Small Club World Cup

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.

Winners

Year Winner Country
1952 Real Madrid  Spain
1953 (I) [note 1] Millonarios  Colombia
1953 (II) [note 1] Corinthians  Brazil
1954
(Not held)
1955 São Paulo  Brazil
1956 Real Madrid  Spain
1957 Barcelona  Spain
1958–62
(Not held)
1963 São Paulo  Brazil
1964
(Not held)
1965 Benfica  Portugal
1966 Valencia  Spain
1967 Athletic Bilbao  Spain
1968
(Not held)
1969 Sparta Prague  Czechoslovakia
1970 Vitória  Portugal
1971–74
(Not held)
1975 East Germany  East Germany

Titles by country

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

Performances by continent

Confederation Winners
Europe
9
South America
4

Notes

  1. There were 2 tournaments played in the same year; none was held in the next calendar year, 1954

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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