Copa Rio (international tournament)
 | |
| Founded | 1951 |
|---|---|
| Region |
Europe South America |
| Most successful club(s) |
 |
The Copa Rio (Rio Cup) was the first intercontinental football club tournament. Brazilian press, at the time, dubbed it as "club world cup", a title that would later be applied to the Toyota Cup. Copa Rio presented a format resembling the one adopted by FIFA in the first edition of FIFA Club World Cup held in 2000. It was an international club tournament played by 8 teams from Europe and South America between 30 June and 22 July 1951 in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in the stadiums of Pacaembu and Maracanã, respectively.
The importance of the 1951 River Cup is linked to the fact that it was the first competition football interclubs with worldwide coverage, having been created even before the Intercontinental Cup. The competition was organised by the Brazilian Sports Confederation, with aid and authorisation from FIFA, and was named for being sponsored by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall. FIFA states that the Palmeiras is de facto the holder of the title of the first World competition between clubs in history. [1] [2] Two editions of Copa Rio took place in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil in 1951, Palmeiras, from Brazil, was the winner of the tournament, while Fluminense, also from Brazil and coorganizer of the 1952 event, won this title in 1952. However, according to the standard FIFA statute, there are official competitions organized by FIFA or at least one of the continental confederations[3], so this is not the case of the Copa Rio, officially organized by the Brazilian Federation.[4] [5]In the future only FIFA executive committee can change the status of this competition.[3]
The competition was succeeded by another tournament, named Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer, which was won by Vasco da Gama, of Brazil. This tournament which succeeded Copa Rio had a different composition, with the predominance of Brazilian teams (five Brazilian sides, and three foreign clubs),[6] thus, losing part of its intercontinental aspect.
History
According to contemporary Brazilian newspapers "O Estado de S. Paulo" and "Jornal do Brasil" and Spanish newspaper "El Mundo Deportivo", the original idea was to invite the champion clubs from Rio de Janeiro State League, São Paulo State League (back then there was no National League in Brazil, and São paulo and Rio de Janeiro were, and still are, the country's strongest soccer powerhouses), Portugal (due to historical bonds of affection between Brazil and Portugal. Portugal was invited to the 1950 World Cup to replace other selections, but ended up declining because of the cost of the trip to Brazil, which has also led other teams to refuse the invitation to the 1950 World Cup[7]), Uruguay, Italy, Sweden, Spain and England (the countries which had ranked top in the FIFA World Cup 1950, held in Brazil). According to the original plan, countries such as France, Argentina, USSR, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and West Germany (which were then regarded as important soccer powerhouses) were not to be invited as they did not participate in the FIFA World Cup 1950. However, the French side Nice ended up being accepted at the competition following the organisers's failure to bring a Spanish side to it. Also due to the failure in bringing teams from England and Sweden, the competition organisers ended up accepting as substitutes clubs from Austria (back then the biggest winning country at the Mitropa Cup) and Yugoslavia (which followed the top rank of the FIFA World Cup 1950). In 1952, the Brazilian Football Confederation invited teams from Argentina and West Germany, which were not invited for the 1951 edition of the tournament.
Some clubs were invited to the competition and decided not to participate:
In 1951: AC Milan (Italy), FC Barcelona (Spain), Atletico de Madrid (Spain), Tottenham Hotspur (England) and Newcastle United (England).
In 1952: Juventus (Italy), Internazionale (Italy), Millonarios (Colombia), Hibernian (Scotland), Newcastle United (England), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain) and Nice (France).
