Club Universidad Nacional: Mexico’s Red Brick University

Club Universidad Nacional: Mexico’s Red Brick University
February 12, 2022 210 view(s)
Club Universidad Nacional: Mexico’s Red Brick University

There has long been a link between football and academia. Many of the game’s earliest adopters were students, many of the game's earliest clubs were founded by students or alumni of schools and universities. Blackburn Rovers were founded by former students of Shrewsbury School in 1875, Real Madrid founded by students of Institución Libre de Enseñanza in 1902 and Hellas Verona F.C by classics students in 1903. However, whereas university teams in Europe remained amateur, upholding the “Corinthian spirit” and shunning the dawning professionalism of the modern game. Many university teams across the world made the move to professionalism, looking to use the exposure to promote their institutions as centres of excellence. As the game spread across the globe in the early 20th century many universities found themselves being the best teams in the land by the nature of having some of the youngest-fittest players who were able to dedicate time to training. This is most notable in Latin America where a number of clubs have made the step including Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica in Chile, Universitario and Cienciano in Peru, and National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

 

 

 

UNAM is the biggest university in Latin America, and has one of the biggest campuses in the world - so big in fact that it hosted the Olympic games in 1968. Originally founded in 1551 by King Carlos the First of Spain, when it was decreed the University of Mexico. The University was renamed and restructured in 1910 to position it away from the Catholic church with a more national scope. The idea was to bring Fine Arts, Business, Political Sciences, Law, Engineering and Medicine all under the new philosophy of Mexican liberalism as the country moved away from dictatorship to democracy following the Mexican Revolution. It’s alumni include some of the famous and greatest names in Mexico including World’s Fourth Richest Man Carlos Slim, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Mario Molina, Academy Award Winner Alfonso Cuarón and no less than six presidents of Mexico - including current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

 

The main campus Ciudad Universitaria (University City) was built in the 1950s, and at the time was the biggest building project in the country since the Aztecs. The 2,500 acre site is home to over 40 faculties, 3 museums, 5 theatres and the Mexico '68 Olympic Stadium. In 2007 in recognition of it’s incredible architecture the campus was made a UNESCO world heritage site. Many of the buildings are built using Tezontle, a volcanic rock that gives Mexican architecture that iconic terracotta red hue, and inspires the Club’s new Third kit.

 

  

 

Believe it or not, association football (or soccer) wasn’t always the most popular sport in Mexico. Back in the 1920s it was American football. UNAM had founded a team in 1927 and inspired by the great University of Notre Dame dynasty of the 1920s, they chose the colours Navy and Gold. With the help of American Industrialist Harry Ford Sinclair they quickly established themselves as the best team in Mexico. During their Golden Age of the 40s & 50s their coach Roberto Mendez would often compare the players to Pumas (“inteligentes, rápidos, feroces y de carácter noble”), this stuck with the fans who came to refer to the Universities athletes in all disciplines as the Pumas. During this time the dean of the university, Gustavo Baz Prada, hired former Costa Rica player Rodolfo "Butch" Muñoz to form a soccer club, who initially wore gold as a primary colour. Prada tried unsuccessfully to get the team registered in the Mexican league system, but by 1954 then dean Nabor Carrillo achieved the feat with the help of benefactor Guillermo Aguilar Alvarez Sr who then became the club’s first chairman. They played their first ever professional game on September 12th against current Liga MX Champions, Monterrey. For the start of their first season they switched to navy as a primary colour. By 1962 they were promoted to the top division following a 9-1 win over Club Cataluña de Torreón. In order to consolidate their position in the top division a board was appointed to oversee the running of the club and a youth system was established to develop their own players. This has gone on to become a key tenet of Pumas' philosophy and the club pride themselves on the players they have developed to represent the national team. To celebrate their promotion they played a single season with gold pinstripes over the navy base colour.

