3rd Degree

November 26th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

The sixth edition of InterLiga, the Mexican Futbol Federation’s tournament to determine the berths for Copa Libertadores, is coming to Pizza Hut Park twice.  The tournament kicks off in Frisco at PHP with a Group A January 2nd doubleheader as Toluca faces Morelia at 7 PM and UAG takes on Pachuca in the following nightcap.  Group B will be back on January 6th, this time Tigres takes on Club America at 7 PM with Chivas facing Atlas in the second game.

3rd Degree highly recommends all these games as top flight soccer, the teams take them very seriously as Copa Libatadoes is a big prize.  For the last couple years, Pachuca has been the best team in North America and is a delight to watch play.   But the real show should be the second set of games as Club America and Chivas are the two best supported clubs in Mexico and that usually translates into large and boisterous crowds.  The last time they were both in town saw a standing room only crowd and some terrific atmosphere.

Here’s the PR stuff on the tournament.

PIZZA HUT PARK TO OPEN THE SIXTH EDITION OF INTERLIGA

NEW YORK & MEXICO CITY (Tuesday, November 25, 2008) – The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), together with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), today announced the teams, groups, schedule and venues for InterLiga™ 2009. Pizza Hut Park will be the host to two doubleheaders for the sixth edition of the tournament, including the first match day on January 2, 2009. This will be the fourth consecutive year that Pizza Hut Park has been a venue for this tournament.

The sixth edition of InterLiga will be played from January 2-11, 2009 in Dallas and Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles, California. The eight participating clubs in their respective groups for InterLiga 2009 are: 

Group A – Toluca, UAG, Morelia, Pachuca

Group B – Tigres UANL, CD Guadalajara, Atlas, América

InterLiga 2009 will determine two Mexican club berths for Copa Libertadores known as “Mexico 2” and “Mexico 3”. The other spot known as “Mexico 1” has been awarded to San Luis de Potosi due to the club’s finish as SuperLider of the Mexican Torneo de Apertura 2008, or the regular season champions of the current Mexican season.  

Following the draw for the 2009 Copa Libertadores, it was revealed that Mexico 2 will be part of Group 6 with Lanús (Argentina), Everton (Chile) and Caracas (Venezuela).  Mexico 3 will play a two-leg play in series against la Universidad de Chile.  If victorious, Mexico 3 would be placed in Group 3 with Aurora (Bolivia), Boyaca Chico (Colombia) and a team to be determined from Brazil.

The new qualification system for InterLiga 2009, announced in March of 2008 by the FMF, to accommodate the CONCACAF Champions League, is as follows: the eight best teams in the general standings at the end of the current Apertura season of the Mexican domestic league move on to InterLiga, except for the club that finishes first in the regular season standings, which will qualify directly to Copa Libertadores as “Mexico 1,” per FMF regulations. Due to their participation in the 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League, Atlante, Cruz Azul, Pumas and Santos will not participate in InterLiga regardless of their place in the Apertura standings.

Calendar

The sixth edition of InterLiga will begin on Friday, January 2 in Frisco, Texas with a doubleheader featuring Group A matches Toluca vs. Morelia and Tecos vs. Pachuca, beginning at 7:00 pm CT. The tournament then moves to Houston, Texas for doubleheaders on January 3 and 5. After another doubleheader on Tuesday, January 6 in Frisco, the tournament will arrive at its final location in Los Angeles where it will feature the final group phase games on January 8 and 9. The InterLiga 2009 finals will take place on Sunday, January 12 at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, beginning at 4:00 pm local.  This will mark the fifth InterLiga finals in the Southern California stadium.

An exclusive pre-sale to all Visa card holders will begin on December 8.  Tickets will go on sale to the general public shortly following the Visa pre-sale.  The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol invites you to use your Visa card. Ticket information for games at Pizza Hut Park will be announced at a future date. For further information on the tournament and its history, visit www.InterLiga.com.

INTERLIGA™ 2009 SCHEDULE 

(all times local)

All matches to be broadcast live in the United States by Fox Sports en Español.

Friday, January 2 – Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas)

Game 1 – Group A –Toluca vs. Morelia– 19:00

Game 2 – Group A –UAG vs. Pachuca– 21:30

Saturday, January 3 – Robertson Stadium (Houston, Texas)

Game 3 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. Atlas– 19:00

Game 4 – Group B –CD Guadalajara vs. América– 21:30

Monday, January, 5 – Robertson Stadium (Houston, Texas)

Game 5 – Group A –UAG vs. Morelia– 19:00

Game 6 – Group A –Toluca vs. Pachuca– 21:30

Tuesday, January 6 – Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas)  

Game 7 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. América– 19:00

Game 8 – Group B –CD Guadalajara vs. Atlas– 21:30

Thursday, January 8 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)

Game 9 – Group A –Morelia vs. Pachuca– 18:00

Game 10– Group A –Toluca vs. UAG– 20:30

Friday, January 9 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)

Game 11 – Group B –Atlas vs. América– 18:30

Game 12 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. CD Guadalajara– 21:00

Sunday, January 11 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)

Final 1 – 16:00

Final 2 – 18:30

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