InterLiga
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| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2010 |
| Region | Mexico |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Television broadcasters | Fox Sports en Español |
| Motto | Rumbo a la Libertadores |
The InterLiga was Mexico's national qualifying tournament from 2004 to 2010, played between eight clubs to determine two participating clubs from that country for the Copa Libertadores.
From 1998 to 2003, the Mexican clubs competed in two preliminary rounds. The first round called Pre Pre Libertadores was played between Mexican clubs interested in participating, it was held in the United States and two clubs advanced to the next preliminary round called Liguilla Pre Libertadores against two clubs from Venezuela, the four clubs faced each other in round-trip matches with the round-robin format to determine the last two spots for the Copa Libertadores. In 2004, Mexico and Venezuela were granted automatic entries to the Copa Libertadores for the first time. The FMF decided to create a national qualifying tournament for its last two spots, and the first InterLiga was held that January, during the off-season of the Primera División.
Competition format
[edit]The eight qualifying clubs were selected based on the accumulated points in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments of the Primera División, and divided into two groups of four, with even-numbered seeds in one group and odd-numbered seeds in the other. In order to assure a more neutral environment, and to take advantage of a large and relatively well-off pool of Mexican football fans, all matches were held in the United States in California and Texas, two states with large Mexican populations.
2004
- Mexico-1: The winner of the final 1 played between the winner of each group.
- Mexico-2: The winner of the reclassification match between the loser of final 1 and the winner of final 2 (played between the second place of each group).
The two clubs qualified directly to the group stage of the 2004 Copa Libertadores.
2005-2010
- Mexico-1: The winner of the "Serie Mexico-1" played from 2005 to 2007, in round-trip matches between the champions of Clausura and Apertura tournaments from two previous years. From 2008 to 2010, the club with the most points in the regular season of the Apertura tournament qualified as "Mexico-1" (only clubs not participating in the CONCACAF Champions League).
- Mexico-2 and 3: The group winner with the most points faced the second place from the other group in final 1, the group winner with the fewest points faced the second place of the other group in final 2. If the winner of final 1 was the club with the most points, then it qualified as "Mexico-2", and the winner of final 2 qualified as "Mexico-3". If the winner of final 1 was the club with the fewest points, then it qualified as "Mexico-3" and the winner of final 2 qualified as "Mexico-2".
Mexico-1 and 2 qualified directly to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, while Mexico-3 played the first stage.
The current league champions were excluded from the InterLiga as they qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, which is contested during the same time period as the Libertadores, and whose prize is a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. Mexican teams would not be eligible for the latter competition if they won the Libertadores because Mexico belongs to CONCACAF.
Tournaments
[edit]| Year | Finals Venue | Mexico-2 | Mexico-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 |  Carson |
Santos Laguna* | Club América* |
| 2005 |  Houston |
Tigres UANL | C.D. Guadalajara |
| 2006 | Carson |
Tigres UANL | C.D. Guadalajara |
| 2007 | Carson |
Club Necaxa | Club América |
| 2008 | Carson |
Club América | Atlas F.C. |
| 2009 | Carson |
C.D. Guadalajara | C.F. Pachuca |
| 2010 | Carson |
C.F. Monterrey | Estudiantes Tecos |
Note: * – Mexico had only two spots for the 2004 Copa Libertadores, then Santos Laguna qualified as "Mexico-1" and Club América as "Mexico-2".
Participations
[edit]- Club América: 6 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
- Tigres UANL: 6 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
- Morelia: 5 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
- C.D. Guadalajara: 4 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009)
- C.F. Monterrey: 4 (2006, 2007, 2008,2010)
- Atlante F.C.: 3 (2004, 2005, 2010)
- Atlas F.C.: 3 (2004, 2008, 2009)
- Chiapas F.C.: 3 (2005, 2007, 2010)
- Cruz Azul: 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
- Estudiantes Tecos: 3 (2007, 2009, 2010)
- Club Necaxa: 3 (2005, 2006, 2007)
- Santos Laguna: 3 (2004, 2005, 2010)
- Toluca: 3 (2004, 2005, 2009)
- C.F. Pachuca: 2 (2006, 2009)
- Club Puebla: 1 (2010)
- Pumas UNAM: 1 (2007)
- C.D. Veracruz: 1 (2006)
Note: Bold – Qualified for the Copa Libertadores.
History Topscorers
[edit]| Pos | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Reinaldo Navia |
9 |
| 1 |  Salvador Cabañas |
9 |
| 2 |  Bruno Marioni |
7 |
| 3 |  Cuauhtémoc Blanco |
6 |
| 3 | Aldo de Nigris |
6 |
| 4 | Omar Bravo |
5 |
| 4 | Walter Gaitán |
5 |
| 4 |  Kléber Boas |
5 |
| 4 | Alfredo Moreno |
5 |
| 5 | Manuel Perez |
4 |
| 5 | Jared Borgetti |
4 |
| 5 | Sebastian Gonzalez |
4 |
| 5 | Carlos Ochoa |
4 |
| 5 | Ramón Morales |
4 |
| 5 | Edgar Benitez |
4 |
| 5 | Adolfo Bautista |
4 |
| 5 | Jorge Achucarro |
4 |
External links
[edit]- Official site (in Spanish and English)
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