The Copa de la Liga Profesional (English: Professional League Cup; officially named "Copa Diego Armando Maradona" in its first edition)[1] is an official Argentine football cup competition. The cup was planned and organised by the "Liga Profesional de Fútbol", a body linked to the Argentine Football Association (AFA) that replaced the defunct Superliga Argentina.[2] This cup was conceived as a contingency competition after the schedule for a regular league season had been repeatedly delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 The trophy awarded to the champions | |
| Organising body | Liga Profesional de Fútbol (LPF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Region | Argentina |
| Qualifier for | Copa Libertadores Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional |
| Current champions | Estudiantes (LP) (2024) |
| Most successful club(s) | Boca Juniors (2 titles) |
| Television broadcasters |
|
| Website | ligaprofesional.ar |
 2024 Copa de la Liga Profesional | |
After the death of Diego Maradona in November 2020, the competition was named after him.[3] Nevertheless, the LPF executives decided to suppress the "Diego Maradona" name to keep distance from the conflict between Maradona's heirs and lawyer Matías Morla, owner of the brand and former representative of Maradona.[4][5]
Boca Juniors was the first champion of the competition, after beating Banfield in the final.[6]
Format
editThe first edition was contested by the 24 teams that had taken part in the 2019–20 Primera División championship, drawn into six groups of four teams each, playing on a double round-robin basis. In each zone, the top two teams advanced to the "Fase Campeón" while the bottom two teams advanced to the "Fase Complementación".[7]
In the Fase Campeón, the 12 qualified teams were split into two groups of six teams each, where they played a single round-robin tournament. The winners of each group played the final match at a neutral venue. The winner of the Fase Campeón final were crowned champion of the cup also qualifying for Copa Libertadores.[7]
On the other hand, teams in Fase Complementación played under the same format as in the Fase Campeón. The winners of the Fase Complementación final played a match against the Fase Campeón runners-up with the winners qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana.[7]
The second edition had a similar format with a total of 26 teams including two promoted from Primera Nacional. Teams were drawn into two groups of 13 teams each, playing on a single round-robin a total of 13 rounds.[8]
List of champions
edit- (In bracket, title count):
| Ed. | Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Province |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
2020 | Boca Juniors (1) | 1–1 (5–3 (p)) |
Banfield | del Bicentenario | San Juan |
2 |
2021 | Colón (1) | 3–0 |
Racing | del Bicentenario | San Juan |
3 |
2022 | Boca Juniors (2) | 3–0 |
Tigre | Mario Kempes | Córdoba |
4 |
2023 | Rosario Central (1) | 1–0 |
Platense | Madre de Ciudades | Santiago del Estero |
5 |
2024 | Estudiantes (LP) (1) | 1–1 (4–3 (p)) | Vélez Sarsfield | Madre de Ciudades | Santiago del Estero |
Titles by club
edit| Club | Titles | Runn. | Seasons won | Seasons run. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Juniors | 2 |
— | 2020, 2022 | — |
| Colón | 1 | — | 2021 | — |
| Rosario Central | 1 | — | 2023 | — |
| Estudiantes (LP) | 1 | — | 2024 | — |
| Banfield | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 |
| Racing | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
| Tigre | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
| Platense | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
Top scorers
editTop 5 goalscorers, all-time (only group stage games)
Updated as of 8 January 2024
| Rank | Nat. | Player | Years | Goals | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Miguel Merentiel | 2020– | 21 | 41 | 0.51 |
