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Copa MX

Mexican association football tournament

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Copa MX was a professional association football competition in Mexico and a domestic cup tournament for clubs in the Liga MX and Ascenso MX. Formerly as Copa México (1942-1963, 1970-1976, 1987-1992, 1994-1997) and Copa Presidente (1963-1970), it was the first competition that included clubs from different regions of Mexico.

The tournament was held 56 editions. The inaugural edition as a professional competition was the 1942-43 Copa México, with Moctezuma crowned as the first champions.

In 2012, it was rebranded as Copa MX. The cup was not contested during several periods (1976-1987, 1992-1994, 1997-2012), and it has been on hiatus from 2020 to the present.

Twenty-two clubs won the title at least once. América is the most successful club with six titles, León and Puebla with five titles each, Guadalajara, Atlas, Cruz Azul and Necaxa with four titles each.

01History

Amateur era (1932-1942)

After the foundation of the current and official Federación Mexicana de Fútbol in 1927, a new national competition was created as the Mexican cup tournament, it was named Copa México, the trophy was donate by the Presidency of Mexico and also received official support of President Lázaro Cárdenas. The inaugural edition as an amateur competition was the 1932-33 Copa México, with Necaxa finishing as the first champions in history. This marked the beginning of an 11-year period that is referred to in retrospect as the Cup's Amateur era. Asturias dominated the tournament, winning five titles during this period. The final edition was the 1941-42 Copa México, with Atlante finishing as the last champions of the amateur era.

Copa México (1942-1963, 1970-1976, 1987-1992, 1994-1997)

The professional era of the Copa México began in 1942. At first, it was played among clubs from the Liga Mayor (currently Liga MX). Beginning in 1950 the clubs 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 editions. The tournament was not held in several years (1976-1987, 1992-1994, 1997-2012), the Copa México champions also competed for the Campeón de Campeones until 1995.

Copa Presidente (1963-1970)

From 1963 to 1970, the competition was renamed as Copa Presidente, in honor of the fact that the trophy was donate by the Presidency of Mexico, Adolfo López Mateos (1963-64) and Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970).

An unofficial and extraordinary cup tournament was held in 1963, known as Copa Presidencial Adolfo López Mateos. The tournament was played alongside the three official FMF competitions during that period (Liga Mayor, Copa México and Campeón de Campeones).

Copa MX (2012-2020)

In 2012, the competition returned with a rebranding as Copa MX, two short tournaments were played per year until 2019 (Apertura and Clausura), similar to Liga MX, except the 2019-20 Copa MX, which was played during the annual season. From 2014 to 2019, the two Copa MX champions of the year qualified for the Supercopa MX.

However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 final was postponed until November. After the 2019-20 edition, the competition was abolished due to busy calendar issues with the FMF giving preference to matches of the Mexico national football team in preparation to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

02Competition format

From 2012 to 2016, in the Apertura tournament, the four Liga MX clubs qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League were not participating in the Copa MX; the remaining 14 clubs participated alongside 14 clubs from Ascenso MX. The 14 Ascenso MX clubs were the 13 top point-earners from the previous season, plus the newly relegated club. The 28 participating clubs were divided into seven groups of four clubs each. The seven group winners and the best runner-up with the highest point total qualified for the quarterfinals.

Each club played 6 matches in the group stage. Groups and home field advantage were determined by a blind draw. For the group draw, Liga MX clubs were placed in Pot A, while Ascenso MX clubs were placed in Pot B. In the home field advantage draw, no club can have more than two home games in the group stage. A blind draw determined home field advantage in the final knockout phase.

In the Clausura tournament, the 11 Liga MX clubs that did not qualify for international competitions (CONCACAF Champions League and Copa Libertadores) participated alongside the 13 Ascenso MX clubs with the highest point total from the previous short tournament. The 24 participating clubs were divided into six groups of four clubs each. The six group winners and the two best runners-up with the highest point total qualified for the quarter-finals. Both tournaments will have the same draw format and number of group matches, and the final knockout phase for both tournaments will be single-elimination.

From Apertura 2016 to Clausura 2019, the tournaments had 24 or 27 participating clubs, depending on the Liga MX clubs that qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League and also on the qualification criteria based on the clubs' positions in each division in the previous season. The participating clubs were divided into eight or nine groups with three clubs each. With 24 clubs, the eight group winners and the eight runners-up qualified for the round of 16. With 27 clubs, the nine group winners and the best seven runners-up qualified for the round of 16.

Clubs will play four matches in the group stage. Groups and home field advantage will be determined the draw by public at their annual draft. For the group draw, Liga MX clubs' top 4-point-earners and Ascenso MX clubs' top 4-point-earners will be placed in Pot A, while Liga MX clubs' mid 4-point-earners and Ascenso MX clubs' mid 4-point-earners will be placed in Pot B and Liga MX clubs' last 4-point-earners and Ascenso MX clubs' last 4-point-earners will be placed in Pot C. In the home field advantage draw, teams can have two home games in the group stage. A blind draw will determine home field advantage in the final knockout phase.

From 2014 to 2019, the two Copa MX champions qualified directly for the Supercopa MX. The 2019-20 Copa MX consisted of one tournament played during the year, according to FIFA's world footballing calendar. It has 27 participating clubs (15 from Liga MX and 12 from Ascenso MX).

03Results

The first domestic cup tournament organized by the current and official FMF was the 1932-33 Copa México in the amateur era.

