They bought a couple of wingers, Javier Aquino and Jurgen Damm, plus, even more intriguingly, French international center-forward and second top-goalscorer in Ligue 1 last season, Andre-Pierre Gignac from Marseille.Ĭan they secure the first blow in Mexico before defining in Argentina? How River got here Led by Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti (now a contender to replace the sacked Miguel ''Piojo'' Herrera as the head coach of Mexico), their relative financial strength paved a huge way entering the first semifiinal. The two other sides: Cruz Azul and Chivas lost in 20 respectively to Boca Juniors and Inter.Ĭan they make history and become the first ever Mexican team to win South America's biggest prize? Tigres will become the third ever since to make it to a Copa Libertadores final since Mexican clubs were invited to take part in the competition in 1998. This run included beating Universitario of Bolivia in the Round of 16 and Emelec of Ecuador in the quarterfinals. The Tigres qualified for this final for the first time in their history having beaten Internacional of Porto Alegre of Brazil after losing the first leg in Brazil, 2-1 and winning the second leg at home, 3-1. However, once more, River managed to force a draw in those five minutes to qualify to the knockout stage. The Mexicans rested some players and were 2-0 up with less than five minutes to go. In Mexico, the Tigres were already qualified for the knockout stage, while River were looking for every point they could get, with the risk of possible elimination looming. In Buenos Aires in early March, the home defence could not cope with the pace of Ecuadorian Joffre Guerron (who cannot even get into the starting line up now because of the new incorperations of the squad) had to dig deep to come back and force a 1-1 draw. They were together in Group Six, where both clashes ended in a draw - but there was no doubt that the Tigres were the better side. However, this time it will be for the biggest prize of all of South America, as the first leg will be played at the Estadio Universitario, otherwise known as '' El Volcán'' (' The Volcano'). The Tigres of Mexico will take on River Plate of Argentina for the third time in this year's edition of the Copa Libertadores, having met twice in their own group, home and away.

Tigres vs cruz azul 2015