trophies: 7 Liga MX, 1 Copa MX, the Campeón de Campeones twice, as well as 1 Segunda División de México. In international club football, the club has won 3 CONCACAF Champions Cups and 1 Copa Interamericana. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Club América in the derbi capitalino.
The club is one of the most popular clubs in Mexico. It is considered to be one of the Cuatro Grandes of Mexican football, alongside Cruz Azul, Guadalajara, and Club América.
The team is also known for its youth development system, which has produced international players such as Hugo Sánchez, Manuel Negrete, Luis Flores, Miguel España, Claudio Suárez, Luis García, Alberto García Aspe, David Patiño, Jorge Campos, Braulio Luna, Gerardo Torrado, Francisco Fonseca, Efraín Juárez, Héctor Moreno, Pablo Barrera, Israel Castro, Eduardo Herrera and Jesús Gallardo.
Los Pumas
Club Universidad Nacional (Pumas UNAM) was originally an amateur club of college students from UNAM's several schools and then developed into a professional team competing in the Mexican football league. It is now one of the biggest clubs in all of Mexico. It has evolved into one of the most popular Mexican teams and has gained an international following.
The team's blue and gold colors were selected as a tribute to the University of Notre Dame, whose football coaches helped to develop an American-style football team at the university. The nickname was inspired by Roberto 'Tapatio' Mendez, who coached the team from 1946 to 1964 and whose motivational speeches often compared his players to pumas. The nickname stayed with the public, and all the athletic teams representing the university have been called Pumas.
Their home ground is the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, the main venue of the 1968 Summer Olympics. It has a seating capacity of over 72,000. The stadium is situated within the campus which enables easy access by the students. The Pumas have training facilities within the campus but their main complex is the Cantera, located nearby.
History
The dean of the university, Luis Chico Goerne, made the first attempt to affiliate a representative of UNAM with the top football Mexican championship of the day, filing a petition to join the Liga Mayor de Fútbol Professional del Distrito Federal. The petition was rejected in favor of de Morelos. Therefore, Pumas played 13 years in Mexicos Liga De Ascenso.
By the 1940s, the dean Gustavo Baz Prada assigned the task to prepare the UNAM team to Rodolfo "Butch" Muñoz, then player of Club España. The new manager formed its new team with members of the student body of the many schools and faculties of the university. The UNAM team joined many university tournaments, with successful results, and "Butch" Muñoz went on to manage the team for 13 years. This prepared the team to complete its later transition to professional status.
Establishment: 1950s
In August 1954, the Club Universidad was accepted as a member of the Segunda División, in those days the second tier division of professional football in Mexico. This achievement was accomplished with the support of the dean Nabor Carrillo and Guillermo Aguilar Alvarez Sr., a benefactor of the club. Aguilar Alvarez was appointed by the dean as the chairman of the club.
On September 12, 1954 UNAM played its first professional game, an away match against Monterrey. After competing for three years, Club Universidad requested a one-year moratorium in its competing in Segunda División play to undergo a programme rebuilding process. Within that year, Hector Ortiz was appointed as the new manager of the club, and a Board of Patrons was formed.
The promotion: 1960s
Pumas UNAM realized its objective of promotion from Segunda División to Primera División when Club Universidad won the home-played promotion match on January 9, 1962, by defeating Club Cataluña de Torreón, 9–1. The match ended, the students rushed the pitch, and honored its team by carrying them off the field on their shoulders—this was the first step towards the consolidation of the club.