This apparently is due to the concurrence of the Latin Cup on dates nearby, as in 1951 AC Milan and Atletico de Madrid played the Latin Cup, having Milan stated to the Brazilian FA that its withdrawal from the 1951 Copa Rio was due to the Latin Cup, wheres Nice withdrew from the Latin Cup 1951 in order to play the Copa Rio 1951; whereas in 1952 Barcelona, Nice and Juventus played the Latin Cup, having Juventus stated to the Brazilian FA that its withdrawal from the 1952 Copa Rio was due to the Latin Cup. As for the Real Madrid invitation in 1952, the Spanish club negotiated both with the Brazilian FA and with the Venezuelan FA, and ended up playing the Venezuelan competition called "Pequeña Copa del Mundo", staged simultaneously to Copa Rio 1952. Millonarios (Colombia) declined the invitation in 1952 on grounds that the club was committed to participating at the "Pequeña Copa del Mundo". Internazionale (Italy) declined on grounds that the club's Directing Board felt that the team was not "leveled up to such competition" following a crashing defeat to minor Italian side Pro-Patria. As for the British declinations (Tottenham Hotspurs and Newcastle in 1951, Newcastle and Hibernian in 1952), there is no source providing an explanation to that, but the sheer indifference of the British to the Intercontinental Cup (shown in the 1970s) suggest that their non-participation in Copa Rio may most probably have derived simply from sheer indifference on their part to intercontinental club competitions or in the case of Tottenham Hotspurs, perhaps by financial problems, which ended up canceling his escursao in Argentina on April 1, 1951.
Some clubs accepted the invitation to participante but weren't able to do so, while other clubs requested participation and were denied. In 1951 Mexican club Atlas requested participation and was denied, while the Indian Football Association requested the participation of a national club and was also denied. In 1952 the Argentinian FA denied authorization for its national champion (Racing Avellaneda) to participate, while Nuremberg (West Germany) was prevented from participating in 1952 due to a West Germany 1950-1952 Federal Law prohibiting national clubs from participating in tournaments abroad (FC Saarbrücken took its berth, since that Law did not apply to clubs from the Saarland Protectorate due to political reasons). In 1952, Dinamo Zagreb (then Yugoslavia, presently Croatia) requested participation and was denied. Also in 1952, Uruguayan Peñarol withdrew from the competition in its semi-final, having a W.O. in the second semi-final leg match against Corinthians, alleging "lack of security" after their first semi-final leg match ended in a bad brawl.
Apparently due to the difficulties in bringing European sides to compete in Brazil (as stated on "Estado de São Paulo" newspaper articles from 1952 June 25 through 29th), the CBD (Brazilian Football Confederation) decided that in 1953 its intercontinental competition should have not 2 Brazilian sides and 6 foreign sides, but 4 Brazilian sides and 4 foreign sides. The schedule of the 1953 competition was formed in this exact manner; however, the Uruguayan Football Association prohibited Club Nacional de Montevideo from participating on the verge of the start of the competition, and this club was replaced by Brazilian side Fluminense, as there was not enough time to search for a foreign substitute, thus the competition ended up including 5 Brazilian sides (instead of 4) and 3 foreign sides (instead of 4). The 1953 competition also saw some clubs being invited and declining to participate, while two clubs were invited, accepted to participate but then were uninvited by the Brazilian Football Confederation: West German side Rot Weiss (from Essen) and Partizan (from Belgrade, Serbia, then Yugoslavia). In the case of Rot Weiss Essen, its invitation followed its wininning of the German Cup, and its uninvitation followed a 4 X 0 defeat it suffered (in a friendly match in its home town of Essen) to the Rio de Janeiro's club America FC (not seen as a top Rio de Janeiro club), which made the Brazilian FA doubt the technical strength of the German club and then uninvite it. Due to this uninvitation, the German club sued the Brazilian FA for financial compensation, taking the case to FIFA (the result of the Rot Weiss's demand at FIFA is unknown). Despite the different name and the different foreign/Brazilian ratio of teams, some 1953 sources (1953 editions of both São Paulo newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and Barcelona newspaper El Mundo Deportivo) referred to the 1953 tournament as the same tournament of 1951-1952, while other sources (RSSSF and 1953 editions of Rio de Janeiro newspaper Jornal do Brasil) treated the 1953 tournament as being a successor to the 1952 tournament.[8]
