Balkans Cup

This article is about the defunct regional football competition contested by club teams of Balkan countries. For the national teams version, see Balkan Cup. For the youth version, see Balkan Youth Championship. For the rugby league, see Balkans Cup (rugby league).

Balkans Cup

Balkan Cup trophy
Founded	1961;63 years ago (1961)
Abolished	1994;30 years ago (1994)
Region	Southeast Europe
Number of teams	Various
Related competitions	Mitropa Cup Latin Cup
Last champions	Samsunspor (1st title)
Most successful club(s)	Beroe Stara Zagora (4 titles)

The Balkans Cup (officially Coupe Balkanique de Football) ^[1] was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), ^[2] being the second most important international club competition for clubs from the region (after the European Champions' Cup in which the champions could play; the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup originally attracted few teams from the region as many did not organise domestic cups regularly and only Yugoslavia had significant representation in the Fairs Cup). ^[2] The competition has been dominated by Bulgaria-based teams. The Bulgarian teams have won together a total number of 9 titles.

It later declined after Balkan clubs obtained more representation in the two minor UEFA competitions, in contrast to the (much older but also defunct) Balkan Cup for national teams.

Editions

The six nations which participated in the Balkans Cup (1961–1994)

Finals on Home and Away basis, except noted otherwise.

a → first leg of the final

Year(s) of Edition	Nr of Clubs & Format	Winner (or Champion in Group Format)	Results of Finals (or Points in Group Format)	Finalist (or Runner-up in Group Format)
001960–6100 Details	5 type-A	Steagul Roşu Braşov	13 – 8 Points RR	Levski Sofia
001961–6300 Details	8 type-B	Olympiacos	a1–0 / 0–1 / 1–0 Play-off match in Istanbul, Turkey.	Levski Sofia
001963–6400 Details		Rapid București	2–0 / 1–1a	Spartak Plovdiv
001964–6600 Details		Rapid București	a3–3 / 2–0	Farul Constanţa
001966–6700 Details		Fenerbahçe	1–0 / 1–2a / 3–1 Play-off match in Istanbul, Turkey. [3]	AEK Athens
001967–6800 Details		Beroe Stara Zagora	a3–0 / 3–4	Spartak Sofia
1969 Details	6 type-C	Beroe Stara Zagora	3–0 / 0–1a 2nd Leg: Dinamo walked off while losing 0–1.	Dinamo Tirana
1970 Details		Partizani Tirana	3–0 / 1–1a 2nd Leg: Beroe did not show up.	Beroe Stara Zagora
1971 Details		Panionios	a2–1 / 1–1	Besa Kavajë
1972 Details		Trakia Plovdiv	a5–0 / 0–4	Vardar Skopje
1973 Details		Lokomotiv Sofia	2–0 / 1–1a	ASA Târgu Mureș
1974 Details		Akademik Sofia	a2–1 / 0–0	Vardar Skopje
1975 Details		Radnički Niš	a1–0 / 2–1	Eskişehirspor
1976 Details		Dinamo Zagreb	a3–1 / 2–3	Sportul Studențesc
1977 Details		Panathinaikos	2–1 / 0–0a	Slavia Sofia
001977–7800 Details		NK Rijeka	4–1 / 0–1a	Jiul Petroşani
001979–8000 Details		Sportul Studențesc	a2–0 / 1–1	NK Rijeka
001980–8100 Details		Velež Mostar	6–2 / 6–5a	Trakia Plovdiv
001981–8300 Details		Beroe Stara Zagora	a3–0 / 3–1	17 Nëntori Tirana
001983–8400 Details	3 type-D	Beroe Stara Zagora	6 – 4 Points RR	Argeş Piteşti
001984–8500 Details	8 type-E	Iraklis Thessaloniki	4–1 / 1–3a	Argeş Piteşti
1986 Details		Slavia Sofia	a3–0 / 2–3	Panionios
001987–8800 Details	10 type-F	Slavia Sofia	a5–1 / 1–0	Argeş Piteşti
001988–8900 Details	6 type-C	OFI Crete	3–1 One Final in Serres, Greece.	Radnički Niš
001989–9000	The Balkans Cup did not take place due to the Romanian Revolution of 1989 .00
001990–9100 Details	6 type-G	Inter Sibiu	1–0 (a.e.t) / 0–0a	Budućnost Podgorica
001991–9200 Details	5 type-H	Sarıyer	1–0 / 0–0a	Oţelul Galaţi
001992–9300 Details	6 type-G	Edessaikos	3–1 / 0–1a	Etar Veliko Tarnovo
001993–9400 Details	4 type-I	Samsunspor	2–0 / 3–0a	PAS Giannina

