Copa Luis Villarejo
 | |
| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Region | Puerto Rico |
| Current champions |
|
| Most successful club(s) |
|
 2019 Copa Luis Villarejo | |
The Copa Luis Villarejo is an association football league in Puerto Rico. Created in 2016, it is open to all clubs that are affiliated with the Puerto Rican Football Federation.
History[edit]
1st cup[edit]
A 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 (PRFC) escaped with a 1-0 win over Bayamón FC (BFC) 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 is qualifying for the Champions League 2017–18 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF).
On November 20 2016, Puerto Rico FC defeated the Criollos de Caguas FC 4–1 to become the cups 1st ever champion, with 3 goals coming from the Puerto Rican striker Hector Ramos, and one coming from "Georgie" to seal the deal in the 88th minute.[2]
2nd edition suspended[edit]
On August 16 2017, The president of the Competitions Commission of the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF), Alberto Santiago; announced the 2nd edition of the Luis Villarejo Cup is scheduled to begin in mid-September of this 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. This year the FPF is advancing the celebration of the Cup to avoid those consequences. The format will remain the same as simple elimination in round-trip series.
On September 3, 2017, The Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF) announced it was ready to celebrate the annual Luis Villarejo Cup starting this September with 6 registered clubs. The clubs being last years 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 will be holding the congress of the Cup on Wednesday, September 6, if there is no time against Hurricane Irma. On Wednesday, 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 will be 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 are available.[5]
2nd cup[edit]
On February 12, 2019, the Puerto Rico Football Federation announced that the cup was coming back for its second edition.[6]
Past winners and results[edit]
Yearly 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[edit]
Career 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.