Since his arrival at the National University Club, Andrés Lillini has become the unexpected architect of the return of university students to the dispute over the greatness of Mexican football. In his most recent glorious chapter he managed to return the Pumas to the final of an international tournament. Although his passage has not been consecrated with any title, the team has improved and achieved crucial achievements that could present him with the glory of the championship.
The panorama of the auriazul fans and the university management was stamped on July 23, 2020. Three days after the start of the Guard1anes 2020 tournament, Spaniard Miguel González Michel left the club's technical management without having stayed for more than a year. The immediate and viable option was to make Andrés Lillini, then director of Basic Forces, the interim coach of the first team, a decision that the fans would celebrate months later with three key achievements.
For several semesters, the Pumas found it difficult to transcend in the league when they faced Mexico City rivals, that is, America and Cruz Azul. In the case of the Eagles, the last time they were eliminated was because of the scandalous score of six goals to one in the semifinals of the 2018 Apertura at the Azteca Stadium. However, the arrival of Lillini transformed the landscape.
In the quarter-finals of the Grita México Apertura 2021 tournament, the Aguilas de Santiago Solari and the Pumas de Lillini met on the court of the Azteca Stadium during the return match. With the overall scoreboard without goals, the Coapa team went to the front in the scoreboard in the 11th minute, but the university students came up the score with two goals from Washington Corozo and one more from Higor Meritao. Although they qualified through the repechage route, they eliminated the leader.
In the case of Cruz Azul, they achieved an almost impossible feat at Guard1anes 2020. After falling by four to zero at Estadio Azteca, during the semifinal round, they returned to Ciudad Universitaria with the claw to rescue the match. At minute 4, 37 and 41, Juan Ignacio Dinenno and Carlos González managed to get closer. When it seemed that the team from La Noria would take the final, Juan Pablo Vigón scored the fourth in the final minutes and got the pass to the semifinal they lost to the Atlas Rojinegros.
After the final lost against the UANL Tigers in the 2015 Apertura, the Pumas became the great absentee in a final match. It took ten semesters and the arrival of Lillini for the team to play the leading role again in a league title match.
At Guard1anes 2020, after having finished as sub-leaders, the Pumas broke through by beating Pachuca in the quarterfinals, as well as Cruz Azul with the epic comeback in the semifinal. The stellar match was held against the leader León and, although the match in Ciudad Universitaria ended with a close one-goal draw, the green bellies won by two to zero on the return inside the Nou Camp.
At the moment, Lillini's most outstanding achievement in his management is the arrival of an international final after 17 years. By beating Cruz Azul in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League semifinal, by overall score at Estadio Azteca, the Pumas were able to qualify for the confederation's stellar match for the first time since 2005, when they lost to Costa Rica's Saprissa.
Andrés Lillini will have to wait to see if New York City FC or Seattle Sounders will be his rival in the final. Although it has not yet been confirmed that the Club World Cup will be held by the 2021-22 Concachampions champion, the Argentine has the opportunity to add a title to the University showcases for the first time since the 2011 Clausura tournament.
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