It has been proven that FIFA officials Stanley Rous and Ottorino Barassi have participated in the organisation of the competition in 1951, Stanley Rous mainly as far as the negotiations with European clubs are concerned, whereas Barassi not only did that but also helped delineate the framework of the competition. It is also a proven fact that Ottorino Barassi participated in the organisation of the competition in 1952, though in the 1952 case the evidence exists that he did it through telephone contact, there not being evidence that he came to Brazil personally in 1952, while in the 1951 case the evidence proves that he travelled several times to Brazil to deal with the Brazilian FA and that he was in Brazil during the competition.[8]
The Italian press regarded the competition as an "impressive project" that "was greeted so enthusiastically by FIFA officials Stanley Rous and Jules Rimet to the extent of almost giving it an official FIFA stamp".[9] and as a competition that inspired the creation of the European Champions Cup from which it derives Intercontinental Cup.[10] Commenting the 1951 Juventus' acceptance to participate in the tournament, the Italian press stated that "an Italian club could not be missing in such an important and worldwide-reaching event".[11]
Status as World level competition
In December 2007, in a negative response to a Palmeiras' request, FIFA decided that the first World Club Cup was played in 2000, thus not recognizing Copa Rio as an official FIFA competition.[12] This competition was recognized by FIFA to the Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras dated 2013/04/23.[13] However was a friendly trophy organized by the Brazilian federation (Confederação Brasileira de Desportos). In 2014 also Ministério dos Esportes do Brasil he received the documents from FIFA[14] that confirms the title, specifying however that the first tournament organized exclusively by FIFA was played in 2000 but Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras was world champions in 1951.[15][16]
On August 9, 2014, FIFA President Joseph Blatter recognizes the title of Palmeiras as a World Cup. [17] After the president of FIFA, Joseph Blatter, to say that the title Palmeiras of the Copa Rio 1951 was considered world-wide, the entity that commands the football has spoken again. According to FIFA, in response to a consultation made by GloboEsporte.com, the tournament was "the first among Europeans and South Americans worldwide". FIFA, however, still separates the tournament champions who did not organize those who won the competitions created by her. This is how the world football manager answered the question as to whether the Verdão could be considered the world champion of 1951.
On July 22, 2016, FIFA exvoiced the 65-year anniversary of the 1951 Rio Cup title, won by the Palmeiras, in what was the first World club in history. The entity posted the following: "Green is the color of envy. The ' Verdão ' was envied by the world on this day, 65 years ago. Inspired by Liminha, Palmeiras won a Juventus team that had Giampieri Boniperti and a large trio of Danes to become "the world's first Intercontinental club champion". [18]
Until January 27, 2017, majority [19] of FIFA's mentions as the first world-wide club Championships referred only to the 1951 Copa Rio, in general, formal consultations of the Palmeiras [20] and the state of São Paulo on the title Palmeiras, [21] but on that date a communication from FIFA to the newspaper the state of S. Paulo included the Copa Rio de 1952 in its official note. [22] In that same note the entity stated that, despite recognizing and valuing the competitions of clubs of world Dimensions not organized by it as in the case of Copa Rio and Intercontinental Cup, however, only regarded as official FIFA world champions the Winners of the World Cup of clubs played in 2000 and since 2005. Reinforced positioning in October 2017, when he recognized the winners of the Intercontinental Cup as world champions, [23] without, also, promoting the unification of the Intercontinental Cup with its current competition.[24]
In Brazil, the competition was truly regarded as a Club World Cup, and the participating Brazilian teams (Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Fluminense) entitled to it a level of importance they would later entitle only to major football trophies such as the Brazilian League, the Copa Libertadores, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In Brazil, the Copa Rio was regarded as more important than the Venezuelan contemporary friendly international competition, the Pequeña Copa del Mundo. While in 1951 Vasco da Gama cancelled a trip to Europe in order to play the Copa Rio, in 1953 Vasco da Gama declined the invitation to play the "Pequeña Copa de Mundo 1953", which was eventually played and won by Corinthians (which was invited to the Venezuelan competition only after Vasco declined to participate in it).
