Football at the Inter-Allied Games

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1919 Football at the Inter-Allied Games
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
City Paris
Dates24–29 June 1919
Teams8
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Bohemia.svg  Czechoslovakia (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg  France
Tournament statistics
Matches played13
Goals scored87 (6.69 per match)
Top scorer(s)

Football at the Inter-Allied Games was an unofficial football event organized by the United States military and the YMCA. It took place in June 1919, a year after the cessation of hostilities on the western front, and all the matches were played at the newly constructed Stade Pershing in Paris. [1] The tournament featured some of Europe's top players. The Inter-Allied Games is the first football tournament, official or otherwise, with national teams from two different continents. [1]

Contents

For this tournament, were invited teams from all the countries who had been on the winning side in the war as to celebrate their victory. Eight national teams participated in the competition: Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, hosts France, Greece, Italy, Romania and the United States. [1] [2]

Czechoslovakia, whose participation in the Allied-Games represented the first major international sporting appearance for the newly created nation, made a memorable campaign, winning the tournament without losing a single match. [1] Along with Czechoslovakia, the Allied-Games was also the first taste of international football for Romania and Greece, but because the matches played in Paris are not recognized by FIFA or the International Olympic Committee, and therefore, they are not considered official international matches, the Czech's official debut only came at the 1920 Olympics, [3] while Romania's came in 1922 and Greece's only came 10 years later, in 1929.[ citation needed ]

Venues

The venue was the newly constructed Stade Pershing in Paris, a gift to France from the American people. [1]

Squads

The Czechoslovakia national team, the champion of the games. L'equipe de football de Tchecoslovaquie, victorieuse des Jeux Interallies en 1919.jpg
The Czechoslovakia national team, the champion of the games.

According to the regulations, [4] the athletes who could take part in the competitions were those in active military service in the armies of the Allied countries or who had been in military service in the armies of the Allied countries during the War, and a significant number of players of the highest level met these criteria, many of whom being players of the national teams, which means that this tournament featured some of Europe's top players. The Winning Forces of the First World War assembled football teams for this tournament, resulting in 8 participants:[ citation needed ]

The Greek national team for the Inter-Allied Games in Paris, 1919 Greece football team Inter-Allied Games 1919.jpg
The Greek national team for the Inter-Allied Games in Paris, 1919

.

Format

The 8 teams were organized into two groups of four. Each team played each other once and each team was awarded 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss, and the winners of the groups would meet in the final, where the winner of the tournament would be determined. [1] [2]

Summary

Paul Nicolas was the top scorer of the tournament. Paul Nicolas en 1924.jpg
Paul Nicolas was the top scorer of the tournament.

Group A contained France, Italy, Greece, and Romania while the other consisted of the United States, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Belgium. In Group A, both France and Italy defeated Greece and Romania comfortably, meaning that the ticket to the final would be decided between them in the last match of the group. [1] The Italian team, which had recently performed brilliantly against the Czechs and the Belgian military teams in Rome, had to bow to France 2–0, which thus finished the group without conceding a single goal, in part thanks to the good performances of their goalkeeper Pierre Chayriguès. [2] Greece was trashed 0–9 and 0–11 by Italy and France respectively, conceding a poker in both games to Luigi Cevenini and Paul Nicolas. The latter also netted twice against Romania and his side's second against Italy to bring his goal tally up to seven. [3]

In group B, the fate of the first place was decided in the very first match between Czechoslovakia and Belgium, a kind of "rehearsal" of the 1920 Olympic final, which ended in a 4–1 win to the Czechs. [a] Czech forwards Antonin Janda and Jan Vaník also found the back of the net in all three matches of the group stage, with Janda netting once in a 4–1 win over Belgium, and twice against both Canada (3–2) and the USA (8–2), thus helping his side top the group and reach the final at the expense of Belgium. They would both score in the final against France as well. [3]

The most dramatic games of the whole tournament were the ones that decided the third spot of each group, a Balkanize derby between Greece and Romania in group A and an American derby between the USA and Canada in group B, and while the former finished with a 3–2 victory to a Greece team that had conceded twenty goals without reply in their two previous games, [3] the later saw Canada lead 4–1, but, as the newspaper Le Liberte pointed out: "...from that moment it began to rain from free kicks and penalties fixed by the American referee of the match in favor of their compatriots". [11] As a result, the US team celebrated a 5–4 victory. [1] The performance of the United States team at the games was not the best as they won only a single game while finishing with a minus-12 goal difference, however, the U.S. team acquitted itself pretty well considering that the American Expeditionary Forces Championship seemed to give little attention to building the strongest possible squad. [3]

Ultimately, Czechoslovakia and France met in the final and after a close match, the Czechs took home the silverware with a 3–2 win. [1] [2] [12] Janda, by his aggressiveness and good sportsmanship, became one of the most popular players of the tournament, but besides the wonderful work of Janda, the shifty playing of Václav Pilát at the center was also a big factor in the eventual 3–2 victory. [1] [13] Of all the team competitions organized in the Inter-Allied Games, football was the most successful. [2]

Results

Group 1

PosTeamPldWDLP.C.Qualification
1Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg  France 33001.000Advance to Final
2Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 32010.667
3Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 31020.333
4Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 30030.000
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [1]
France  Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg4–0Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Nicolas Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Gastiger Soccerball shade.svg
Rénier Soccerball shade.svg
Report
Stade Pershing, Paris
Attendance: 10,000


Italy  Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg7–1Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Ermanno Aebi Soccerball shade.svg?'
Cevenini Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Report Mares Soccerball shade.svg?'

