Paulino de la Fuente has become one of the protagonists of the season in Mexico. The Spaniard was proclaimed champion of the Liguilla de Apertura, only a few months after arriving in Pachuca. “Mexico has welcomed me well, with a gold medal… the truth is that it couldn’t have had a better welcome”, he assured pitch-side at the Hidalgo Stadium after the second leg of the final against Toluca in which they have swept them aside 8-2 on aggregate. Pau has taken over as the successful Spaniard in Mexico from Marc Crosas, champion in 2012 with Santos Laguna. The first Spaniard to win a trophy in Mexico was goalkeeper Félix López, who lifted the title with Toluca in 1968; Paulino has entered a very select club of champions with his win.
A year ago, the winger born in Santander suffered defeat with Málaga in a match against Real Oviedo, a few days before one of his last games in the Spanish Second Division. Both football and his life have taken an important leap.:“I still can’t believe it, really, but I think it’s deserved. We have done a great job, this team faced defeat in the previous final and it was very hard, but we have come back very strong”, he confessed excitedly.
Pachuca has once again come out on top in a final, adding its seventh title at domestic level and they are already looking for more: in 2023 they will also play in the CONCACAF Champions League. Paulino has fulfilled a dream, playing his first professional final, and he is going for more in Mexico. “I want to thank everyone for the way that they have treated me so far”, he reinforced. Another story and a great family has been found in Pachuca: “We are all here to help, the thirty players show it every time we go on the pitch. I think it’s amazing”. The club project, the atmosphere within the group, life… everything is going perfectly. In the first leg, Paulino helped to start the journey to the final, providing the assist for Nico Ibáñez’s 0-5 goal.
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Another level with Almada
Pachuca squad is the perfect blend of youth and experience, all perfectly directed by “El ‘Profe’ Almada, one of the best tacticians on the continent. “He pushes us a lot, but he has given us all of this”, Paulino stressed. Erick Sánchez, Kevin Álvarez, Cabral, Romario Ibarra, Luis Chávez, Óscar Murillo, Nico Ibáñez: they have all had an outstanding season in Mexico.
Paulino has gone from zero to hero after he started in the two decisive games. “The adaptation has taken its course, little by little. I have not been in a hurry, I wanted to go step by step with a lot of patience. I wanted to play more, but you can’t do everything when you want and that’s just how it is. You have to work, you have to do things very well. In addition to adapting to the altitude, it’s a different league and thank God I was able to play in the final, have good results and I’m very happy”. Today, it seems that the decision to swap Europe for Mexico was an easy one, but it certainly required courage and vision from both the player and the people around him.