• Competition's formats:

type-A: One group of 5 clubs.

type-B: Two groups of 4, top clubs qualifying for the final.

type-C: Two groups of 3, top clubs qualifying for the final.

type-D: One group of 3 clubs.

type-E: Knock-out (Quarterfinals → Semifinals → Final).

type-F: Two groups of 3 and one group of 4, top clubs plus the best runner-up qualifying for the Knock-out Semifinals.

type-G: Knock-out (Preliminary round qualifying 2 clubs out of 4 → Semifinals → Final).

type-H: Knock-out (Preliminary round qualifying 1 club out of 2 → Semifinals → Final).

type-I: Knock-out (Semifinals → Final).

Performances

By club

When sorted by year of winning or losing final(s), the table is sorted by the year of each club's first final.

Club	Winners	Finalists	Finals	Years of Winning	Years of Losing	Entries	Notes
Beroe Stara Zagora	4	1	0 4 [4]	1968, 1969, 1983, 1984	1970	7	1984 Top Spot in Group
Slavia Sofia	2	1	3	1986, 1988	1977	5
Rapid București	2	-	2	1964, 1966	0—	2	Winner in Both Entries
Panionios	1	1	2	1971	1986	3
Trakia Plovdiv	1	1	2	1972	1981	2	Reached Final in Both Entries
Radnički Niš	1	1	2	1975	1989	3
NK Rijeka	1	1	2	1978	1980	2	Reached Final in Both Entries
Sportul Studențesc	1	1	2	1980	1976	3
Olympiacos	1	-	1	1963	0—	3
Fenerbahçe	1	-	1	1967	0—	4
Partizani Tirana	1	-	1	1970	0—	5
Lokomotiv Sofia	1	-	1	1973	0—	4
Akademik Sofia	1	-	1	1974	0—	2
Dinamo Zagreb	1	-	1	1976	0—	1
Panathinaikos	1	-	1	1977	0—	1
Velež Mostar	1	-	1	1981	0—	1
Iraklis	1	-	1	1985	0—	3
OFI	1	-	1	1989	0—	2
Inter Sibiu	1	-	1	1991	0—	1
Sarıyer	1	-	1	1992	0—	1
Edessaikos	1	-	1	1993	0—	1
Samsunspor	1	-	1	1994	0—	2
Steagul Roşu Braşov	1	-	0 - [5]	1961	0—	4	1961 Top Spot in Group
Argeş Piteşti	-	2	0 2 [4]	0—	1984, 1985, 1988	3	1984 Runner-up in Group
Vardar Skopje	-	2	2	0—	1972, 1974	4
Levski Sofia	-	1	0 1 [5]	0—	1961, 1963	3	1961 Runner-up in Group
Spartak Plovdiv	-	1	1	0—	1964	2
Farul Constanţa	-	1	1	0—	1966	4
AEK Athens	-	1	1	0—	1967	4
Spartak Sofia	-	1	1	0—	1968	1
Dinamo Tirana	-	1	1	0—	1969	5
Besa Kavajë	-	1	1	0—	1971	2
Târgu Mureș	-	1	1	0—	1973	2
Eskişehirspor	-	1	1	0—	1975	3
Jiul Petroşani	-	1	1	0—	1978	1
17 Nëntori Tirana	-	1	1	0—	1983	4
Budućnost Podgorica	-	1	1	0—	1991	2
Oţelul Galaţi	-	1	1	0—	1992	1
Etar Veliko Tarnovo	-	1	1	0—	1993	3
PAS Giannina	-	1	1	0—	1994	2
Total	280	260	520	52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format.

