Coupe de la Ligue

French football tournament

This article is about the football competition. For the ice hockey competition, see Coupe de la Ligue (ice hockey).

Football tournament

Coupe de la Ligue

Founded| 1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Abolished| 2020; 4 years ago (2020)
Region| France
Number of teams| 42
Qualifier for| UEFA Europa League
Last champions| Paris Saint-Germain (9th title)
Most successful club(s)| Paris Saint-Germain (9 titles)

The Coupe de la Ligue (French pronunciation: [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

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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

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The second and last version of the Coupe de la Ligue trophy

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

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Main article: List of Coupe de la Ligue finals

Team  | Winners  | Runners-up  | Years won  | Years runner-up

|
|
|
|

Paris Saint-Germain | 9 | 1 | 1995, 1998, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 | 2000
Strasbourg | 4 | 0 | 1964, 1997, 2005, 2019 | —
Bordeaux | 3 | 3 | 2002, 2007, 2009 | 1997, 1998, 2010
Marseille | 3 | 0 | 2010, 2011, 2012 | —
Metz | 2 | 1 | 1986, 1996 | 1999
Lens | 2 | 1 | 1994, 1999 | 2008
Laval | 2 | 0 | 1982, 1984 | —
Lyon | 1 | 5 | 2001 | 1996, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2020
Monaco | 1 | 4 | 2003 | 1984, 2001, 2017, 2018
Montpellier | 1 | 2 | 1992 | 1994, 2011
Nantes | 1 | 1 | 1965 | 2004
Sochaux | 1 | 1 | 2004 | 2003
Nancy | 1 | 1 | 2006 | 1982
Reims | 1 | 0 | 1991 | —
Gueugnon | 1 | 0 | 2000 | —
Saint-Étienne | 1 | 0 | 2013 | —

## Records

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* Most tournament wins (team): 9, Paris Saint-Germain
* Most final appearances (team): 10, Paris Saint-Germain[11]
* Most tournament wins (player): 6, Edinson Cavani, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020)[12]
* Most tournament wins (manager): 4, Didier Deschamps (2003, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and Laurent Blanc (2009, 2014, 2015 and 2016)[12]
* All-time top goalscorer (player): Edinson Cavani and Pauleta, 15 goals each[13][14]
* Most goals scored in a season (player): 7, Stéphane Guivarc'h (1997–98)[15]
* Most goals scored in the final (player): 8, Edinson Cavani (2 in 2014, 2 in 2015, 2 in 2017, 2 in 2018)[12]

## References

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1. ^ "League Cup". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
2. ^ a b c d "League Cup History". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
3. ^ a b "French League Cup to end from 2020 'to reduce season schedule'". BBC Sport. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
4. ^ "France Summer Cup 1982". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
5. ^ a b "France — List of League Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
6. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain 2–0 SC Bastia". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
7. ^ "FC Metz 0–0 Olympique Lyonnais". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
8. ^ "Roll of Honour". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
9. ^ "Coupe de la Ligue - Finale à Lyon en 2017, Bordeaux en 2018 et Lille en 2019". Le Parisien (in French). 1 September 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
10. ^ Meulewaeter, Lancelot (31 July 2020). "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] (in French). RTBF. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
11. ^ "Roll of Honour". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
12. ^ a b c "Coupe de la Ligue BKT: Records and stats of the 25 Finals". Ligue 1. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
13. ^ "Top Scorer — All Time". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 20 February 2009.[permanent dead link]
14. ^ "Cavani, Marquinhos 6/10 as PSG dig out victory". ESPN. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
15. ^ "Top Scorer — Season 1997–98". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 20 February 2009.[permanent dead link]

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coupe de la Ligue française de football.

