Copa MX

Copa MX

The logo of the rebranded "Copa MX".
Founded	1907
Region	Mexico
Number of teams	Apertura: 28 Clausura: 24
Current champions	Morelia (1st title)
Most successful club(s)	Amateur era: Asturias (8 titles) Professional era: América, León (5 titles)
Clausura 2014 Copa MX

The Copa MX (formerly known as the Copa Tower, Copa Eliminatoria, and Copa México) is a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it was restored in 2012.

On early editions of the cup, it consisted of both professional and amateur stages. It was the first official tournament that included teams from different parts of Mexico, and it was an important and prestigious tournament, especially during its earlier years of existence. The original purpose of the competition was to determine a national champion, thus distinguishing it from the local league championship. Its format was different from the local leagues as well, as it employed direct elimination and culminated in a final that received much more fanfare than the local leagues. However, the goals of the Copa MX were never realized due to a number of factors, including the distances and costs of travel, the timing of the tournament, and the enmity between regional leagues.

Despite early optimism about the Copa MX, it lost its prestige over the years as it endured constant changes in format and even being placed on hiatus by the Mexican Football Federation, which occurred twice (the first between 1976 and 1988 and the second between 1992 and 1994).

After the 1997 edition of the tournament, the tournament was placed on an indefinite hiatus that lasted until May 31, 2012, when Liga MX president Decio de Maria announced the return of the tournament. It will be contested twice a year in an Apertura and Clausura format similar to the Liga MX.

History

Copa Tower (1907–1919)

The Copa México began in 1907 with the donation of the trophy by Reginald Tower, who was at the time the English ambassador to Mexico. For this reason, it was originally called the Copa Tower. At first, the tournament only included clubs from Mexico City and the surrounding areas. Pachuca won the inaugural tournament, in 1908, by defeating Reforma AC in the final. In 1919, Real España won the cup for the third year straight and were allowed to keep the trophy permanently. In all, the Copa Tower was contested 11 times, with Real España winning it four times in all, the best performance of the period.

Copa Eliminatoria (1919–1932)

In 1920, the tournament took place for the first time with a new trophy, the Copa Eliminatoria. It was contested six times between the years 1920 and 1926. Asturias F.C. won it three times during this period (consecutively from 1922–1924), the highest total of any team during this period.

Copa México (1932–1997)

Amateur Period (1932–1943)

After the foundation of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol in 1927, a new trophy, named the Copa México, was donated in 1932. Following a six-year hiatus, the cup was contested again during the 1932–33 season. This time, the competition also received official support of President Lázaro Cárdenas. The first Copa México was won by Necaxa in a tournament of historical importance due to the adoption of new rules. This marked the beginning of an 11-year period that is referred to in retrospect as the Amateur Period. Once again, Asturias F.C. dominated the championship, winning it a record 5 times during this period.

Professional Period (1943–1997)

In 1943 the Professional Period of the Copa México began, a period that would last until the competition's termination in 1997. At first, it was played among teams from the Liga Mayor, the present-day Primera Division de Mexico. Beginning in 1950 the teams of the Segunda División de México were also included into the competition with the exception of the 1956–57, 1963–64, 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.

Copa MX (2012–present)

The new format will be played twice a year, during each short tournament. In the Fall tournament, 14 of the Liga MX teams not involved in the CONCACAF Champions League, will play alongside 14 of the Ascenso MX teams. The 14 Ascenso MX teams will be the 13 top point-earners from the season prior, plus the newly relegated team. The teams will be placed into 7 groups of 4. The 7 group winners, plus the group runner-up with the highest point total, move on to the quarterfinals.

Teams will play 3 games in the group stage. Groups and home field advantage will be determined by a blind draw. For the group draw, 1st division teams will be placed in Pot A, while 2nd division teams will be placed in Pot B. In the home field advantage draw, no team can have more than 2 home games in the group stage. A blind draw will determine home field advantage in the KO rounds.

In the Spring tournament, the 11 Liga MX teams not involved in international tournaments, will play alongside the 13 Ascenso MX teams with the highest point total from the previous short tournament. Teams will be put in 6 groups of 4. The 11 first division teams, plus the 3 highest second division point-earners from the previous short tournament, will be in Pot A. The rest will be put in pot B. The 6 group winners, along with the 2 runners-up with the highest point total, will move on to the quarterfinals. Both tournaments will have the same draw format and number of group games. KO rounds for both tournaments will be single-elimination.

