Catalonia International Trophy

The Catalonia International Trophy (Catalan: Trofeu Catalunya Internacional, Spanish: Trofeo Catalunya Internacional) is an association football friendly tournament organised in Spain by the Catalan Football Federation and which the Catalonia national team plays against another national team. It was created in 2009 and is held annually at the end of December.

Catalonia International Trophy
Catalonia receiving the trophy conquered in 2010 against Honduras
Organising bodyCatalan Football Federation
FoundedDecember 2009 (2009-12)
RegionInternational (played in Catalonia)
Number of teams2
Current champions Tunisia (2nd title)
Most successful club(s) Catalonia (3 titles)

History

Since 1997, the Catalan national team has played an international friendly match nearly every year, coinciding with the Christmas holidays. In 2009, in the context of Catalan aspirations to participate in official FIFA or UEFA competitions, the president of the Catalan Football Federation, Jordi Casals, announced the conversion of friendlies into an annual tournament, named the Catalonia International Trophy. The artist Joan Mora donated a sculpture symbolising the four bars of the Catalan flag as a prize for the winner.[1]

On 22 December 2009, the first edition, Johan Cruyff's Catalonia won 4–2 against Diego Maradona's Argentina.[2] After that, four more games were held against Honduras, Tunisia, Nigeria and Cape Verde. In 2014 and 2015, centennial challenge matches were played against the Basque Country (also an unofficial national team) with the matches against FIFA teams resuming in 2016 with another meeting with Tunisia. However, no matches were played by Catalonia at Christmas in 2017 or 2018.

Fixtures and results

Fixtures
22 December 2009 (2009-12-22) First edition Catalonia  4–2  Argentina Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
20:30 S. García  44'
Bojan  56'
Sergio  70' (pen.)
Hurtado  76'		 Report Pastore  63'
Di María  72'		 Stadium: Camp Nou
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Alfonso Álvarez (Spain)
28 December 2010 (2010-12-28) Second edition Catalonia  4–0  Honduras Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
19:00 Corominas  26'
S. García  50'
Bojan  60', 71'		 Report Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Attendance: 28,150
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)
30 December 2011 (2011-12-30) Third edition Catalonia  0–0  Tunisia Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
19:00 Report Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Attendance: 36,545
Referee: Alfonso Álvarez (Spain)
2 January 2013 (2013-01-02)[a] Fourth edition Catalonia  1–1  Nigeria Cornellà de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain
19:00 Sergio  3' (pen.) Report Dike  55' Stadium: Estadi Cornellà-El Prat
Attendance: 27,234
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)
30 December 2013 (2013-12-30) Fifth edition Catalonia  4–1  Cape Verde Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
19:00 S. García  17', 18'
Bojan  19'
Riera  64'		 Report Djaniny  10' Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Attendance: 20,700
Referee: Alfonso Álvarez (Spain)
28 December 2016 (2016-12-28) Sixth edition Catalonia  3–3
(2–4 p)		  Tunisia Girona, Catalonia, Spain
20:00 Gerard  35'
S. García  69'
Verdú  79'		 Report Msakni  9', 30', 67' Stadium: Estadi Montilivi
Attendance: 8,311
Referee: Alfonso Álvarez (Spain)
Penalties
Verdú
Víctor Álvarez
Vázquez
Riera 		Sassi
Dhaouadi
Bguir
Azouni
Khalifa

Results
Year Host Winners Runners-up
2009 Barcelona
Catalonia
Argentina
2010
Catalonia
Honduras
2011
Tunisia[b]
Catalonia
2012[a] Cornellà de Llobregat
Nigeria[b]
Catalonia
2013 Barcelona
Catalonia
Cape Verde
2016 Girona
Tunisia
Catalonia

Records and statistics
Sergio García is the top scorer in the history of the tournament with 6 goals.

Results summary
Position Team Participations Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Trophies
1  Catalonia 6 6 3 3 0 16 11 +5 050.00 3
2  Tunisia 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 +0 050.00 2
3  Nigeria 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00 1
1  Argentina 1 1 0 0 1 2 4 −2 000.00 0
 Cape Verde 1 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 000.00
 Honduras 1 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 000.00

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^
    2012 Catalonia International Trophy was played on 2 January 2013.
  2. ^
    Match drawn and trophy awarded to visiting team on fair play basis.

References
  1. "Casals: "Catalunya debe jugar contra las mejores 15 selecciones del mundo"" [Casals: "Catalonia must play against the best 15 teams in the world"] (in Spanish). El Economista. 10 December 2012.
  2. "La Selección falló demasiado y cayó ante Catalunya sin atenuantes" [The Selection failed too much and fell before Catalonia without attenuating] (in Spanish). Clarín. 22 December 2009.
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