* Coupe de la Ligue information on LFP.fr (in French)

* v
* t
* e

Coupe de la Ligue

Seasons|

* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20

Finals|

* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

List of finals

* v
* t
* e

Football in France

French Football Federation (President: Philippe Diallo (interim)) Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President: Jean-Michel Aulas)

National and regional teams|

| Metropolitan|

* Men's
* Senior
* History
* Managers
* All-time record
* At the FIFA World Cup
* B team
* Women's
* Senior
* Under-19
* Under-17
* Youth
* Olympic team
* Under-21
* Under-20
* Under-19
* Under-18
* Under-17
* Under-16

|

Overseas|

* French Guiana
* Guadeloupe
* Men's
* Women's
* Martinique
* Men's
* Women's
* Mayotte
* Men's
* Women's
* New Caledonia
* Men's
* Women's
* Réunion
* Men's
* Women's
* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Tahiti
* Men's
* Women's
* Wallis and Futuna

Unofficial|

* Brittany
* Corsica
* Nice
* Occitania
* Provence

League system|

| Metropolitan|

* Men's
* Ligue 1
* Ligue 2
* National
* National 2
* National 3
* Régional 1
* Lower Regional
* Departmental
* Women's
* Première Ligue
* Seconde Ligue
* Division 3 Féminine
* Youth leagues
* Under-19
* Under-17

|

Overseas|

* French Guiana Régional 1
* Martinique Championnat National
* Guadeloupe Division of Honor
* Mayotte Division Honneur
* New Caledonia Super Ligue
* Ligue des Antilles
* Réunion Premier League
* Saint-Barthelemy Championships
* Saint-Martin Senior League
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon Championnat
* Tahiti Ligue 1

Domestic cups|

| Metropolitan|

* Men's
* Coupe de France
* Coupe de la Ligue
* Trophée des Champions
* Women's
* Coupe de France féminine
* Trophée des Championnes
* Youth
* Coupe Gambardella
* Coupe Nationale

|

Overseas|

* Coupe de Calédonie
* Coupe de Guadeloupe
* Coupe de Guyane
* Coupe de la Martinique
* Coupe de Mayotte
* Coupe de la Réunion
* Coupe de l'Outre-Mer
* Tahiti Cup

Other competitions|

* CFA (1935–1971)
* Coupe Charles Drago
* Division 3 (1971–1993)
* Division 4 (1978–1993)
* Lafarge Foot Avenir
* Montaigu Tournament
* Maurice Revello Tournament

Organizations|

* UNFP
* Awards
* Player of the Month
* DNCG
* USFSA
* Academies
* INF Clairefontaine
* CNFE Clairefontaine
* Ploufragan
* Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire
* INF Vichy

Lists / statistics|

* Football records in France
* Ligue 1 records and statistics
* Ligue 1 clubs
* Champions
* Second division champions
* Women's football champions
* Coupe de France winners
* Coupe de la Ligue winners
* Foreign Ligue 1 players
* Stadia
* Clubs in international competition (men)
* Clubs in international competition (women)
* Rivalries

By city|

* Paris

* v
* t
* e

National football league cups

Current|

* Algeria
* Argentina (LPF)
* Bolivia
* Canada (women)
* England
* men
* women
* Egypt
* Finland
* Hong Kong
* Iceland
* Indonesia
* Israel
* Japan
* men
* women
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon (Federation Cup)
* Malaysia
* Northern Ireland
* Oman
* Philippines
* Portugal
* Qatar
* Republic of Ireland
* Scotland
* men
* women
* South Africa
* Thailand
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United Arab Emirates
* United States (USL)
* Wales

Defunct|

* Argentina (SAF)
* Belgium
* China
* Denmark
* Egypt (EFA)
* France
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Japan
* men
* women
* Korea Republic
* Latvia
* Lebanon
* Elite Cup
* Challenge Cup
* Philippines (UFL)
* Poland
* Portugal
* Taça Ribeiro dos Reis
* Taça FPF
* Romania
* Russia
* Singapore
* Soviet Union
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United States (women) (now a supercup)

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