Small Club World Cup

The Small Club World Cup (Spanish: Pequeña Copa del Mundo) was a football tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1963 and 1975 as of minor relevance).[2] In most of the occasions, the competition was played by four participants from Europe and South America. In the first period, clubs from three countries would win the tournament: Spain, Brazil and Colombia. Five clubs have won the trophy in this period: Real Madrid, Sao Paulo, Millonarios, Corinthians, and Barcelona.

Pequeña Copa del Mundo
(Small World Cup)
Organising bodyVenezuelan companies [1]
Founded1952
Abolished1975 (1975)
RegionVenezuela
Number of teams4
Last champions East Germany (1975)
Most successful club(s) Real Madrid
Sao Paulo
(2 titles each)

When the Europeans Champions Clubs' Cup was started in 1955, the Venezuelan competition lost importance and was discontinued in 1957. Although the tournament was relaunched in 1963, its relevance decreased as the Intercontinental Cup (first held in 1960) was then established as the major, official intercontinental competition for both South American and European clubs. During the 1963–75 period, the trophy was also named "Copa Ciudad de Caracas".[1]

This competition is considered by some journalists as a predecessor of Intercontinental Cup, in that it regularly featured clubs from Europe and South America.[2][3] However, there has come to light no 1952–1960 original source indicating that it had any influence for the creation of the Intercontinental Cup, or that is was effectively hailed in 1952–1957 as a club world trophy. Nevertheless, some clubs like Real Madrid highlight this trophy in their history or trophy section of their web-sites and publications.

List of champions

Year Champion
1952 Real Madrid
1953 (I) [note 1] Millonarios
1953 (II) [note 1] Corinthians
1955 São Paulo
1956 Real Madrid
1957 Barcelona
1963 São Paulo
1965 Benfica
1966 Valencia
1967 Athletic Bilbao
1969 Sparta Prague
1970 Vitória de Setúbal
1975 East Germany [note 2]
Notes
  1. There were 2 tournaments played in the same year; none was held in the next calendar year, 1954
  2. Champion after winning the final v Boavista. It was the only time the champion was defined by a final instead of a round-robin tournament like the previous editions.

Titles by country

Country Titles
 Spain
5
 Brazil
3
 Portugal
2
 Colombia
1
 Czechoslovakia
1
 East Germany
1

Performances by continent

Confederation Winners
Europe
9
South America
4

References

  1. Pequeña Copa del Mundo by Andrés Acosta on RSSSF
  2. El primer torneo internacional de clubes by José Quesada on Fútbol Retro.es
  3. EL RAPTO DE DI STÉFANO ARRUINÓ LA PEQUEÑA COPA DEL MUNDO by Iván Castelló on Eurosport, 18 Apr 2020
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