Tigres' Damian Alvarez (pictured) has been part of three CONCACAF club title-winning sides. (Photo: Mexsport)

ZUAZUA, Mexico – If you want to know what it takes to win an international title, Tigres’ Damian Alvarez is a good person from whom to seek guidance.

After all, the 36-year-old has won four of them, each with Pachuca: Copa Sudamericana (2006), CONCACAF Champions Cup (2007, 2008) and the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League (2009/10),

He’ll be trying to win his first with UANL, when it hosts defending champion Club America in the first leg of the 2015/16 SCCL final on Wednesday at the Estadio Universitario.

“It’s a final, it looks good for all the senses,” said Alvarez, who has two career SCCL goals, including one against Cruz Azul in the first leg of the 2009/10 deciding series. “It is important to know that the two matches in the final can take us to the Club Word Cup, an important tournament for the club.”

Alvarez has played in two FIFA Club World Cups, appearing in four games and scoring one goal against Egypt’s Al-Ahly – the game-winner -- in the 2008 quarterfinal. A return to the big stage would suit him just fine.

“We are two teams with very big potential, with very good players,” the River Plate product remarked. “In the last few years, both have been constants. I hope it becomes a custom for Tigres to be playing finals because we like to be in the big games.”

Tigres, the current Mexican champion, and Club America met in the 2014 Liga MX Apertura final. Each side won at home by a shutout, but the Mexico City giant ultimately prevailed 3-1 on aggregate.

“We always like to be fighting for those privileged spots of playing in finals and important games,” expressed Alvarez. “I think this will be highly contested final. We are always confident that we can demonstrate our characteristics that we know how to play these type of games.”

Tigres has never won an international crown, but reached the 2015 Copa Libertadores final, before falling 3-0 on aggregate to River Plate.

Were there any lessons learned from that experience?

“We always take the positives out of this (playing in finals),” Alvarez finished. “Being optimistic, we need to get a good (goal) differential (at home) and not commit the same mistakes like we’ve done in the past.

“We don’t want to change or play with the result. This team has shown that when we are looking for a result, we can get the result.   In the past, when we’ve tried to take care of the result, we’ve struggled.”

Tigres has never lost a SCCL game at home, posting a 6W-1D-0L record, striking for 16 goals and conceding only one. Despite those numbers, Alvarez refused to say that Tigres is a favorite, preferring to let his team’s actions on the field speak for themselves.

“There are elements that could make us the favorite because we have the willingness to win,” he finished. “We are very clear on what we have to do in order to win…being favored…we have to prove it on the field.”