| Event | King Alexander's Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 8 June 1922 | ||||||
| Venue | Stadion SK Jugoslavija, Belgrade | ||||||
| Referee | Heinrich Retschury (Austria) | ||||||
| Attendance | 5,000 | ||||||
The 1922 King Alexander's Cup (Romanian : Cupa Regelui Alexandru 1922) was the first edition of the Friendship Cup. It was a single-game tournament in 1922 and the first official match of the national association football team of Romania.
The trophy was named after Alexander I, the King of Yugoslavia. [1] [2] [3] The match was organized to celebrate the wedding of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia with the Princess Maria of Romania, the event being announced by the Romanian newspaper, Ecoul Sportiv on 28 May 1922: "On the occasion of the marriage of His Majesty King Alexander I with Her Royal Highness Princess Maria of Romania, His Majesty was pleased to donate a cup that will bear his name, to encourage the progress of the football-association sport in his country and in the country of his wife. This cup will be a challenge and will go definitely to the country which will win it three times in a row or five times in total." [1] [2] [3] [4] The game took place at Stadion SK Jugoslavija in Belgrade, Kingdom of SCS (today part of Serbia), and ended with a 2–1 win for Romania. [1] [2] [3] [5] Three kings were at the game: Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Ferdinand I of Romania and George II of Greece. [2] [3] Romania's equipment for that match was bought by one of its players, Elemer Hirsch and it was black and white, it is believed that the reason those colors were chosen is that Hirsch was a fan of Universitatea Cluj who had the same colors. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Squad : Positions
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The Romanian newspaper, Ecoul Sportiv wrote after the game: "The Romanian representative team wins the Golden Cup of His Majesty King Alexander, beating Jugo-Slavia 2–1. King Alexander's Cup will be exhibited for a week in Bucharest and then it will be sent to Transylvania to be seen by all sportsmen". [2] Ecoul Sportiv also wrote: "The game of the Romanian national team was a true masterpiece, all the players without exception were good, they combined beautifully with a lot of precision, no shot was taken without thought". [8] The Yugoslavian newspaper, Politika wrote after the game: "Yesterday's international match between the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, counting for the Cup of His Majesty King Alexander I surprised not only the host players, but the entire sports world, which did not doubt the success of our national team". [8]
Constantin Cernăianu was a Romanian football player and coach.
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Constantin "Costel" Rădulescu was a footballer and manager from Romania who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s. At one time or another Rădulescu had been associated with the Romania national team as either coach, manager or administrator within the Romanian Football Federation between 1923 and 1938.
Paul Constantin Codrea is a Romanian football manager and former player.
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Kostas Choumis was a Greek-Romanian football player who played as a striker. He is often regarded in Greece and Romania as one of the greatest strikers in the 1930s.
Vasile Deheleanu was a Romanian footballer who played in midfield and coach.
Grațian Sepi was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
Adalbert Steiner II was a Romanian football defender.
Aurel Guga was a Romanian football player. Regarded as one of the most talented and versatile players of the early 1920s, Guga was the first captain of the Romania football team. He was also part of Romania's squad for the football tournament at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Dumitru Pavlovici was a Romanian football goalkeeper who played for Romania in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
Atila Septar is a French-Romanian rugby union football player. He plays as a centre or wing for Provence Rugby.
Andrei Sepci was a Romanian footballer and manager. He was the manager that guided Știința Cluj in its successful 1964–65 Cupa României campaign.
Elemer Hirsch was a Romanian lawyer, figure skater, ice hockey player and a football defender, manager and referee.
Adalbert Ritter was a Romanian football goalkeeper and referee.
The King Alexander's Cup or Friendship Cup was an international football competition contested by the national teams of Romania and Yugoslavia. The tournament was named after Alexander I, the King of Yugoslavia and was organized to celebrate the wedding of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia with the Princess Maria of Romania, the event being announced by the Romanian newspaper, Ecoul Sportiv on 28 May 1922: "On the occasion of the marriage of His Majesty King Alexander I with Her Royal Highness Princess Maria of Romania, His Majesty was pleased to donate a cup that will bear his name, to encourage the progress of the football-association sport in his country and in the country of his wife. This cup will be a challenge and will go definitely to the country which will win it three times in a row or five times in total." The 1936, 1937 and 1939 editions were called King Carol's Cup, after Carol II of Romania and the last edition was called King Mihai Cup named after Mihai of Romania. Between 1937 and 1938, the regular Friendship Cup played between Romania and Yugoslavia was extended to include Czechoslovakia for an mini tournament called Eduard Benes' Cup named after Edvard Beneš, the president of Czechoslovakia.
Carol Frech was a Romanian football striker.
Dezideriu Jacobi was a Romanian football defender.
Ioan Auer was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
Paul Schiller was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
