TIJUANA- Members of Mexican soccer club Pumas UNAM made their way on to the artificial turf at Estadio Caliente Friday night.

Some walked, other jogged onto their respective side of the field for warm ups to the sounds of jeers from the sold out stadium. That was expected of the 20,773 in attendance that came to see Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles beat Pumas 1-0 in a Week 3 matchup of the Apertura tournament with a Pablo Aguilar score in the 45th minute.

But some of those boos turned into scattered cheers as Pumas coach Joaquin del Olmo walked onto the playing field. Del Olmo was the last member of Pumas to exit the visiting team tunnel.

Del Olmo proceeded to visit with some of the Xolos players, particularly with those he coached when he was Tijuana's manager. He hugged Xolos striker Raul Enriquez. He Spoke with defender Javier Gandolfi. But Del Olmo spent a little more time exchanging a hug with Xolos midfielder Joe Corona.

Corona and Del Olmo have a history together. It was del Olmo who gave Corona, a Sweetwater High and SDSU alumn, the chance to earn a slot in Mexican soccer.

That was when the Xolos were still part of the Liga de Ascenso or Second Division. That was four years ago. Corona was fresh off his first season playing collegiate soccer for the Aztecs. It was when Corona had decided to forfeit his partial scholarship at the University for an Opportunity to turn pro.

"(Del Olmo) is a person that I really respect," Corona said. "He was the one who brought me to the first Division and it's always going to be that way. But that's another story. We are now rivals. But it feels nice to be able to play against a person who game me such a chance."

Del Olmo, who coached the Xolos for three seasons before being fired last summer in favor of Antonio Mohamed after the Xolos started the 2011 Apertura season with one win in nine matches.

Xolos players protested with team administrators to keep del Olmo despite the lack of wins and scoring. The Xolos were often the better team but could not find the net with Del Olmo in charge. Corona was a del Olmo supporter. Del Olmo often used Corona in the starting lineup. Mohamed began to use Corona as a substitute when the new coach took over the team. Mohamed eventually plugged Corona in the starting lineup.

Corona started Friday night and played 70 minutes against Pumas before being subbed for by Richard Ruiz, who returned to action for the first time since suffering an injury last season.

Del Olmo got to see his team try to penetrate a stingy Xolos defense. Pumas, who came into the match unbeaten, couldn't penetrate Tijuana's five-man backline.

That appeared to bother del Olmo on a night of his return to his former home.

"This (Xolos) team doesn't have a lot of players that were with me when I was coaching here," a serene del Olmo said in the postgame news conference. "Every game is different, I don't think that influenced in the result."

When asked how a loss against his former team ranked in his career, del Olmo continued to try and shy away from his personal ties to Tijuana.

"Tijuana always has had a marvelous fan base," del Olmo said. "The loss hurts because I am now with Pumas. I have great friends (in Tijuana), including players, but that's it."

It was the Xolos first victory against Pumas as members of the First Division. And they did it against their former coach, a man the city of Tijuana once idolized for bringing the club to Mexico's top flight league.