After an intense final in the FPC, with eight games played simultaneously, the home run classifications have been defined and the eight participants already know their final positions in the search for glory. Just as going out first does not guarantee a good performance in these home runs, going out last or ‘entering through the window’ can mean a significant emotional lift in the final stretch.
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Short tournaments came to Colombian soccer in 2002, the year in which two champions per season began to be crowned. From that moment, various methods of classification were applied to finals, going from home runs to direct elimination style. Currently, eight teams make the quota to then face each other in two groups of four kits, where the first in each advance to the grand final.
Since that 2002, 25 tournaments have been defined by the home run system and only four teams have managed to lift the champion trophy at the end of the semester after finishing eighth in the ‘all against all’ stage.
The first champion of the FPC arrived in this context. América finished eighth with 33 units, stayed with group B with 12 points and in the final left Atlético Nacional on the road with a 3-1 aggregate.
In the 2004 Finalization Tournament, another champion appeared who had finished in eighth position. He was Junior. He added 28 points in the ‘all against all’, in the group he had 13 points and then won against Nacional on penalties.
In 2006, Deportivo Pasto also met these requirements. He finished eighth with 27 points and won the spot on goal difference. In the final of that contest they beat Deportivo Cali 2-1.
The last case occurred during the 2009 Apertura, Once Caldas suffered the same fate. In the first phase he achieved 28 points, finished eighth and then left Junior empty-handed in the final.