• All 24 Clubs (out of 89 in total) that appeared in the Balkans Cup for 3 times or more, eventually Reached the Final with the exception of: Galatasaray (5 entries) and Beşiktaş (3) of Turkey, Vllaznia Shkodër (3) of Albania and Universitatea Craiova (3) of Romania.
• Beroe Stara Zagora of Bulgaria is competition's Record Holder concerning participation (7 entries), finals reached (4, plus one top spot in group) and wins (4), while in their single lost final against Partizani for 1970 edition, they opted not showing up in Tirana for the return leg of a 1–1 draw at home.
• Next to Beroe's 4, their compatriots Slavia Sofia reached 3 Finals (2 wins), while Romanian Argeş Piteşti had 2 (no win), plus one runner-up spot in group (each time they entered the competition, ended up in the losing side).
• 6 clubs won Balkans Cup in their Single Entry: Dinamo Zagreb (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) in 1976, Panathinaikos Athens (Greece) in 1977, Velež Mostar (Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1980–81, Inter Sibiu (Romania) in 1990–91, Sarıyer İstanbul (Turkey) in 1991–92 and Edessaikos Edessa (Greece) in 1992–93 edition.

By country

Clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia competed as part of SFR Yugoslavia.

Country	00Winners	0Finalists	Finals	Clubs won in final(s)	Clubs did not win in final(s)
Bulgaria	9	0 7 [5]	0 15 [6]	Beroe Stara Zagora (4) Slavia Sofia (2) Trakia Plovdiv (1) Lokomotiv Sofia (1) Akademik Sofia (1)	Levski Sofia (1 + Runner-up spot in 1961.) Spartak Plovdiv (1) Spartak Sofia (1) Beroe Stara Zagora (1) Slavia Sofia (1) Trakia Plovdiv (1) Etar Veliko Tarnovo (1)
Greece	6	3	09	Olympiacos Piraeus (1) Panionios Smyrna (Athens) (1) Panathinaikos Athens (1) Iraklis Thessaloniki (1) OFI Crete (1) Edessaikos Edessa (1)	AEK Athens (1) Panionios Smyrna (Athens) (1) PAS Giannina Ioannina (1)
Romania	5	0 7 [4]	0 11 [6]	Rapid București (2) Steagul Roşu Braşov (1) Sportul Studențesc București (1) Inter Sibiu (1)	Argeş Piteşti (2 + Runner-up spot in 1983–84.) Farul Constanţa (1) ASA 1962 Târgu Mureș (1) Sportul Studențesc București (1) Jiul Petroşani (1) Oţelul Galaţi (1)
Yugoslavia	4	5	09	Dinamo Zagreb (1) NK Rijeka (1) Radnički Niš (1) Velež Mostar (1) ___ ___	NK Rijeka (1) Radnički Niš (1) —— Vardar Skopje (2) Budućnost Podgorica (1)
	2	1	3
	1	1	2
	1	-	1
	-	2	2
	-	1	1
Turkey	3	1	04	Fenerbahçe İstanbul (1) Sarıyer İstanbul (1) Samsunspor (Samsun) (1)	Eskişehirspor (Eskişehir) (1)
Albania	1	3	04	Partizani Tirana (1)	Dinamo Tirana (1) Besa Kavajë (1) 17 Nëntori Tirana (1)
Total	280	260	52	52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format.

Top performer by country:

Country	Club	0Winners	Finalists	0Finals	Entries	Notes
BUL	Beroe Stara Zagora	4	1	0 4 [4]	7	Balkans Cup record holder in wins, finals reached and entries.
ROU	Rapid București	2	–	2	2
YUG	NK Rijeka	1	1	2	2	Radnički Niš same performance in 3 entries.
GRE	Panionios Smyrna (Athens)	1	1	2	3
TUR	Sarıyer İstanbul	1	–	1	1	Samsunspor and Fenerbahçe 1 win in 2 and 4 entries respectively.
ALB	Partizani Tirana	1	–	1	5

Participation

By club

In the 33 years of its existence, a total of 89 clubs from 6 countries appeared in the 28 Balkans Cup editions. Two of them, both Turkish, withdrawn their participation before playing a single match: Zonguldakspor in 1980–81 and Trabzonspor in 1986. Sides with 4 entries or more:

