The Copa Luis Villarejo was an association football league in Puerto Rico. Created in 2016, it was open to all clubs that are affiliated with the Puerto Rican Football Federation. It disbanded in 2019.
 | |
| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2019 |
| Region | Puerto Rico |
| Last champions |
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| Most championships |
|
History
edit2016
editA new domestic cup tournament, the Copa Luis Villarejo, was inaugurated and involved teams from the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico (LNF), the second tier Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL), as well as Puerto Rico FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL), a second tier league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation.
On November 17, 2016, Puerto Rico FC escaped with a 1-0 win over Bayamón FC in the second leg to complete a 4–0 aggregate victory in the semifinal round of the First Luis Villarejo Cup, Senior Men's category, of the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF). The victory, sealed with a penalty goal by its captain, Cristiano Dias, in the 44th minute, gave the PRFC a ticket to the Cup championship game at Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel de Bayamón against the Criollos, who come from struggling, aggregate 5–4, to Metropolitan FC. [1]
PRFC also joined the Criollos as teams with tickets secured to represent Puerto Rico in the 2017 Champions League Cup of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which qualifying for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
On November 20, 2016, Puerto Rico FC defeated Criollos de Caguas FC 4–1 to become the cup's first ever champion, with 3 goals coming from Puerto Rican striker Hector Ramos, and one coming from Jorge Rivera to seal the deal in the 88th minute.[2]
2017–2018
editOn August 16, 2017, the president of the Competitions Commission of the Puerto Rican Football Federation Alberto Santiago announced the 2nd edition of the Luis Villarejo Cup was scheduled to begin in mid-September of that year.[3] Recalling that the PRFC also had administrative failings and that it had to pay a substantial fine to finally be able to compete. That year the FPF advanced the celebration of the cup to avoid those consequences. The format would remain the same as simple elimination in round-trip series.
On September 3, 2017, the Puerto Rican Football Federation announced it was ready to celebrate the annual Luis Villarejo Cup starting that September with 6 registered clubs, with the clubs being defending champion Puerto Rico FC, Bayamón FC, Caguas Sporting FC, Metropolitan Football Academy, Mayaguez FC, and newcomer to the tournament Club Deportivo Barbosa.[4] The FPF would be holding the congress of the Cup on Wednesday, September 6, if there is no time against Hurricane Irma. Other clubs, such as Don Bosco FC (Puerto Rico), and others who did not submit everything required before the closing of the call could enter.
On September 29, the FBF announced the 2nd Luis Villarejo Cup was suspended, due to the devastation left by Hurricane Maria that had left the entire island powerless. The federation was looking to restart the cup in November, if all teams were available.[5] However, the cup was not played in 2017 or 2018.
2019
editOn February 12, 2019, the Puerto Rico Football Federation announced that the cup was coming back for its second edition.[6] Bayamón FC won that edition, defeating Metropolitan 3–1 in the final.
Past winners and results
editYearly winner
edit| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Puerto Rico FC | 4–1 | Criollos de Caguas FC | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium | [7] | |
| 2019 | Bayamón | 3–1 | Metropolitan FA | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium | [8] |
Team results
edit| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up | # of X participated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico FC | 1 | 0 | 2016 | — | 2 |
| Criollos de Caguas FC | 0 | 1 | — | 2016 | 1 |
| Don Bosco FC | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Caguas Sporting FC | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Metropolitan FA | 0 | 1 | — | 2019 | 2 |
| Bayamon FC | 1 | 0 | 2019 | — | 2 |
| Mayagüez FC | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Guayama FC | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Club Deportivo Barbosa | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Players records
editCareer goals
edit| Player | Period | Club(s) | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dale McDonald |
2016 | Criollos de Caguas FC | 9 |
| 2 |  Karlos Ferrer |
2016 | Metropolitan FA | 4 |
| 3 |  Davidson Marseille |
2016 | Criollos de Caguas FC | 4 |
| 4 | Héctor Ramos |
2016 | Puerto Rico FC | 4 |
| 5 | Darlin Aquino |
2016 | Metropolitan FA | 3 |
| 6 | Tyrone Harrison |
2016 | Criollos de Caguas FC | 3 |
| 7 | Josep Becerra |
2016 | Bayamon FC | 3 |
| 8 | Brian Bement |
2016 | Puerto Rico FC | 2 |
| 9 |  Paul Simmons |
2016 | Mayagüez FC | 2 |
| 10 | Jorge Rivera |
2016 | Puerto Rico FC | 2 |
References
edit- ↑ "PRFC Con Pase a Cfu y a la Lucha Por el Campeonato de la Copa Luis Villarejo". 17 November 2016.
- ↑ "De PRFC el Campeonato de la Primera Copa Luis Villarejo". 21 November 2016.
- ↑ "Para mediados de Septiembre la Villarejo | FutbolBoricua.net".
- ↑ "6 clubes harán quórum para la Copa Luis Villarejo | FutbolBoricua.net".
- ↑ "Suspendido por el momento muchas actividades futbolísticas de la Federación | FutbolBoricua.net".
- ↑ "FPF afina detalles para la Copa Luis Villarejo 2019". 10 February 2019.
- ↑ "PRFC ON TO THE FINAL OF THE LUIS VILLAREJO CUP". PuertoRicoFC.com. 17 November 2016.
- ↑ "Champions of the Luis Villarejo Cup in the male branch of the Vaqueros del Bayamón FC". fedefutbolpr.com. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.