UANL Tigres and Santos Laguna will face each other for the Mexican soccer’s Apertura (opening) championship for the first time ever.
Tigres will be trying to win their fourth title, despite not having won a Mexican League championship since the 1980-81 season. Santos Laguna is trying to capture their fourth title. Santos won the 1996 winter Tournament, 2001 summer Tournament and 2008 Clausura (closing) tournament.
The finalists of the 2011 Apertura tournament, after getting past Queretaro and Morelia respectively in the semifinals, faced each other in the quarterfinals of 2001 winter tournament, which Tigres won. They also met up in the 2001 summer tournament playoff game, which Santos Laguna won.
Tigres is back in the finals after eight years, defeated Morelia 1-0 (aggregate), when Pachuca defeated them in the 2003 Opening Tournament.
Santos, despite tying Morelia four-to-four (on aggregate), earned a berth to the finals due to their higher position in the regular season standings. This will be its fourth final in the last eight tournaments. It appeared in the 2010 Apertura tournament, the bicentennial 2010 tournament, and 2008 clausura tournament, which it won.
The two-leg final will start on Dec. 8 in Santos. Tigres will host the return leg three days later.
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