1951 Copa Rio
Teams
.svg.png)
Rio de Janeiro Group
All matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.
| Teams | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 0 |
- June 30: Austria Wien 4−0 Nacional
- July 1: Vasco da Gama 5−1 Sporting CP
- July 3: Nacional 3−2 Sporting CP
- July 5: Vasco da Gama 5−1 Austria Wien
- July 7: Sporting CP 1−2 Austria Wien
- July 8: Vasco da Gama 2−1 Nacional
São Paulo Group
All matches played at Estádio do Pacaembu.
| Teams | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 0 |
- June 30: Palmeiras 3−0 OGC Nice
- July 1: Juventus 3−2 Red Star
- July 3: OGC Nice 2−3 Juventus
- July 5: Palmeiras 2−1 Red Star
- July 7: Red Star 1−2 OGC Nice
- July 8: Palmeiras 0−4 Juventus
Semi-finals
São Paulo
- July 12: Austria Wien 3−3 Juventus
- July 14: Juventus 3−1 Austria Wien
Rio de Janeiro
- July 12: Vasco da Gama 1−2 Palmeiras
- July 15: Vasco da Gama 0−0 Palmeiras
Finals
São Paulo
- July 18: Palmeiras 1−0 Juventus
Rio de Janeiro
- July 22: Juventus 2−2 Palmeiras
Champion
First title |
1952 Copa Rio
Teams
Rio de Janeiro Group
All matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.
| Teams | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 |
- Peñarol 1−0 Grasshopper-Club
- July 13: Fluminense 0−0 Sporting CP
- Peñarol 3−1 Sporting CP
- July 17: Fluminense 1−0 Grasshopper-Club
- Sporting CP 2−1 Grasshopper-Club
- July 20: Fluminense 3−0 Peñarol
São Paulo Group
All matches played at Estádio do Pacaembu.
| Teams | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 6 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
- Austria - Libertad 4-2
- July 13: Corinthians - Saarbrücken 6-1
- July 16: Austria - Saarbrücken 5-1
- Corinthians - Libertad 6-1
- July 19: Libertad - Saarbrücken 4-1
- Corinthians - Austria 2-1
Semi-finals
- São Paulo semifinal
Corinthians - Peñarol 2-1
Corinthians - Peñarol 0-0
- Rio de Janeiro semifinal
July 23: Fluminense - Austria 1-0
July 27: Fluminense - Austria 5-2
Finals
Both matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.
- July 30: Fluminense - Corinthians 2-0
- August 2: Fluminense - Corinthians 2-2
Champion
First title |
Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer 1953
NB: tournament successor of Copa Rio held in 1951 and 1952.
