Lanus players celebrate winning the Argentine league championship. (Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press)

Lanús is one of Argentina's major industrial centres, a bustling suburb that lies just south of Buenos Aires, which has the great claim to fame of being the birthplace of Diego Armando Maradona.

Born into poverty, Maradona shared one bedroom with seven siblings in a rickety tin house while growing up in a neighbourhood where he played soccer on the dirt streets from sunrise to sundown, often times without shoes on his feet or a shirt on his back.

El Diego, of course, went on to become the greatest player of his generation and a national hero, and for the longest time he had a strict patent on Argentina's most famous rags-to-riches story.

But now, another remarkable tale has emerged from Maradona's hometown, that of Club Atlético Lanús.

One of the country's more modest soccer clubs, Lanús clinched the first Argentine league title in its 92-year history on Sunday, a result that perfectly capped off a fairytale season for the boys from the barrios.

Sitting on a three-point lead over second-place Tigre, Lanús needed only to earn a draw in its final game of the season to wrap up the title. That was easier said than done, though, as Lanús faced the daunting mission of taking on Buenos Aires giants and reigning South American champions Boca Juniors, the New York Yankees of the Argentine league.

Undaunted, Lanús marched into the intimidating La Bombanera stadium and earned a 1-1 draw, thus becoming one of only four teams in history to celebrate winning a league title at Boca's home ground.

The sheer magnitude of Lanús's surprising title victory cannot be overstated, especially when you consider the team's humble beginnings.

Formed in 1915 with the merger of El Progreso and Lanus United, two clubs then struggling for survival, Club Atlético Lanús never really threatened to win the league title until it finished in second place in 1956, just seven seasons after it was competing in the second division.

Lanús toiled in Argentina's top flight for the next 20-plus years before hitting rock bottom the late 70s when it was condemned to play in the third division following back-to-back relegations in 1977 and 1978. What's more, the club was broke, amassing debts in excess of over one million dollars.

The club eventually got its financial house in order and slowly climbed its way back to the first division in 1990 after a 13-year hiatus, but things really began to happen in 1995 when Hector Cuper took over as the manager.

Cuper, who led Spanish side Valencia to consecutive Champions League final appearances in 2000 and 2001, built the team around Ariel Ibagaza and Gaston Coyete, two products of Lanús' youth academy who were also members of Argentina's under-20 team that won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1995.

Lanús would go on to record a pair of third-place finishes during Cuper's tenure, but more importantly, the chain-smoking manager laid the groundwork upon which the team's first title success would eventually be built.

If Cuper came up with the blueprint, then current coach Ramon Cabrero was the architect behind Lanús' championship season. Cabrero relied on a host of youngsters, most notably midfielder Lautaro Acosta and dangerous winger Diego Valeri when he took over the coaching reins at Lanús in 2005.

Cabrero called upon Acosta, Valeri and a host of other players who came up through the team's youth system to build an exciting, attacking team that showed glimpses of its potential in 2006 when it finished in second place.

This past season, Cabrero added a touch of veteran experience to the mix in the form of Jose Sand, a journeyman striker who flattered to deceive during the previous five seasons as he bounced from one team to another.

The addition of the former River Plate product proved to be a master stroke – Sand was the second-leading scorer in the league with 15 goals, including an incredible run where he scored 10 goals in nine games, as Lanús took the title.

Lanús' championship victory is all the more impressive when you consider the vice-like grip that the richer teams from Buenos Aires have had on the Argentine game.

Boca Juniors and River Plate have long ruled the soccer roost in Argentina, mostly because they have the resources and financial wherewithal to outspend their competitors, especially in a country with a depressed economy.

It's a situation that is not unlike what's gone on for years in the top European leagues (the English Premiership, the German Bundesliga, Serie A in Italy, and Spain's La Liga) where a very small cluster of rich teams have historically dominated.

But Lanús' improbable title victory offers hope to those soccer fans who have become so jaded and cynical after witnessing countless examples of clubs of modest means who mounted a brave challenge only to be inevitably swatted down by the game's rich elite – David might have been fortunate enough to connect with his first sling shot, but he always left himself vulnerable to Goliath's big club.

Lanús proved that it is indeed possible for David to slay Goliath.

John F. Molinaro is a reporter for CBCSports.ca whose chief love is international soccer. Contact John here.