Coupe de la Ligue explained

Upright:0.55
Region:France
Number Of Teams:42
Qualifier For:UEFA Europa League

The Coupe de la Ligue (in French pronounced as /kup də la liɡ/), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel.[1] The tournament was established in 1993[2] and, unlike the Coupe de France, was only open to professional clubs in France which play in country's top three football divisions, though the third is not fully professional.

The most successful team in the competition was Paris Saint-Germain with nine wins, including the last edition in 2019–20. The LFP voted to suspend the competition indefinitely to "reduce the season schedule".[3]

Precursors

Another competition named Coupe de la Ligue existed from 1963 to 1965. In 1982, a Coupe d'Eté (Summer cup) was held before the start of the French league season; the cup was won by Laval.[4] This tournament continued under the name of Coupe de la Ligue, until 1994, before the beginning of the French season.[5] (The 1991 edition was open only for Division 2 Teams).

History

The tournament in its last 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, was offered to the winning team.[2] Its first winner was Paris Saint-Germain, after their 2–0 victory over Bastia.[6] The first final decided by a penalty shootout was in 1996 when Metz beat Lyon.[7] 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.[8] Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain 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 were 14 winners of the competition since its inception.[5]

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.[9] The LFP suspended the competition indefinitely after the 2019–20 season, to reduce fixture congestion.[3] In the last final in 2020, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon drew 0–0 and the former won 6–5 on penalties.[10]

Winners

See main article: List of Coupe de la Ligue finals.

TeamWinnersRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up
Paris Saint-Germain912000
Strasbourg401964, 1997, 2005, 2019—
Bordeaux332002, 2007, 20091997, 1998, 2010
Marseille302010, 2011, 2012—
Metz211986, 19961999
Lens211994, 19992008
Laval201982, 1984—
Lyon1520011996, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2020
Monaco1420031984, 2001, 2017, 2018
Montpellier1219921994, 2011
Nantes1119652004
Sochaux1120042003
Nancy1120061982
Reims101991—
Gueugnon102000—
Saint-Étienne102013—

Records

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: League Cup. Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 February 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090217183342/http://frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/. 17 February 2009.
  2. Web site: League Cup History . . 20 February 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080219055505/http://www.frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/lireArticle.asp?idArticle=7782 . 19 February 2008.
  3. News: French League Cup to end from 2020 'to reduce season schedule'. BBC Sport. 18 September 2019. 18 September 2019.
  4. Web site: France Summer Cup 1982. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 20 February 2009.
  5. Web site: France — List of League Cup Finals. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 19 February 2009.
  6. Web site: Paris Saint-Germain 2–0 SC Bastia. Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 February 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090803152532/http://www.frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/feuilleMatch.asp?saison=1994%2F1995&code_evt=CL&num_ordre=1&code_jr_tr=T99. 3 August 2009. dead.
  7. Web site: FC Metz 0–0 Olympique Lyonnais. Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 February 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090804211403/http://www.frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/feuilleMatch.asp?saison=1995%2F1996&code_evt=CL&num_ordre=1&code_jr_tr=T99. 4 August 2009. dead.
  8. Web site: Roll of Honour . . 20 February 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090216200341/http://frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/palmares.asp . 16 February 2009.
  9. News: Coupe de la Ligue - Finale à Lyon en 2017, Bordeaux en 2018 et Lille en 2019. 15 September 2017. Le Parisien. 1 September 2016. fr. 9 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171009144135/http://www.leparisien.fr/lille-59000/coupe-de-la-ligue-finale-a-lyon-en-2017-bordeaux-en-2018-et-lille-en-2019-01-09-2016-6086607.php. dead.
  10. News: Meulewaeter . Lancelot . Le PSG bat l'OL aux tirs au but dans l'ultime finale de Coupe de la Ligue. PSG beat OL on penalties in the last Coupe de la Ligue final . 31 July 2020 . RTBF . 31 July 2020 . fr.
  11. Web site: Roll of Honour . Ligue de Football Professionnel . 20 February 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090216200341/http://frenchleague.com/coupeLigue/palmares.asp . 16 February 2009.
  12. Web site: Coupe de la Ligue BKT: Records and stats of the 25 Finals . Ligue 1 . 29 July 2020 . 15 February 2021 .
  13. Web site: Top Scorer — All Time. Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 February 2009.
  14. Web site: Cavani, Marquinhos 6/10 as PSG dig out victory. 19 December 2018. ESPN. 19 December 2018.
  15. Web site: Top Scorer — Season 1997–98. Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 February 2009.

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