| Founded | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1986 |
| Region |  Spain |
| Teams | 22 |
| Most championships | Barcelona (2 titles) |
TheCopa de la Liga (League Cup inSpanish) was a Spanishfootball tournament created in 1982.
Due to time constraints, saturation and club pressure, the competition only lasted four years, being cancelled in 1986. Winning the trophy helped two clubs to complete cupdoubles:FC Barcelona with theCopa del Rey (1983) andReal Madrid with theUEFA Cup (1985). In all four finals, the team that played the second leg at home won the trophy.[1]
The League Cup was promoted by the president ofFC Barcelona,Josep Lluís Núñez, in order to create a new competition that would generate new economic income for the clubs, both in terms of box office and television rights.
In 1986 the fourth and last edition was held. In 1987, the fifth edition was scheduled to be held with a new “final three” format (which would have replaced theSupercopa de España, which for this reason was not held in the 1987 or 1988 seasons), for which they were already classified.Real Madrid (League champion),Real Sociedad (Cup champion) andAtlético Madrid (champion of the “intermediate league” of the “Playoff League”). The clubs finally agreed to cancel the competition due to the saturation of the match schedule, especially due to the strange League format of that 1986–87 season.[2]
The League Cup was a straight knock-out competition. All ties were played over two legs, home and away, with the team with the largest aggregate score progressing. The final also consisted of two games.
If the aggregate score was tied after two legs of ninety minutes each,extra-time would be played. If that failed to separate the teams, apenalty shootout would determine the winner. Unlike theCopa del Rey, theaway goals rule was not applied.
| Season | Winners | Runners-up | First leg score | Second leg score | Result (agg.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Barcelona | Real Madrid | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 |
| 1984 | Real Valladolid | Atlético Madrid | 0–0 | 3–0 (a.e.t.) | 3–0 |
| 1985 | Real Madrid | Atlético Madrid | 2–3 | 2–0 | 4–3 |
| 1986 | Barcelona | Real Betis | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
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Source:[3]
| No. | Nat. | Player | Pos. | Club(s) (goals) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hugo Sánchez | FW | Atlético Madrid (14) | 14 |
| 2 |  | Raúl Amarilla | FW | Real Zaragoza (9) Barcelona (4) | 13 |
| 3 | | Pedro Uralde | FW | Real Sociedad (9) | 9 |
| Roberto Marina | FW | Atlético Madrid (9) | ||
| 5 | | Santillana | FW | Real Madrid (8) | 8[note 1] |
| 6 | | Michel Pineda | FW | Espanyol (7) | 7 |
| Paco Machín | FW | Real Betis (5) Racing de Santander (2) | ||
 | John Lauridsen | MF | Espanyol (7) | ||
| Juan Arteche | DF | Atlético Madrid (7) |
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