2012 Liga MX Apertura Liguilla
The Liguilla (English: Little League) of the 2012 Liga MX Apertura was the final knockout tournament involving eight teams of the Liga MX. The tournament began on November 14, 2012 and ended on December 12, 2012. The winners and runners-up of the competition qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League.
| Country |  |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | Tijuana |
| Runners-up | Toluca |
| Matches played | 14 |
| Goals scored | 36 (2.57 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  (3 goals) |
Teams
The eight best teams in the general table qualified for the competition.
| S | Team | Manager | Captain | Performance at the 2011 Apertura | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||||||
| 1 | Toluca | | | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 34 | ||
| 2 | Tijuana |  | | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 34 | ||
| 3 | León |  | TBD | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 33 | ||
| 4 | América | |  | 17 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 28 | 15 | +13 | 31 | ||
| 5 | Morelia | | | 17 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 27 | ||
| 6 | Cruz Azul | | | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 26 | ||
| 7 | Monterrey | | | 17 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 23 | ||
| 8 | Guadalajara |  | | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 23 | ||
Bracket
The eight qualified teams play two games against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each match up is determined by aggregate score.
The teams were seeded one to eight in quarterfinals, and will be re-seeded one to four in semifinals, depending on their position in the general table. The higher seeded teams play on their home field during the second leg.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Guadalajara | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | América | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | América | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Morelia | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Monterrey | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | León | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | León | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cruz Azul | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
- If the two teams are tied after both legs, the higher seeded team advances.
- Both finalist qualify to the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.
Quarter-finals
The first legs of the quarterfinals were played on November 14 and 15. The second legs were played on November 17 and 18.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guadalajara (8) | 2 – 5 | (1) Toluca | 1 – 2 | 1 – 3 |
| Monterrey (7) | 1 – 2 | (2) Tijuana | 0 – 1 | 1 – 1 |
| Cruz Azul (6) | 2 – 4 | (3) León | 2 – 1 | 0 – 3 |
| Morelia (5) | 2 – 3 | (4) América | 0 – 2 | 2 – 1 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 14, 2012 | Cruz Azul | 2 – 1 | León | Estadio Azul, Mexico City |
| 19:00 | G. Flores  M. Pavone |
Report | |
Referee: Ricardo Arellano |
| November 14, 2012 | Morelia | 0 – 2 | América | Estadio Morelos, Morelia |
| 21:00 | M. Romero  |
Report | |
Referee: Jorge Pérez |
| November 15, 2012 | Monterrey | 0 – 1 | Tijuana | Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey |
| 19:00 | Report | |
Referee: Erim Ramírez |
| November 15, 2012 | Guadalajara | 1 – 2 | Toluca | Estadio Omnilife, Zapopan |
| 21:00 | R. Márquez Lugo |
Report | |
Referee: Fernando Guerrero |
Second leg
| November 17, 2012 | América | 1 – 2 | Morelia | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| 17:00 | R. Jiménez |
Report | |
Referee: Francisco Chacón |
| November 17, 2012 | León | 3 – 0 | Cruz Azul | Estadio León, León |
| 19:00 | M. Britos L. Delgado |
Report | Referee: Marco Rodriquez |
| November 18, 2012 | Toluca | 3 – 1 | Guadalajara | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 12:00 | Wilson Mathías Lucas Silva J. Cacho |
Report | |
Referee: Jesús Morales |
| November 18, 2012 | Tijuana | 1 – 1 | Monterrey | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 16:30 PST | A. de Nigris |
Report | |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
Semi-finals
The first legs of the semifinals were played on November 22 and November 25. The second legs were played on December 3 and 4.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| América (4) | 2 – 3 | (1) Toluca | 0 – 2 | 2 – 1 |
| León (3) | 2 – 3 | (2) Tijuana | 2 – 0 | 0 – 3 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 22, 2012 | América | 0 – 2 | Toluca | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| 19:00 | Report | |
Referee: Jorge Pérez |
| November 22, 2012 | León | 2 – 0 | Tijuana | Estadio León, León |
| 21:00 | O. Arce C. Peña |
Report | Referee: Francisco Chacón |
Second leg
| November 25, 2012 | Toluca | 1 – 2 | América | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 12:00 | É. Benítez |
Report | |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
| November 25, 2012 | Tijuana | 3 – 0 | León | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 16:30 PST | F. Martínez D. Riascos R. Ruiz |
Report | Referee: Marco Rodriquez |
Final
The first leg of the final was played on November 29, the second leg on December 2.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tijuana (2) | 4 – 1 | (1) Toluca | 2 – 1 | 2 – 0 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 29, 2012 | Tijuana | 2 – 1 | Toluca | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 19:00 PST | F. Martínez P. Aguilar C. Pellerano  F. Arce |
Report | |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
Second leg
| December 2, 2012 | Toluca | 0 – 2 | Tijuana | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 18:00 | C. Esquivel D. Novaretti |
Report | |
Referee: Francisco Chacón |
| Apertura 2012 winners: |
|---|
| Tijuana 1st Title |