Liga de Quito will try to close the gap with El Nacional who, with thirteen stars, is the third team with the most championship titles in Ecuador. The Albos have eleven and want a dozen (Barcelona SC have sixteen and Emelec fourteen), which they hope to achieve after taking on Independiente del Valle in the final of the round trip, this Sunday and next December 17, in that order.

Pro league: Independiente del Valle vs. Liga Quito, possible lineups for the first final match

For the university team, the competition with those from Sangolquí marks the ninth time in their history that they will seek the biggest prize by hosting the finals. They were dedicated for the first time in 1969, in a competition of 26 tournaments. Albo championships in 1975, 1990, 2003 and 2007 came thanks to the League finishing as the league leader in each of the above years.

‘He is one of the great players in South America’, praise for Liga de Quito forward Paolo Guerrero from the Bolivian coach

In the finals of the Ecuadorian football tournament, Ponceano’s team succeeded like this.

in 1974

1. Liga de Quito moved from the second division to Serie A on July 28 of that year and became the first and only team coming from that category to be crowned in the top round. They faced El Nacional and in the first game they defeated them with a score of 2-1. In the second leg, also at the Atahualpa Stadium, a 0-0 score saw Azucena return to the Olympic Games on December 15, 1974.

Is Yeferson Soteldo, a figure from Venezuela, in the plans of the Quito league?

in 1998

2. ‘League, seven goals and five stars’ was the headline of EL UNIVERS on December 28, 1998. Ljiljan gave Emelec a nightmare by beating him in the final in Casa Blanca. With goals from Ulises de la Cruz (3 goals), Eduardo Hurtado (2), Álex Escobar and Augusto Poros (against), Quito’s 1-0 defeat at Capwell was an anecdote.

in 1999

3. For the third time in the finals in Ecuador, the Liga de Quito kept a perfect pace. Their opponent was El Nacional, defeated in the first game (1-0 at Casa Blanca, goal by Eduardo Hurtado) on December 12, and a week later 3-1 at Atahualpa (two shots by Eduardo Tank Hurtado, and something from the Argentine Ezequiel Maggiolo).

in 2005

4. A year of atypical season. There are two tournaments: Apertura and Clausura. Liga de Quito won the first, with back-to-back clashes from the quarter-finals to the final. The Albos lost 1-0 against Barcelona SC in Guayaquil, but won 3-0 in the return match on July 24, 2005 in Casa Blanca. Carlos Espínola, Franklin Salas and Néicer Reasco scored to give Liga its eighth national title.

2010

5. It was not a bad fifth place for Liga de Quito, who were again champions in the Ecuadorian football finals. Edgardo Bauza won the duel against Jorge Sampaoli, in the battle of future Argentine coaches. In the capital, Miller Bolaños scored a 2-0 win against Emelec. On 12 December 2010, the Blues won at Capwell 1-0 and the League was crowned 2-1 on aggregate.

2016 The last Olympic round of the Quito league was held five years ago. He faced Emelec for the third time in eight years. In the first final, played at the Capwell Stadium, the score was 1-1. In Casa Blanca, December 16, 2018, Anderson’s goal gives Julio Liga a 1-0 win and the trophy.

Lost final

The Liga de Quito has failed in two of the eight national championship finals it has played in (its efficiency, however, is high: 75% of the time it has won the title). In 2015, Emelec stopped the Lilies’ five consecutive finals success when, after winning 3-1 in the first leg, they drew 0-0 in Casa Blanca to become three-time champions. In 2020, the League closed at its stadium against Barcelona SC, with whom it drew 1-1 in the first leg. In return, it was 0-0, and in stoppage time, the Canaries became guests. (D)