France  Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg11–0Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece
Nicolas Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Rénier Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Dubly Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Darjeu Soccerball shade.svg
Petit Soccerball shade.svg
Report

Greece  Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg3–2Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Soccerball shade.svg?' Report Soccerball shade.svg?'

France  Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg2–0Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy
Gamblin Soccerball shade.svg?' (pen.)
Nicolas Soccerball shade.svg?'
Report1
Report2

Group 2

PosTeamPldWDLP.C.Qualification
1Flag of Bohemia.svg  Czechoslovakia 33001.000Advance to Final
2Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 32010.667
3Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 31020.333
4Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada 30030.000
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [1]
Czechoslovakia  Flag of Bohemia.svg4–1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Sedláček Soccerball shade.svg24', 77'
Vaník Soccerball shade.svg31'
Janda Soccerball shade.svg46'
Report Vlamynck Soccerball shade.svg41'
Stade Pershing, Paris
Attendance: 20,000

United States  Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg5–4Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada
Soccerball shade.svg?' Report Soccerball shade.svg?'

Czechoslovakia  Flag of Bohemia.svg8–2Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States
Janda Soccerball shade.svg?', ?'
Pilát Soccerball shade.svg?', ?'
Vaník Soccerball shade.svg?', ?'
Sedláček Soccerball shade.svg?'
Prošek Soccerball shade.svg?'
Report Soccerball shade.svg?'

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg5–2Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada
Soccerball shade.svg?' Report Soccerball shade.svg?'

Czechoslovakia  Flag of Bohemia.svg3–2Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada
Janda Soccerball shade.svg?', ?'
Vaník Soccerball shade.svg?'
Report Soccerball shade.svg?'

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg7–0Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States
Soccerball shade.svg?' Report

Final

1919 Inter-Allied Games final
France  Flag of France.svg2–3Flag of Bohemia.svg  Czechoslovakia
Deydier Soccerball shade.svg12'
Rénier Soccerball shade.svg28'
Report Vanik Soccerball shade.svg31'
Janda Soccerball shade.svg84', 90'
Stade Pershing, Paris
Attendance: 25,000

Winners

 Football at the Inter-Allied Games 
Flag of Bohemia.svg
Czechoslovakia

First title

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 87 goals scored in 13 matches, for an average of 6.69 goals per match.

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Hat-tricks

Inter-Allied Games hat-tricks
#PlayerGForResultAgainstPhaseDateReport
1. Luigi Cevenini 4Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 9–0Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece Group stage25 June 1919 Report
2. Paul Nicolas 5Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg  France 11–026 June 1919
3. Albert Rénier 3

See also

Notes

  1. Many French newspapers reported the score as 5–1, but according to Czech sources and the official bulletin of the games committee, [1] [4] the score of the match was 4–1.
  2. Some sources report the match as 5–2, but the official report reports 9–0. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Interallied Games 1919". RSSSF. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chayriguès sauve son équipe" [Chayriguès saves his team]. www.retronews.fr (in French). La Vie au grand air. 15 July 1919. p. 35. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Soccer at the Inter-Allied Games of 1919: Top Stars". soccerhistoryusa.org. 6 March 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 "The inter-allied games, Paris, 22nd June to 6th July of 1919". archive.org. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  5. "1919 American Expeditionary Forces Championship". RSSSF. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  6. "The Inter-Allied Games: United States". soccerhistoryusa.org. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  7. "Team Canada at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games". soccerhistoryusa.org. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  8. "Giorgos Kalafatis". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  9. "Cum a arătat fotbalul românesc în anii de după Marea Unire! Prima competiţie pentru România Mare" [How Romanian football looked in the years after the Great Union! The first competition for Greater Romania]. www.fanatik.ro (in Romanian). 1 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  10. "Fotbaliştii români în cele două războaie mondiale, ep. 1: Cei ce au făcut Unirea" [Romanian footballers in the two world wars, ep. 1: Those who made the Union]. lastegaru.net (in Romany). 19 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  11. "USA 5:4 Canada". peel.library.ualberta.ca (in French). 1 July 1919. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  12. "La France battue de justesse" [France narrowly beaten]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). L'Auto. 30 June 1919. p. 1. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  13. "Václav Pilát - Otec české uličky" [Václav Pilát - Father of the Czech alley]. www.eurofotbal.cz (in Czech). 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  14. "Greece – International Matches, 1929–1938". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

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