Latin Cup
The Latin Cup (French: Coupe Latine; Italian: Coppa Latina; Portuguese: Taça Latina or Copa Latina; Spanish: Copa Latina) was an international football tournament for club sides from the Latin European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to 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.[1]
 The trophy awarded to champions | |
| Organising body |     |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 |
| Abolished | 1957 |
| Region | France Italy Portugal Spain |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Last champions | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Most successful club(s) | (2 titles each) |
This competition is considered a predecessor of club tournaments in Europe, such as UEFA Champions League,[2] which first edition was held in 1955.
History
The tournament began in 1949 and was usually played between the league champions of each of the participating countries. Every four years, a ranking would be determined for the countries based on their sides' performances in the Latin Cup. The competition was last played for in 1957, two years after the introduction of the UEFA-sanctioned European Cup. Real Madrid played in and won both the European Cup and the 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.[2]
According to Jules Rimet, 3rd President of FIFA, the Latin Cup was a competition created by FIFA at 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.[3]
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. Because of that, the Copa Latina was a Federation competition rather than an annual club competition. 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.[1]
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.[1]
The second edition clashed with 1950 FIFA World Cup of Brazil so most of the players of league champions were called up by their respective national teams. Therefore, Lazio, the fourth of Serie A, participated in Copa Latina that year. 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 Inter Milan - the latter did not get another chance to enter).
After the first four editions played, the Spanish Federation won the first cycle totalising 12 points, 8 of them contributed by Barcelona and 4 by Atlético Madrid.[1]
Notable players per tournament
Many were the big stars who played in the prestigious Latin Cup and some of them are listed below per tournament:
1949: Portuguese topscorer Fernando Peyroteo for Sporting Lisbon, goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets, Estanislau Basora for Barcelona, Robert Jonquet for Stade de Reims. Unfortunately, Torino's star player Valentino Mazzola had died in May of 1949 at the Superga air crash which wiped out the Torino's squad.
1950: Dutch Bertus de Harder for Girondins de Bordeaux, goalkeeper Lucidio Sentimenti for Lazio, goalkeeper Felix for Benfica, Moroccan star Larbi Benbarek, Swedish Henry Carlsson, and Adrián Escudero for Atletico Madrid.
1951: Lorenzo Buffon, Swedish Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm, Jose Travassos for Sporting Lisbon, Andre Strappe, Danish Erik Kuld Jensen, Dutch Cor van der Hart for Lilles OSC, Moroccan star Larbi Benbarek, Swedish Henry Carlsson, and Adrián Escudero for Atletico Madrid.
1952: Hungarian-Czechoslovakian Laszlo Kubala featured with Barcelona alongside Antoni Ramallets and Estanislau Basora, Jose Travassos for Sporting Lisbon, Giampiero Boniperti, Danish Karl Aage Præst and John Hansen for Juventus, Antoine Bonifaci and keeper Marcel Domingo for Nice.
1953: Robert Jonquet returned to the tournament with Stade de Reims, where the main attraction was the 'General' Raymond Kopa. Lorenzo Buffon, Swedish Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm played in another final with AC Milan, Jose Travassos was there again for Sporting Lisbon, and Antonio Fuertes for Valencia..
1955: It was the first tournament for Alfredo Di Stefano, Hector Rial, Francisco Gento, captain Miguel Muñoz, and José María Zárraga of Real Madrid, coached by Jose Villalonga. Captain Robert Jonquet, and Raymond Kopa took Stade de Reims to the final again, but this time they were assisted by Michel Hidalgo who had been transferred from Havre. Cesare Maldini, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Lorenzo Buffon, and Swedish Gunnar Nordahl, Alfio Fontana for AC Milan and Matateu for Belenenses.
1956: Cesare Maldini, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Luigi Radice, Lorenzo Buffon, and Swedish Gunnar Nordahl won the trophy with AC Milan, Agustin Gainza played for Bilbao, Mario Coluna and José Águas for Benfica and Just Fontaine for Nice OG.
1957: Real Madrid returned and won the title with players like Alfredo Di Stefano, Hector Rial, Francisco Gento, captain Miguel Muñoz, and French Raymond Kopa, against Benfica's Mario Coluna and José Águas. Cesare Maldini, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Lorenzo Buffon, and Swedish Nils Liedholm, Alfio Fontana featured for AC Milan and Matateu and goalkeeper Claude Abbes for Saint-Etiennes.
Finals
All teams were champions of the preceding domestic season in each nation, except where it indicates, detailing their finishing position in respective leagues.
| Year | Final | Third Place | Venue | City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||
| 1949 | | 2–1 | | | 5–3 | | Estadio Chamartín | Madrid |
| 1950 | | | | | Estádio Nacional | Oeiras | ||
| 1951 | | 5–0 | | | 3–1 | | San Siro | Milan |
| 1952 | | 1–0 | | | 3–2 | | Parc des Princes | Paris |
| 1953 | | 3–0 | | | 4–1 | | Estádio Nacional | Oeiras |
| 1954 | ||||||||
| 1955 | | 2–0 | | | 3–1 | | Parc des Princes | Paris |
| 1956 | | 3–1 | | | 2–1 | | Arena Civica | Milan |
| 1957 | | 1–0 | | | 4–3 | | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium | Madrid |
Titles by club
| Club | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1951, 1956 |
| 2 | 1949, 1952 |
| 2 | 1955, 1957 |
| 1 | 1950 |
| 1 | 1953 |
Titles by country
| Country | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1949, 1952, 1955, 1957 |
| 2 | 1951, 1956 |
| 1 | 1953 |
| 1 | 1950 |
Top scorers by year
| Year | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Fernando Peyroteo | 3 |
| 1950 | Arsénio Duarte  | 2 |
| 1951 | André Strappe | 5 |
| 1952 | Giampiero Boniperti | 3 |
| 1953 | João Martins | 4 |
| 1954 | not held | |
| 1955 | Héctor Rial | 2 |
| 1956 | Schiaffino | 3 |
| 1957 | Francisco Gento | 3 |
References
- La curiosa aventura de la Copa Latina by Alfredo Relaño on El País, 25 September 2016
- Goals, not coal, for Kopa on UEFA website, 4 February 2011
- 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) (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
External links
- Latin Cup on RSSSF