 

 

 

At the time of their promotion the club played with a simple crest of a hand drawn snarling puma head over a football. However during the 1970s the club began a huge leap forward that would render the crest amateurish. The club appointed Spanish manager Ángel Zubieta with the remit of successfully sourcing foriegn players to strengthen the team, whilst promoting home grown players to build the core of the team. The university’s Sports Director, Alejandro Cadaval Torres, hired Mexican graphic designer Manuel Rodríguez to come up with a modern design that would intimidate the opposition.

 

  

 

After three months of sketching pumas at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City he decided upon the now iconic ultra-modern design. The badge is an ingenious design incorporating many elements whilst clearly expressing the club's identity. Immediately you can see the face of the Puma from the team's nickname. However, less obviously the face forms a fist, as held proudly outstretched by the fans as they sing the club anthem, with the ears and ridge across the skull forming the knuckles and the mouth representing the thumb tucked underneath. The negative space that forms the Pumas features has multiple meanings. Firstly it forms a U for Universidad, secondly it is the shape of an american football goal to represent the University’s sporting origins, and lastly it forms the shape of a trophy for the success they have achieved. The crest sits on a uniquely shaped shield composed of a triangle formed from three circles representing the university’s three principles of Education, Research and the dissemination of Mexican culture. The crest debuted in the 1075 season, andwas originally worn at a regular size on the chest but during the season the crest was emblazoned across the torso to strike fear into the opposition 

 

 

 

During the mid-70s the club signed three players who would go on to help the team win their first title in 1977, Juan José Muñante from Peru, Cabinho from Brazil and Velibor Milutinović from Serbia. In 1976 the club signed theirs and Mexico’s greatest ever player Hugo Sánchez. Until then Sánchez  had been playing amatuer football, but was selected for the 1976 Olympic team due to his incredible record and amazing athleticism. As a boy Hugo was a keen gymnast, like his sister who was selected for the same Olympics, before following in his father’s footsteps to become a footballer. In 1977 Milutinović had been appointed manager and Sánchez had begun to find his feet. Utilising his exceptional agility Sánchez had developed a knack for scoring incredible goals from all angles and was regularly the league’s top scorer. The club won their second title as well as the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time in 1981 before he left the club for a career in Europe, not before earning a degree in Dentistry from the University. 

 

 

 

In 1986 Milutinović was hired as Mexico manager for their first World Cup as hosts. He selected a team with a core of Pumas players with Hugo Sánchez as the star, to the immense pride of their fans. The team achieved their best ever performance at the tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before being knocked out by West Germany - who would reach their second of three consecutive finals. The 90s started brightly for UNAM, winning another title this time beating Mexico City rivals Club América in the final and Jorge Campos, famous for wearing those mental shirts, was voted the World’s third best goalkeeper. However the decade was the start of a period of decline, before Hugo Sánchez returned as Manager. He won consecutive Championships with the club in 2004 with the Liga MX split into Apertura and Clausura tournaments, becoming the first club to achieve this. They won titles again in 2009 and 2011 which has been their last successes to date. During this time the club have had a rotating cycle of colours for their home, away and third shirts or either Navy, Gold, White or a combination in stripes or halves. 

 

 

 

For the 2022 Third kit the club have released their first ever red shirt. The colour is based on the red Tezontle stone that the university is built from as well as the colour of the Olympic running track that encircles the pitch at the stadium. The Puma crest sits in its usual position across the torso with gold and navy bands either side filling the space around it. The bands are echoed on the collar and cuffs going back to a simple Nike crew neck template. The match shirt will feature Nike’s new Dri-FIT Adv technology, but on the standard “Stadium” Dri-FIT shirt will be available commercially. Interestingly the shirt seems to be comprised of a front and back panel, stitched over raglan sleeves similar to Nike’s 2016 Aeroswift Vaporknit template. It will be interesting to see if there is an increasing merger between Nike Vapor and Dri-FIT Adv technologies, offering the best of both worlds. The Shirt and the accompanying life-style range will be available at Subside Sports soon.

 

 

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