History
The tournament in its current format started in 1994. Entrance to the UEFA Cup, now called the UEFA Europa League, is offered to the winning team. Its first winner was Paris Saint-Germain, after their 2–0 victory over Bastia. The first final decided by a penalty shootout was the 1996 cup when Metz beat Olympique Lyonnais. The first three finals were held at Parc des Princes; since the 1998 cup, all finals have been held at the Stade de France. Strasbourg and Paris Saint-Germain have won the competition at both stadiums. Gueugnon became the first team below the top division of France to win the cup after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the 2000 final. Overall, there have been 14 winners of the competition since 1995. The most successful teams, in terms of competitions won, are Bordeaux, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, who have won the cup thrice. The current holders of the cup are Marseille, who beat Lyon in the 2012 Final and became the first club to win the cup three times in a row.
Read more about this topic: Coupe De La Ligue
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“There is a constant in the average American imagination and taste, for which the past must be preserved and celebrated in full-scale authentic copy; a philosophy of immortality as duplication. It dominates the relation with the self, with the past, not infrequently with the present, always with History and, even, with the European tradition.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)
“It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Considered in its entirety, psychoanalysis won’t do. It’s an end product, moreover, like a dinosaur or a zeppelin; no better theory can ever be erected on its ruins, which will remain for ever one of the saddest and strangest of all landmarks in the history of twentieth-century thought.”
—Peter B. Medawar (1915–1987)