In late 2004, even the most optimistic of Club Atletico Tigre fans may have struggled to imagine their beloved side rubbing shoulders with Argentina's finest. Yet the upwardly mobile outfit had already taken their first steps back to the top after winning the Torneo Apertura (Opening Championship) in the Primera B Metropolitana division, the third tier of the domestic game.

Two-and-a-half years on and Los Matadores were back in the first division, ending a 27-year wait for another taste of top-flight football. The pain of all those years in exile was quickly forgotten in a flurry of goals on 23 September 2007. Tigre put the mighty River Plate to the sword in an emphatic 4-1 home win, underlining their status as Apertura 2007 surprise packages.

With 17 points after ten rounds of matches, Tigre have a share of third place, five points behind leaders Independiente and three behind Boca Juniors. Their fan base has been remarkable too, with the modest club from Buenos Aires province filling away ends across Argentina. So what is the key to their success? "The secret is that there is no secret," says enigmatic young coach Diego Cagna.

105 not out
On Saturday 3 August 1902, a group of 12 youngsters led by Jose Dellagiovanna gathered at the latter's house in the Partido de las Conchas district (later renamed Tigre district) to found Club Atletico Juventud del Tigre.

In 1911, the club took its current name and a year later would become one of the founder members of the fledgling Argentinian Football Association. The shirt colours of navy blue and red have remained the same since their foundation, and are based on a blue-and-red striped flag belonging to Dellagiovanna.

Given the shirt's similarity to the one used by San Lorenzo, Tigres were forced to change the design in 1919, although they were able to revert to the original three-striped layout during the 70s. Their previous promotion to the top division came back in 1979, around the time the club earned the nickname Los Matadores (The Bullfighters), in homage to the great San Lorenzo side of the late 60s.

Long road back
Tigre followed up their Primera B Metropolitana Apertura win in late 2004 with the following year's Clausura (Closing) title to earn a direct passage into the B Nacional division, the second tier of Argentinian football. From that point in mid-2005, it would take Los Matadores two seasons and a successful promotion play-off to claim a spot in the promised land of the Primera División.

Their rivals in that play-off were first-division side Nueva Chicago. Tigre won 1-0 in the Estadio de Victoria and then 2-1 away on 25 June 2007 to celebrate promotion to the highest division for the fifth time in their history. Tigre had previously achieved this feat in 1945 and 1953, lasting five years at the top on both occasions, and in both 1967 and 1979, where their stay lasted just a year. Their best finish came in 1955, when they claimed sixth spot in the league.

Stability the key
While Cagna modestly claims there is no secret formula behind Tigre's success, the club board's brave decision in early 2007 to appoint an untested young coach was pivotal. Instead of demanding expensive new recruits, the former Argentina and Boca Juniors midfielder quietly went about boosting the confidence of the players under his command. His simple and direct style of management has brought spectacular results and comparisons with his former mentor and legendary Xeneize coach Carlos Bianchi.

Of the players that helped thump River on Sunday, defender and captain Juan Blengio and midfielders Martin Galmarini, Diego Castano, Nicolas Torres and Matias Gimenez were all involved in both of Tigre's recent promotion campaigns while most of the remaining squad members were involved in the play-off against Chicago.

Perhaps the biggest name is striker Leandro Lazzaro, who signed for Tigre in 2004 after spells in the Czech Republic and Italy's Serie B. "Many recently promoted teams are well-regarded but go back down the following year. We enjoy winning games with attractive football, but we're not afraid to grind out results if it means getting enough points to stay up," says Lazzaro, scorer of 10 goals in the promotion campaign and with six so far in the Apertura 2007.

So just how far can Tigre go? According to coach Cagna: "If we keep racking up the points like this then of course we'll stay near the top, but that's not our objective. At the moment I'm very proud of the team's style of play and their displays on the pitch. We'll see what happens later on." Whatever does occur during the rest of the campaign, the 4-1 humbling of Los Millonarios will live long in the memory...