Latin Cup

Last updated

Latin Cup
Copa latina transparent.png
The trophy awarded to champions
Organising body Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg FFF
Flag of Italy.svg FIGC
Flag of Portugal.svg FPF
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg FEF
Founded1949
Abolished1957;67 years ago (1957)
Region Southwest Europe
Number of teams4
Related competitions Mitropa Cup
Balkans Cup
Last champions Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Real Madrid
(2nd title) (1957)
Most successful club(s) Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona
Flag of Italy.svg Milan
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Real Madrid
(2 titles each)

The Latin Cup [1] was an international official football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949, the football federations came together and requested FIFA launch the competition. European clubs could not afford hefty travel costs, so competition was staged at the end of every season in a single host country. The competition featured two semi-finals, a third-place play-off, and a final. [2]

Contents

This competition is considered a predecessor of European club tournaments, namely the European Cup, [3] the first edition of which was held in 1955.

History

The tournament began in 1949 and was usually played between the league champions of each participating country. Every four years, the countries' ranking would be determined based on their sides' performances in the Latin Cup. The competition was last played in 1957, two years after the introduction of the UEFA-sanctioned European Cup. Real Madrid played and won the European Cup and Latin Cup in 1957.

Prior to the introduction of the European Cup, the Latin Cup was considered the most important cup for clubs in Europe, the longer-established Mitropa Cup having gone into decline after World War II. The Latin Cup has been described one of the forerunners "of the European Cup" by UEFA. [3]

According to Jules Rimet, 3rd President of FIFA, the Latin Cup was a competition created by FIFA at the request of the four nations that contested it, but its regulation was made by a committee composed of members from the competing federations, and FIFA did not participate actively in its organisation. [4]

The Latin Cup was based on cycles of 4 years, being held in one country each year. The champion of each edition achieved the most points (4) to its Federation while teams placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th received 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively. Moreover, the Federation, which totalised the most points every four years, received the trophy, while the champion club was given a smaller replica of it. [2]

The first edition was opened on 20 June 1949, with the Sporting CP vs Torino at Chamartín Stadium of Madrid. One month before 18 of Torino players had died at Superga air disaster. Barcelona would be the first champion of the tournament after beating Sporting 2–1 at the final. [2]

The second edition clashed with the 1950 FIFA World Cup of Brazil, so most of the players of the league champions were called up by their respective national teams. Therefore, that year, Lazio, the fourth of Serie A, participated in the Latin Cup. In 1951, French runners-up Lille OSC replaced French champions Nice, who relinquished the 1951 Latin Cup in order to play the Copa Rio. Due to a fixture clash with the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland, no Latin Cup was held that year (the participants would have been Real Madrid, Sporting CP, Lille OSC, and Internazionale—the latter did not get another chance to enter).

After the first four editions played, the Royal Spanish Football Federation won the first cycle with twelve points, eight of which were contributed by Barcelona and four by Atlético Madrid. [2]

Results

All teams were champions of the preceding domestic season in each nation, except where it indicates, detailing their finishing position in respective leagues.

YearFinalThird Place MatchVenueCity
WinnerScoreRunner-upThird placeScoreFourth place
1949 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona 2–1 Flag of Portugal.svg Sporting CP Flag of Italy.svg Torino 5–3 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Reims Estadio Chamartín Madrid
1950 Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica
3–3 (a.e.t.)
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Bordeaux Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Atlético Madrid 2–1 Flag of Italy.svg Lazio (4) Estádio Nacional Oeiras
2–1 (a.e.t.)
1951 Flag of Italy.svg Milan 5–0 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Lille (2) Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Atlético Madrid 3–1 Flag of Portugal.svg Sporting CP San Siro Milan
1952 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona 1–0 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Nice Flag of Italy.svg Juventus 3–2 Flag of Portugal.svg Sporting CP Parc des Princes Paris
1953 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Reims 3–0 Flag of Italy.svg Milan (3) Flag of Portugal.svg Sporting CP 4–1 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Valencia (2) Estádio Nacional Oeiras
1954Not held
1955 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Real Madrid 2–0 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Reims Flag of Italy.svg Milan 3–1 Flag of Portugal.svg Belenenses (2) Parc des Princes Paris
1956 Flag of Italy.svg Milan (2)3–1 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Athletic Bilbao Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica (2)2–1 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Nice Arena Civica Milan
1957 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Real Madrid 1–0 Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica Flag of Italy.svg Milan 4–3 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Saint-Étienne Santiago Bernabéu Madrid

Titles by club

ClubTitlesWinning years
Flag of Italy.svg Milan 2 1951, 1956
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona 2 1949, 1952
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Real Madrid 2 1955, 1957
Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica 1 1950
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Reims 1 1953

Titles by country

CountryTitlesWinning years
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Spain 4 1949, 1952, 1955, 1957
Flag of Italy.svg Italy 2 1951, 1956
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg France 1 1953
Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal 1 1950

Individual records

Top scorers by year

YearPlayerGoals
1949 Flag of Portugal.svg Fernando Peyroteo 3
1950 Flag of Portugal.svg Arsénio Duarte
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Édouard Kargu
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg André Doye
3
1951 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg André Strappe 5
1952 Flag of Italy.svg Giampiero Boniperti 3
1953 Flag of Portugal.svg João Martins 4
1954Not held
1955 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Héctor Rial
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Léon Glowacki
Flag of Italy.svg Eduardo Ricagni
2
1956 Flag of Italy.svg Juan Alberto Schiaffino 3
1957 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Paco Gento 3

See also

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References

  1. (French : Coupe Latine; Italian : Coppa Latina; Portuguese : Taça Latina or Copa Latina; Spanish : Copa Latina)
  2. 1 2 3 4 La curiosa aventura de la Copa Latina by Alfredo Relaño on El País, 25 September 2016
  3. 1 2 Goals, not coal, for Kopa on UEFA website, 4 February 2011
  4. Rimet, Pierre (4 January 1951). Rodrigues Filho, Mário (ed.). "Cartas de Paris – Das pirâmides do Egito ao colosso do Maracanã, com o Sr. Jules Rimet" [Letters from Paris – From the pyramids of Egypt to the colossus of Maracanã, with Mr. Jules Rimet]. Jornal dos Sports (in Portuguese). No. 6554. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2017. A Taça Latina é uma competição criada pela F. I. F. A. a pedido dos quatro países que a disputam atualmente. Mas o Regulamento é feito por uma Comissão composta por membros das Federações concorrentes e de fato a F. I. F. A. não participa ativamente na organização

Further reading