Year-by-year results

Amateur Era 1907-1943

From 1907-1919 the tournament was played under the name Copa Tower, from 1919 to 1932 the tournament was played under the name Copa Eliminatoria.In 1932 the league finally played this tournament under the name Copa Mexico.

Professional Period (1943–1997)

1943-1968 Year Champion Score Runner-up Manager 1943-44 España 6–2 Atlante Rodolfo Muñoz 1944–45 Puebla 6–4 América Eduardo Morilla 1945-46 Atlas 5–4 Atlante Eduardo Valdatti 1946–47 Moctezuma 4–3 CD Oro Julio Kaiser 1947–48 Veracruz 3–1 Guadalajara Joaquin Urquiaga 1948–49 León 3–0 Atlante Jose Maria Casullo 1949–50 Atlas 3–1 Veracruz Eduardo Valdatti 1950–51 Atlante 1–0 Guadalajara Octavio Vial 1951–52 Atlante 2–0 Puebla Gregorio Blasco 1952–53 Puebla 4–1 León Isidro Langara 1953–54 América 1–1 (3–2)1 Guadalajara Octavio Vial 1954–55 América 1–0 Guadalajara Octavio Vial 1955–56 Toluca 2–1 Irapuato Fernando Marcos 1956–57 Zacatepec 2–1 León Ignacio Trelles 1957–58 León 5–2 Zacatepec Antonio López Herranz 1958–59 Zacatepec 2–1 León Ignacio Trelles 1959–60 Necaxa 2–2 (10–9)1 Tampico Donald Ross 1960–61 Tampico 1–0 Toluca Nicolas Palma 1961–62 Atlas 3–3 1–0 Tampico Jose Carlos Bauer 1962–63 Guadalajara 2–1 Atlante Javier De la Torre 1963–64 América 1–1 (5–4)1 Monterrey Alejandro Scopelli 1964–65 América 4–0 Morelia Alejandro Scopelli 1965–66 Necaxa 3–3 1–0 León Miguel Marin* 1966–67 León 2–1 Guadalajara Luis Grill 1967–68 Atlas 2–1 Veracruz Javier Novello

1968-1997 Year Champion Score Runner-up Manager 1968–69 Cruz Azul 2–1 Monterrey Raúl Cardenas 1969–70 Guadalajara 3–2 2–1 Torreón Javier De la Torre 1970–71 León 0–0 (10–9)1 Zacatepec Antonio Carbajal 1971–72 León Group2 Puebla Antonio Carbajal 1973–74 América 2–1 1–1 Cruz Azul Jose Antonio Roca 1974–75 U.N.A.M. Group2 U. de Guadalajara Árpád Fekete 1975–76 U.A.N.L. 2–0 1–2 América Claudio Lostanau 1987–88 Puebla 0–0 1–13 Cruz Azul Hugo Fernandez 1988–89 Toluca 2–0 1–1 U. de Guadalajara Hector Sanabria 1989–90 Puebla F.C. 4–1 0–2 U.A.N.L. Manuel Lapuente 1990–91 U de Guadalajara 1–0 0–0 América Alberto Guerra 1991–92 Monterrey 4–2 Ciudad Juárez Miguel Mejia Baron 1994-95 Necaxa 2–0 Veracruz Manuel Lapuente 1995–96 U.A.N.L. 1–1 1–0 Atlas Victor Manuel Vucetich 1996–97 Cruz Azul 2–0 Toros Neza Victor Manuel Vucetich

1: On penalties
2: Group Round (In 1971–72 the 4 teams were León, Puebla, Guadalajara, and Cruz Azul)
3: On away goals

Copa MX

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Manager
Apertura 2012	Dorados	2–2 (5–4)1	Correcaminos	Francisco Javier Ramírez
Clausura 2013	Cruz Azul	0-0 (4–2)1	Atlante	Guillermo Vázquez
Apertura 2013	Monarcas Morelia	3–3 (3–1)1	Atlas	Carlos Bustos

Champions

Amateur Era Champions

Professional Era Champions and Runners-up

Mexico - All-Time Table Cup Tournament

Includes all results since 1942-43 (first professional Cup Tournament) to 1996-97 Three points per victory since 1995

References

External links

• Mexico - List of Cup Winners, RSSSF.com