Coupe de la Ligue

Coupe de la Ligue
Founded 1994
Number of teams 42
Qualifier for UEFA Europa League
Current champions Paris Saint-Germain (8th title)
Most successful club(s) Paris Saint-Germain (8 titles)
Television broadcasters France 2, France 3, France 4 (France Télévisions)
Canal +
2018–19 Coupe de la Ligue

The Coupe de la Ligue (French pronunciation: ​[kup də la liɡ]), known outside France as the French League Cup, is a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel.[1] The tournament was established in 1994[2] and, unlike the Coupe de France, is only open to professional clubs in France which play in country's top three football divisions, though only four professional clubs currently play in the Championnat National.

Paris Saint-Germain are the current champions, having defeated Monaco 3–0 for a record eighth title in the 2017–2018 competition.

Precursors

Competitions similar to the Coupe de la Ligue had been previously held in France.[3] The Coupe Charles Drago was held from 1953 to 1965; it involved teams eliminated from the Coupe de France.[3] The winner of the first Coupe Charles Drago final was decided by a coin-toss when Sochaux and Toulouse tied 3–3 after extra time.[2] Another competition named Coupe de la Ligue existed from 1963 to 1965; this was run alongside the Coupe Charles Drago for two years until they both ceased.[3] In 1982, a Coupe d'Eté (Summer cup) was held before the start of the French league season; the cup was won by Stade Laval.[4] This tournament continued under the name of Coupe de la Ligue, until 1994, before the beginning of the French season.[3]

History

Coupe de la Ligue trophy

The tournament in its current format started in 1994 and was initiated by the professional teams because of their displeasure with the Coupe de France, thanks to its built-in home advantage for teams playing in the lower leagues. Entrance to the UEFA Cup, now called the UEFA Europa League, is offered to the winning team.[2] Its first winner was Paris Saint-Germain, after their 2–0 victory over Bastia.[5] The first final decided by a penalty shootout was in 1996 when Metz beat Lyon.[6] The first three finals were held at Parc des Princes; from 1998 edition until 2015, the finals have been held at the Stade de France.[7] Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain have won the competition at both stadiums.[2] Gueugnon became the first team below the top division of France to win the cup after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the 2000 final.[2] Overall, there have been 14 winners of the competition since its inception.[3] The current holders of the cup are Paris Saint-Germain, who beat AS Monaco in the 2017 final to win the cup for a record eighth time, fourth in a row.[3]

For over 20 years from its inception, finals of the tournament were only held in the Paris area: the first three were at the Parc des Princes and the rest at the Stade de France. This changed in September 2016 when the LFP announced that the next three finals would be held in Lyon, Bordeaux and Lille respectively.[8]

Winners

Team Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Paris Saint-Germain811995, 1998, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 20182000
Bordeaux332002, 2007, 20091997, 1998, 2010
Marseille302010, 2011, 2012—
Strasbourg301964, 1997, 2005—
Metz211986, 19961999
Lens211994, 19992008
Laval201982, 1984—
Lyon1420011996, 2007, 2012, 2014
Monaco1420031984, 2001, 2017, 2018
Montpellier1119921994, 2011
Nantes1119652004
Sochaux1120042003
Nancy1120061982
Reims101991—
Gueugnon102000—
Saint-Étienne102013—

Records

Media coverage

In France, the Coupe de la Ligue is broadcast by France Television until the 2008–09 season and will continue to do so until at least the 2015–16 season.

In Spain, the Coupe de la Ligue is broadcast by beIN Sports (Spain).

In Australia the Coupe de la Ligue is broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia.

In many parts of the world the game is broadcast live on TV5Monde.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "League Cup". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "League Cup History". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "France — List of League Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  4. ↑ "France Summer Cup 1982". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  5. ↑ "Paris Saint-Germain 2–0 SC Bastia". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  6. ↑ "FC Metz 0–0 Olympique Lyonnais". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Roll of Honour". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  8. ↑ "Coupe de la Ligue - Finale à Lyon en 2017, Bordeaux en 2018 et Lille en 2019". Le Parisien (in French). 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Roll of Honour". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  10. ↑ "Top Scorer — All Time". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  11. ↑ "Top Scorer — Season 1997–98". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.