Teams
Rio de Janeiro Group
| Date | Venue | Game | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 7, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | A | Vasco |
| June 13, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | B | Botafogo |
| June 14, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | C | Vasco |
| June 17, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | D | Botafogo |
| June 20, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | E | Fluminense |
| June 21, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | F | Vasco |
Final Classification
| Position | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasco da Gama |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Fluminense |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Botafogo |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Hibernian |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 1 |
São Paulo Group
| Date | Venue | Game | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 7, 1953 | São Paulo | G | Corinthians |
| June 13, 1953 | São Paulo | H | São Paulo |
| June 14, 1953 | São Paulo | I | Corinthians |
| June 17, 1953 | São Paulo | J | São Paulo |
| June 20, 1953 | São Paulo | L | Olimpia |
| June 21, 1953 | São Paulo | M | São Paulo |
Final Classification
| Position | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 | Corinthians |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Sporting |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
| 4 | Olimpia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 1 |
Semi-finals
São Paulo
| Date | Venue | Game | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 24, 1953 | São Paulo | N | São Paulo |
| June 28, 1953 | São Paulo | O | São Paulo |
Rio de Janeiro
| Date | Venue | Game | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 24, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | Q | Vasco da Gama |
| June 28, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | R | Vasco da Gama |
Final
| Date | Venue | Game | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 1953 | São Paulo | S | São Paulo |
| July 4, 1953 | Rio de Janeiro | T | Vasco da Gama |
Champion
First title |
See also
- International club competition records
References
- ↑ "Ao Estado, Fifa confirma Mundial de 1951 para o Palmeiras - Esportes - Estadão". Estadão (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Exclusivo: Documento da FIFA chamou Palmeiras de primeiro campeão mundial | FOX Sports". FOX Sports (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- 1 2 "FIFA Statute" (PDF). FIFA Statute. Zurich: Fédération Internationale de Football Association: 5, 17, 18, 19. May 2013.
- ↑ "65 anos da Copa Rio de 1951: lembre 14 fatos e curiosidades do Mundial do Palmeiras". goal.com (in Portuguese).
- ↑ "COPA RIO - TORNEIO INTERNACIONAL DE CAMPEÕES". campeoesdofutebol.com.br (in Portuguese), 02/22/2015.
- ↑ Originally, the 1953 competition was supposed to include four Brazilian teams and four foreign teams, but the Uruguayan Football Association prohibited Club Nacional de Montevideo from participating on the verge of the competition, and this club was replaced by Fluminense, as there was not enough time to search for a foreign substitute.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
- 1 2 The sources are available only in Portuguese and Spanish languages and are available on Portuguese language Wikipedia articles on the subject.
- ↑ Corriere dello Sport: Claudio Carsughi - Tra Rio de Janeiro e San Paolo l´avvio del "Torneo dei Campioni" - página 3(acervo), 30/06/1951
- ↑ La Stampa Per Boniperti, Parola ed Altafini sarà una tournée piena di ricordi e nostalgie, 30 de junho de 1975 - página: 10
- ↑ http://www.emeroteca.coni.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=9961&p=3#page/4/mode/1up
- ↑ "Approval for Refereeing Assistance Programme and upper altitude limit for FIFA competitions". FIFA. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ↑ https://www.foxsports.com.br/news/298163-exclusivo-documento-da-fifa-chamou-palmeiras-de-primeiro-campeao-mundial | título = Exclusivo: Documento da FIFA chamou Palmeiras de primeiro campeão mundial
- ↑ "O início dos mundiais", Ranking de Clubes Brasileiros (com documentos), visitado 28/11/2015
- ↑ "Ministro recebe da Fifa a confirmação: Palmeiras é campeão mundial de 1951 (in Portuguese)". Globo Esporte. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ↑ "Exclusivo: Documento da FIFA chamou Palmeiras de primeiro campeão mundial". ESPN Brasil. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ "Joseph Blatter: 'Palmeiras foi o primeiro campeão mundial de clubes'". ESPN (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Fifa parabeniza Palmeiras por ser '1º campeão intercontinental de clubes' - Futebol - UOL Esporte". UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Dossiê Mundial 52 (Redação)". OBSERVATORIO DO FLU (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Blatter diz que Fifa vai reconhecer Palmeiras como campeão mundial". Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Ao Estado, Fifa confirma Mundial de 1951 para o Palmeiras - Esportes - Estadão". Estadão (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Para Fifa, só Mundiais de Clubes a partir de 2000 são títulos 'oficiais' - Esportes - Estadão". Estadão (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ "Fifa reconhece Santos, Fla e Grêmio como campeões mundiais". VEJA.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ FIFA.com. "Statistics and Records - FIFA Club World Cup - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ↑ Italian champion 1950/51, AC Milan, renounced because they had to play the Latin Cup during the same period.