The Latin Cup[1] was an international official football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949, the football federations came together and requested FIFA 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.[2]

Latin Cup
The trophy awarded to champions
Organising bodyFrance FFF
Italy FIGC
Portugal FPF
Spain FEF
Founded1949
Abolished1957; 67 years ago (1957)
RegionSouthwest Europe
Number of teams4
Related competitionsMitropa Cup
Balkans Cup
Last championsSpain Real Madrid
(2nd title) (1957)
Most successful club(s)Spain Barcelona
Italy Milan
Spain Real Madrid
(2 titles each)

This competition is considered a predecessor of European club tournaments, namely the European Cup,[3] the first edition of which was held in 1955.

History

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The tournament began in 1949 and was usually played between the league champions of each participating country. Every four years, the countries' ranking would be determined based on their sides' performances in the Latin Cup. The competition was last played in 1957, two years after the introduction of the UEFA-sanctioned European Cup. Real Madrid played and won the European Cup and 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.[3]

According to Jules Rimet, 3rd President of FIFA, the Latin Cup was a competition created by FIFA at the 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.[4]

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.[2]

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.[2]

The second edition clashed with the 1950 FIFA World Cup of Brazil, so most of the players of the league champions were called up by their respective national teams. Therefore, that year, Lazio, the fourth of Serie A, participated in the Latin Cup. 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 with twelve points, eight of which were contributed by Barcelona and four by Atlético Madrid.[2]

Results

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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   Barcelona 2–1   Sporting CP   Torino 5–3   Reims Estadio Chamartín Madrid
1950   Benfica
3–3 (a.e.t.)
  Bordeaux   Atlético Madrid 2–1   Lazio (4) Estádio Nacional Oeiras
2–1 (a.e.t.)
1951   Milan 5–0   Lille (2)   Atlético Madrid 3–1   Sporting CP San Siro Milan
1952   Barcelona 1–0   Nice   Juventus 3–2   Sporting CP Parc des Princes Paris
1953   Reims 3–0   Milan (3)   Sporting CP 4–1   Valencia (2) Estádio Nacional Oeiras
1954 Not held
1955   Real Madrid 2–0   Reims   Milan 3–1   Belenenses (2) Parc des Princes Paris
1956   Milan (2) 3–1   Athletic Bilbao   Benfica (2) 2–1   Nice Arena Civica Milan
1957   Real Madrid 1–0   Benfica   Milan 4–3   Saint-Étienne Santiago Bernabéu Madrid

Titles by club

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Club Titles Winning years
  Milan 2 1951, 1956
  Barcelona 2 1949, 1952
  Real Madrid 2 1955, 1957
  Benfica 1 1950
  Reims 1 1953

Titles by country

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Country Titles Winning years
  Spain 4 1949, 1952, 1955, 1957
  Italy 2 1951, 1956
  France 1 1953
  Portugal 1 1950

Individual records

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Top scorers by year

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Year Player Goals
1949   Fernando Peyroteo 3
1950   Arsénio Duarte
  Édouard Kargu
  André Doye
3
1951   André Strappe 5
1952   Giampiero Boniperti 3
1953   João Martins 4
1954 Not held
1955   Héctor Rial
  Léon Glowacki
  Eduardo Ricagni
2
1956   Juan Alberto Schiaffino 3
1957   Paco Gento 3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ (French: Coupe Latine; Italian: Coppa Latina; Portuguese: Taça Latina or Copa Latina; Spanish: Copa Latina)
  2. ^ a b c d La curiosa aventura de la Copa Latina by Alfredo Relaño on El País, 25 September 2016
  3. ^ a b Goals, not coal, for Kopa on UEFA website, 4 February 2011
  4. ^ 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). No. 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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Further reading

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  • Todeschini, Maurício (2008). Taças Internacionais - Clubes 1927-2007. LuísAmorimEditions. ISBN 978-989-95672-2-1.