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]

This article is about the association football tournament. For the roller hockey tournament, see Latin Cup (roller hockey).

Latin Cup
The trophy awarded to champions
Organising body FFF
FIGC
FPF
FEF
Founded1949
Abolished1957 (1957)
RegionLatin Europe
Number of teams4
Related competitionsMitropa Cup
Balkans Cup
Last champions Real Madrid
(2nd title) (1957)
Most successful club(s) Barcelona
Milan
Real Madrid
(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. 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 the Latin Cup that year. 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 totalising 12 points, 8 of them contributed by Barcelona and 4 by Atlético Madrid.[1]

Results

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 Match Venue City
Winner Score Runner-up Third place Score Fourth place
1949 Barcelona2–1 Sporting CP Torino5–3 ReimsEstadio ChamartínMadrid
1950 Benfica
3–3 (a.e.t.)
 Bordeaux Atlético Madrid
2–1
 Lazio (4)Estádio NacionalOeiras
2–1 (a.e.t.)
1951 Milan5–0 Lille (2) Atlético Madrid3–1 Sporting CPSan SiroMilan
1952 Barcelona1–0 Nice Juventus3–2 Sporting CPParc des PrincesParis
1953 Reims3–0 Milan (3) Sporting CP4–1 Valencia (2)Estádio NacionalOeiras
1954Not held
1955 Real Madrid2–0 Reims Milan3–1 Belenenses (2)Parc des PrincesParis
1956 Milan (2)3–1 Athletic Bilbao Benfica (2)2–1 NiceArena CivicaMilan
1957 Real Madrid1–0 Benfica Milan4–3 Saint-ÉtienneSantiago BernabéuMadrid

Titles by club
Club Titles Winning years
Milan21951, 1956
Barcelona21949, 1952
Real Madrid21955, 1957
Benfica11950
Reims11953

Titles by country
Country Titles Winning years
Spain41949, 1952, 1955, 1957
Italy21951, 1956
France11953
Portugal11950

Top scorers by year
Year Player Goals
1949 Fernando Peyroteo3
1950 Arsénio Duarte
Édouard Kargu
Larbi Benbarek		2
1951 André Strappe5
1952 Giampiero Boniperti3
1953 João Martins4
1954Not held—
1955 Héctor Rial
Léon Glowacki		2
1956 Juan Alberto Schiaffino3
1957 Francisco Gento3

See also

References
  1. La curiosa aventura de la Copa Latina by Alfredo Relaño on El País, 25 September 2016
  2. Goals, not coal, for Kopa on UEFA website, 4 February 2011
  3. 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
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