Club	Country	Entries	Winners	Finalists	Finals	First Edition	Last Edition	Notes
Beroe Stara Zagora	BUL	7	4	1	0 4 [4]	1967–68	1992–93
Slavia Sofia	BUL	5	2	1	3	1977	1987–88
Partizani	ALB	5	1	–	1	1961	1979–80
Dinamo Tirana	ALB	5	–	1	1	1961–63	1987–88
Galatasaray	TUR	5	–	–	–	1961–63	1990–91	Also Withdrew in 1977–78 and 1979–80.
Steagul Roşu Braşov	ROU	4	1	–	0 - [5]	1961	1972
Fenerbahçe	TUR	4	1	–	1	1961	1967–68	Also Withdrew in 1963–64.
Lokomotiv Sofia	BUL	4	1	–	1	1966–67	1988–89
Vardar Skopje	YUG	4	–	2	2	1964–66	1974
Farul Constanţa	ROU	4	–	1	1	1964–66	1975
AEK Athens	GRE	4	–	1	1	1961	1980–81
17 Nëntori Tirana	ALB	4	–	1	1	1964–66	1990–91

By country

Bulgarian and Turkish sides were present at each one of the 28 Balkans Cup editions, while Yugoslavian were absent 9 times in total, entering just twice during its last decade of existence (ironically, reaching both finals). Generally, South Slavs (both Football Association and clubs) were never keen supporters of the competition, as they had neither been enthusiastic about the national teams' Balkan Cup, too.

		00 Bulgaria 00	Turkey	0 Romania 0	00 Greece 00	Albania	Yugoslavia
000Number of different sides that entered		15	17	18	15	12	12
000Editions of Balkans Cup that
[1]	Country was represented by at least one club	28	28	27	27	26	20
[2]	Country's club withdrew before playing a match	0—	05	0—	01	0—	01
[3]	Country was still represented by another club	0—	01	0—	01	0—	0—
[4]	Country's clubs competed(=[1]-[2]+[3])	28	24	27	27	26	19
000Country's clubs were absent(=28 total editions-[4])		0—	04	01	01	02	09
000Years/editions that country's clubs were absent		—	1977 to 1981 1986	1993–94 (Last Cup)	1983–84	1983 to 1985	1961 (First Cup) 1983 to 1988 1991–end
[5]	Editions a club quit after playing at least one match	01	05	01	04	0—	01
000Editions a club withdrew or quit (=[2]+[5])		01	10	01	05	0—	02
[6]	Editions with double entry	08	05	06	03	01	0—
[7]	Total entries (=[4]-[3]+[6])	36	28	33	29	27	19
[8]	Cups won	09	03	05	06	01	04
000% success in winning the Cup (=[8]÷[7]×100)		25%	11%	15%	21%	04%	21%
[9]	Finals reached	0 15	04	0 11 [6]	09	04	09
000% success in reaching the final (=[9]÷[7]×100)'		42%	14%	33%	31%	15%	47%

Despite the fact that in each edition there was at least one Turkish side initially entering, in no less than 5 occasions it withdrew before playing a single match and in 5 more quit during group stage, after unsuccessful results. Greeks followed with 1 withdrawal and 4 quits, while clubs from all countries had sporadically terminated their participation in some early stage of the competition, except for Albanian. Multiple winner and several other records holder Beroe Stara Zagora, became the only Bulgarian side ever to withdraw or quit a Balkans Cup match and the single one to do so in a final, by not showing up for 1970 edition's return leg against Partizani Tirana of Albania, following a 1–1 draw at home.

See also

• Mitropa Cup
• Latin Cup

References

1. sportsmemories.be
2. "Balkans Cup". RSSSF . Retrieved 5 January 2015.
3. Draw for the venue was held by FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous.
4. 1983–84 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.
5. 1961 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.
6. 1961 and 1983–84 editions not included, since contested in Group Format.

External links

• Balkans Cup Archive , Romeo Ionescu, RSSSF (Recreation & Sports Soccer Statistics Foundation)
• Balkans Cup , Mehmet Çelik, Turkish Soccer