| 2 | 
|
Luis Rodríguez | 2020– | 21 | 44 | 0.48 |
| 3 |
|
Cristian Tarragona | 2020- | 18 | 54 | 0.33 |
| 4 | 
|
Gabriel Ávalos | 2020- | 16 | 42 | 0.38 |
| 5 |
|
Mauro Boselli | 2022–2023 | 14 | 20 | 0.7 |
Historical table
edit| Pos. | Club | Part. | Titles | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | River Plate | 5 | 0 | 71 | 37 | 18 | 16 | 131 | 68 | +63 | 129 |
| 2 | Vélez Sarsfield | 5 | 0 | 71 | 35 | 21 | 15 | 89 | 66 | +23 | 126 |
| 3 | Boca Juniors | 5 | 2 | 74 | 33 | 26 | 15 | 106 | 66 | +40 | 125 |
| 4 | Racing | 5 | 0 | 72 | 31 | 24 | 17 | 107 | 72 | +35 | 117 |
| 5 | Estudiantes (LP) | 5 | 1 | 71 | 28 | 23 | 20 | 90 | 67 | +23 | 107 |
| 6 | Argentinos Juniors | 5 | 0 | 70 | 27 | 25 | 18 | 93 | 76 | +17 | 106 |
| 7 | Banfield | 5 | 0 | 68 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 79 | 61 | +18 | 104 |
| 8 | Independiente | 5 | 0 | 68 | 26 | 23 | 19 | 77 | 62 | +15 | 101 |
| 9 | Talleres (C) | 5 | 0 | 67 | 23 | 24 | 20 | 84 | 79 | +5 | 93 |
| 10 | Rosario Central | 5 | 1 | 70 | 25 | 17 | 28 | 80 | 88 | -8 | 92 |
| 11 | Newell's Old Boys | 5 | 0 | 66 | 25 | 14 | 17 | 75 | 77 | -2 | 89 |
| 12 | Godoy Cruz | 5 | 0 | 69 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 78 | 87 | -9 | 89 |
| 13 | Huracán | 5 | 0 | 67 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 79 | 80 | -1 | 88 |
| 14 | Defensa y Justicia | 5 | 0 | 68 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 85 | 93 | -8 | 88 |
| 15 | San Lorenzo | 5 | 0 | 66 | 19 | 29 | 18 | 67 | 70 | -3 | 86 |
| 16 | Unión | 5 | 0 | 66 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 67 | 73 | -6 | 86 |
| 17 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 5 | 0 | 66 | 23 | 17 | 26 | 85 | 95 | -10 | 86 |
| 18 | Colón | 4 | 1 | 55 | 23 | 16 | 16 | 83 | 58 | +25 | 85 |
| 19 | Lanús | 5 | 0 | 66 | 22 | 18 | 26 | 78 | 80 | -2 | 84 |
| 20 | Atlético Tucumán | 5 | 0 | 66 | 19 | 21 | 26 | 76 | 94 | -18 | 78 |
| 21 | Central Córdoba (SdE) | 5 | 0 | 66 | 16 | 24 | 26 | 63 | 92 | -29 | 72 |
| 22 | Platense | 4 | 0 | 58 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 49 | 75 | -26 | 64 |
| 23 | Barracas Central | 3 | 0 | 43 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 47 | 63 | -16 | 59 |
| 24 | Sarmiento (J) | 4 | 0 | 55 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 44 | 70 | -26 | 58 |
| 25 | Arsenal | 4 | 0 | 52 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 56 | 72 | -16 | 56 |
| 26 | Aldosivi | 3 | 0 | 39 | 12 | 7 | 20 | 43 | 69 | -17 | 43 |
| 27 | Tigre | 3 | 0 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 23 | 34 | 55 | -21 | 42 |
| 28 | Instituto | 2 | 0 | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 37 |
| 29 | Belgrano | 2 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 41 | -1 | 35 |
| 30 | Patronato | 3 | 0 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 26 | 27 | 58 | -31 | 28 |
| 31 | Deportivo Riestra | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 13 |
| 32 | Independiente Rivadavia | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 8 |
References
edit- ^ "Copa Diego Maradona" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ "Quién es quién en una AFA nueva que recupera los viejos poderes" (in Spanish). Clarín. 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Hasta siempre, Diego" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ El nombre "Diego Maradona" no va más on TyC
- ^ La AFA, forzada a cambiar el nombre del torneo por el litigio de la herencia on La Nación, 1 Feb 2021
- ^ "Boca es el campeón" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 17 January 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "REGLAMENTO DE LA COPA DE LA LIGA PROFESIONAL DE FUTBOL DE AFA 2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). AFA. 26 October 2020.
- ^ El fixture completo de la Copa on Olé, 3 Feb 2021