Mitropa Cup

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Mitropa Cup
Sport	Football
Founded	1927
No. of teams	various
Country(ies)	Central European teams
Ceased	1992

The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale was one of the first really international major European football cups for club sides. After World War II in 1951 a replacement tournament named Zentropa Cup was held to resume the rich tradition of this competition.

A first “international” competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. The “Challenge Cup” was invented by John Gramlick senior, a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club. In this cup-competition all clubs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that normally would not meet could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major cities Vienna, Budapest and Prague participated. The Challenge-Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropacup and consequently the European Cup and Champions League. Last winner of the cup was Vienna Sports Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of Austria where the cup still remains.

The idea of a European cup competition was shaped after World War I which brought the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The centre of this idea were the Central European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental Football. In the early 1920s they introduced - as first continental nations - professional leagues. Austria started in 1924, followed by Hungary in 1925 and Czechoslovakia in 1926. In order to strengthen the dominance of these countries in European football and to financially support the professional clubs, the introduction of the Mitropacup was decided on a meeting in Venice in July 17th, following the initiative of the head of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) Hugo Meisl. Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams - that unlike the Challenge Cup and the Mitropa Cup would not be annual - was also part of the agreement. The first matches were played on August 14 of that year. The competition was between the top professional teams of Central Europe.

Initially two teams each from Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia entered, competing in a knock-out competition. The countries involved could either send their respective league winners and runners-up, or league winners and cup winners to take part. The first winners were the Czech side, AC Sparta Prague. In 1929 Italian teams replaced the Yugoslavian ones. The competition was expanded to four teams from each of the competing countries in 1934. Other countries were invited to participate - Switzerland in 1936, and Romania, Switzerland and Yugoslavia in 1937. Austria was withdrawn from the competition following the Anschluss in 1938. Prior to WW II the cup was competed for in 1939 with only eight teams (two each from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Italy and one each from Romania and Yugoslavia). The level of the competing nations is clearly shown by Italy's two World Cup titles (1934 & 1938), Czechoslovakia's (1934) and Hungary's (1938) World Cup final, and Austria's (1934) and Yugoslavia's (1930) semi-finals. Out of the eleven different teams competing in the first three World Cups, five were part of the Mitropa Cup.

An edition in 1940 was started but abandoned due to World War II. Again, only eight teams competed - three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania. This edition was abandoned before the final match. Hungarian Ferencváros and Romanian Rapid (which had won on lots after three draws) qualified for the final, but did not meet because Hungary had invaded North-West Romania.

After WW II, the cup was resumed in 1951 initially as Zentropa Cup. Later editions, again under the Mitropa Cup label, lost much of its status because of the introduction of other European club competitions and faced an ongoing decline. By the 1980s it was competed for between the second division champions of the participating countries. It was last played for in 1992 and won by the Yugoslav side, Borac Banja Luka in front of under a thousand spectators.

[edit] Winners

1927	AC Sparta Praha	Czechoslovakia
1928	Ferencváros	Hungary
1929	Újpest FC	Hungary
1930	SK Rapid Wien	Austria
1931	First Vienna FC	Austria
1932	Bologna F.C. 1909	Italy
1933	FK Austria Wien	Austria
1934	Bologna F.C. 1909	Italy
1935	AC Sparta Praha	Czechoslovakia
1936	FK Austria Wien	Austria
1937	Ferencváros	Hungary
1938	SK Slavia Praha	Czechoslovakia
1939	Újpest FC	Hungary

Tournament not played 1940-1950.

1951	SK Rapid Wien	Austria	Tournament played as "Zentropa Cup"
1955	Vörös Lobogó	Hungary
1956	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1957	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1958	Red Star Belgrade	Yugoslavia	Tournament held as Donaupokal (Danube cup)
1959	Budapest Honvéd FC	Hungary
1960	Hungary	Hungary	Results of 6 clubs from 5 countries were added on a national basis
1961	Bologna F.C. 1909	Italy
1962	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1963	MTK Budapest	Hungary
1964	AC Sparta Praha	Czechoslovakia
1965	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1966	AC Fiorentina	Italy
1967	Spartak Trnava	Czechoslovakia
1968	Red Star Belgrade	Yugoslavia
1969	Inter Bratislava	Czechoslovakia
1970	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1971	NK Čelik Zenica	Yugoslavia
1972	NK Čelik Zenica	Yugoslavia
1973	Tatabányai Bányász	Hungary
1974	Tatabányai Bányász	Hungary
1975	Admira Wacker	Austria
1976	Admira Wacker	Austria
1977	Vojvodina Novi Sad	Yugoslavia
1978	FK Partizan	Yugoslavia

Tournament not played 1979.

1980	Udinese Calcio	Italy
1981	Tatran Prešov	Czechoslovakia
1982	AC Milan	Italy
1983	Vasas Budapest	Hungary
1984	SC Eisenstadt	Austria
1985	Iskra Bugojno	Yugoslavia
1986	SC Pisa	Italy
1987	Ascoli Calcio	Italy
1988	SC Pisa	Italy
1989	FC Baník Ostrava	Czechoslovakia
1990	A.S. Bari	Italy
1991	Torino Calcio	Italy
1992	Borac Banja Luka	Bosnia and Herzegovina