Coupe de la Ligue

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. This tournament continued under the name of Coupe de la Ligue, until 1994, before the beginning of the French season. (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. Its first winner was Paris Saint-Germain, after their 2–0 victory over Bastia. The first final decided by a penalty shootout was in 1996 when Metz beat Lyon. The first three finals were held at Parc des Princes; from the 1998 edition until 2015, the finals have been held at the Stade de France. Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain won the competition at both stadiums. Gueugnon became the first team below the top division of France to win the cup after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the 2000 final. Overall, there were 14 winners of the competition since its inception.

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. The LFP suspended the competition indefinitely after the 2019–20 season, to reduce fixture congestion.

Winners

Main article: List of Coupe de la Ligue finals

Records

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

References

References

1. "League Cup". [[Ligue de Football Professionnel]].
2. "League Cup History". [[Ligue de Football Professionnel]].
3. (18 September 2019). "French League Cup to end from 2020 'to reduce season schedule'". BBC Sport.
4. "France Summer Cup 1982". [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]].
5. "France — List of League Cup Finals". [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]].
6. "Paris Saint-Germain 2–0 SC Bastia". [[Ligue de Football Professionnel]].
7. "FC Metz 0–0 Olympique Lyonnais". [[Ligue de Football Professionnel]].
8. "Roll of Honour". [[Ligue de Football Professionnel]].
9. (1 September 2016). "Coupe de la Ligue - Finale à Lyon en 2017, Bordeaux en 2018 et Lille en 2019". Le Parisien.
10. (31 July 2020). "Le PSG bat l'OL aux tirs au but dans l'ultime finale de Coupe de la Ligue". RTBF.
11. "Roll of Honour". Ligue de Football Professionnel.
12. (29 July 2020). "Coupe de la Ligue BKT: Records and stats of the 25 Finals". Ligue 1.
13. (August 2017). "Top Scorer — All Time". Ligue de Football Professionnel.
14. (19 December 2018). "Cavani, Marquinhos 6/10 as PSG dig out victory".
15. (August 2017). "Top Scorer — Season 1997–98". Ligue de Football Professionnel.