Copa Metropolitana
# Copa Metropolitana

The Campeonato da Região Metropolitana, commonly known as the Copa Metropolitana, is an annual competition organized by the Rio Grande do Sul state football federation for clubs that are in the first, second and third divisions of the Campeonato Gaúcho and are located in the Metropolitan Porto Alegre. It is held in the second half of the year and usually clubs participating in the higher levels of the Campeonato Brasileiro do not participate with the first team squad, using his academy.

The competition was founded in 2013, being a qualifying tournament for the Super Copa Gaúcha, where the winner ensures participation in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D of the following year. The Copa Metropolitana occasionally receive a different name, honoring important people related to football in Rio Grande do Sul. The 2014 edition is called Copa Nestor Ludwig, in posthumous tribute to former Internacional director who died in September 2013.

The current holders are Novo Hamburgo, having beaten Internacional by 2–1 aggregate in the 2013 finals. With this title, the Novo Hamburgo became the first winner of the Copa Metropolitana in history.

## History

Over the past decades, one of the major problems of Brazilian football has been the lack of an annual schedule for smaller clubs. These teams usually played in the state leagues and in the rest of the year closed, only reopening in the following year. Thus, FGF decided to create new competitions for this to not occur more, creating three regional tournaments: the Copa Metropolitana, the Copa Serrana and the Copa Sul-Fronteira. Along with the traditional domestic cup, the Copa FGF, the winners qualify for the Super Copa Gaúcha, where the four clubs play a qualification for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D and also a place in the dispute of the state supercup, the Recopa Gaúcha, against the champion of the Campeonato Gaúcho.

The first edition of the Copa Metropolitana was held in the second half of 2013, with the participation of eight clubs of the metropolitan region. The finals was played between Novo Hamburgo, winner of the first round, and Internacional, winner of the second round. The Novo Hamburgo won by 2–1 aggregate, winning the first title.

## Format

### Competition

In the first stage, all teams face off in round-robin, which will qualify the top four for the next phase, known as the semi-finals. At this stage, the first placed facing the fourth place and second place playing against the third placed in two matches each. The winners face off in the final two matches to define the winner of the competition.

### Qualification for competitions

The Copa Metropolitana winners qualify for the Super Copa Gaúcha, where it will have the opportunity to qualify for next year's Campeonato Brasileiro Série D. The winner of the Super Copa Gaúcha also dispute the Recopa Gaúcha, against the winner of Campeonato Gaúcho at the beginning of next season.

## Clubs

Having been established in 2013, the Copa Metropolitana is played by clubs located in the Metropolitan Porto Alegre and compete in the first, second or third division of the Campeonato Gaúcho. In some cases, clubs outside the metropolitan region compete in the tournament, occupying the space left by Grêmio or Internacional, who do not play together the competition because are very large compared to others teams and theoretically make unequal competition. Thus, one often dispute the Copa Serrana or the Copa Sul-Fronteira. The following 7 clubs will compete in the Copa Metropolitana during the 2014 edition.

| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Division in 2014 | First app | Number of apps | Titles | Last title |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 15 de Novembro | Campo Bom | Sady Schmidt | 4,000 | Série B | 2013 | 2 | — | — |
| Aimoré | São Leopoldo | Cristo Rei | 10,000 | Série A1 | 2013 | 2 | — | — |
| Cerâmica | Gravataí | Vieirão | 8,000 | Série A1 | 2013 | 2 | — | — |
| Estância Velha | Canoas | Estádio das Cabriúvas | 5,000 | Série B | 2014 | 1 | — | — |
| Internacional | Porto Alegre | Morada dos Quero-Queros | 2,000 | Série A1 | 2013 | 2 | — | — |
| Novo Hamburgo | Novo Hamburgo | Estádio do Vale | 6,500 | Série A1 | 2013 | 2 | 1 | 2013 |
| São José-RS | Porto Alegre | Passo D'Areia | 8,000 | Série A1 | 2013 | 2 | — | — |

## Records and statistics

### List of champions

Below is the complete list of winners and runners-up of the competition.

| Season | Champions | Runners-up |
| - | - | - |
| 2013 | Novo Hamburgo (1) | Internacional B |
| 2014 | Novo Hamburgo (2) | Internacional B |
| 2015 | Cruzeiro (1) | Juventude B |
| 2016 | São José (1) | Novo Hamburgo |

### Goalscorers

Are exposed here the goalscorers of all editions of the competition.

| Season | Player(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | Lucas Santos Diogo Maicon Santana | Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo Cerâmica | 4 |
| 2014 | — | — | — |