Amateur era

Ed. Year Champions Results Runners-up
Copa México
11932-33Necaxa3-1Germania
21933-34Asturias3-0Necaxa
, 1934-35The competition was not held
31935-36Necaxa2-1
(a.e.t.)
Asturias
41936-37Asturias5-3América
51937-38América3-1Real España
61938-39Asturias4-1Real España
71939-40Asturias1-0Necaxa
81940-41Asturias2-2
w/o
Real España
91941-42Atlante5-3
5-0
Necaxa

Professional era

Ed. Year Champions Results Runners-up Manager
Copa México
11942-43Moctezuma5-3
(a.e.t.)
Atlante
Eduardo Morilla
21943-44Real España6-2Atlante
Rodolfo Muñoz
31944-45Puebla6-4América
Eduardo Morilla
41945-46Atlas5-4
(a.e.t.)
Atlante
Eduardo Valdatti
51946-47Moctezuma4-3Oro
Julio Kaiser
61947-48Veracruz3-1Guadalajara
Joaquin Urquiaga
71948-49León3-0Atlante
Jose Maria Casullo
81949-50Atlas3-1Veracruz
Eduardo Valdatti
91950-51Atlante1-0Guadalajara
Octavio Vial
101951-52AtlanteFinal groupGuadalajara
Gregorio Blasco
111952-53Puebla4-1León
Isidro Langara
121953-54América1-1
(3-2 p)
Guadalajara
Octavio Vial
131954-55América1-0Guadalajara
Octavio Vial
141955-56Toluca2-1Irapuato
Fernando Marcos
151956-57Zacatepec1-0León
Ignacio Trellez
161957-58León1-1
5-2
(a.e.t.)
Zacatepec
Antonio López Herranz
171958-59Zacatepec2-1León
Ignacio Trellez
181959-60Necaxa4-1Tampico
Donald Ross
191960-61Tampico1-0Toluca
Nicolas Palma
201961-62Atlas3-3
1-0
Tampico
Jose Carlos Bauer
211962-63Guadalajara2-1Atlante
Javier De la Torre
Copa Presidente
221963-64América0-0
1-1
(5-4 p)
Monterrey
Alejandro Scopelli
231964-65América4-0Morelia
Alejandro Scopelli
241965-66Necaxa3-3
1-0
León
Miguel Marin
251966-67León2-1Guadalajara
Luis Grill
261967-68Atlas2-1Veracruz
Javier Novello
271968-69Cruz Azul2-1
(a.e.t.)
Monterrey
Raúl Cárdenas
281969-70Guadalajara3-2
2-1
Torreón
Javier de la Torre
Copa México
291970-71León0-0
(10-9 p)
Zacatepec
Antonio Carbajal
301971-72LeónFinal groupZacatepec
Antonio Carbajal
, 1972-73The competition was not held
311973-74América2-1
1-1
Cruz Azul
José Antonio Roca
321974-75Pumas UNAMFinal groupLeones Negros UdeG
Árpád Fekete
331975-76Tigres UANL2-0
1-2
América
Claudio Lostaunau
, 1976-1987The competition was not held
341987-88Puebla0-0
1-1
(a.g.)
Cruz Azul
Hugo Fernández
351988-89Toluca1-1
2-1
(a.e.t.)
Leones Negros UdeG
Héctor Sanabria
361989-90Puebla4-1
0-2
Tigres UANL
Manuel Lapuente
371990-91Leones Negros UdeG1-0
0-0
América
Alberto Guerra
381991-92Monterrey4-2Cobras de Juárez
Miguel Mejía Barón
, 1992-1994The competition was not held
391994-95Necaxa2-0Veracruz
Manuel Lapuente
401995-96Tigres UANL1-1
1-0
Atlas
Victor Manuel Vucetich
411996-97Cruz Azul2-0Toros Neza
Victor Manuel Vucetich
, 1997-2012The competition was not held
Copa MX
42Ape-2012Dorados de Sinaloa2-2
(3-2 p)
Correcaminos UAT
Francisco Javier Ramírez
43Cla-2013Cruz Azul0-0
(4-2 p)
Atlante
Guillermo Vázquez
44Ape-2013Morelia3-3
(3-1 p)
Atlas
Carlos Bustos
45Cla-2014Tigres UANL3-0Alebrijes de Oaxaca
Ricardo Ferretti
46Ape-2014Santos Laguna2-2
(4-2 p)
Puebla
Pedro Caixinha
47Cla-2015Puebla4-2Guadalajara
José Guadalupe Cruz
48Ape-2015Guadalajara1-0León
Matías Almeyda
49Cla-2016Veracruz4-1Necaxa
Carlos Reinoso
50Ape-2016Querétaro0-0
(3-2 p)
Guadalajara
Víctor Manuel Vucetich
51Cla-2017Guadalajara0-0
(3-1 p)
Morelia
Matías Almeyda
52Ape-2017Monterrey1-0Pachuca
Antonio Mohamed
53Cla-2018Necaxa1-0Toluca
Ignacio Ambríz
54Ape-2018Cruz Azul2-0Monterrey
Pedro Caixinha
55Cla-2019América1-0Juárez
Miguel Herrera
562019-20Monterrey1-0
1-1
Tijuana
Antonio Mohamed

04Performances

Watch videos about Copa MXExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Copa MX, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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