Mitropa / Zentropa Cup 1927-1992
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The Mitropa Cup was one of the first really international major European football cups for club sides. After World War II a tournament named Zentropa Cup from 1951 was held to resume the rich tradition of this competition. Later editions, again under the Mitropa Cup label, lost much of its status because of the introduction of other UEFA European Club Competitions.
| Mitropa Zentropa Cup 1927-1992 | THE MITROPA CUP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | AC Sparta Praha | Czechoslovakia | ||
| 1928 | Ferencváros | Hungary | The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale was one of the first really | |
| 1929 | Újpest FC | Hungary | international major European football cups for club sides. After World War II in 1951 a replacement | |
| 1930 | SK Rapid Wien | Austria | tournament named Zentropa Cup was held to resume the rich tradition of this competition. | |
| 1931 | First Vienna FC | Austria | The first “international” competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. | |
| 1932 | Bologna F.C. 1909 | Italy | ||
| 1933 | FK Austria Wien | Austria | The “Challenge Cup” was invented by John Gramlick senior, a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket and | |
| 1934 | Bologna F.C. 1909 | Italy | Football-Club. In this cup-competition all clubs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that normally would not | |
| 1935 | AC Sparta Praha | Czechoslovakia | meet could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major cities Vienna, | |
| 1936 | FK Austria Wien | Austria | Budapest and Prague participated. The Challenge Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today | |
| 1937 | Ferencváros | Hungary | seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup and consequently the European Cup & Champions League. | |
| 1938 | SK Slavia Praha | Czechoslovakia | Last winner of the cup was Vienna Sports Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of | |
| 1939 | Újpest FC | Hungary | Austria where the cup still remains. | |
| Tournament not played 1940-1950. | ||||
| 1951 (1) | SK Rapid Wien | Austria | The idea of a European Cup competition was shaped after World War I which brought the defeat and | |
| 1955 | Vörös Lobogó | Hungary | collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The centre of this idea were the Central European countries | |
| 1956 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | that, at this time, were still leading in continental Football. In the early 1920s they introduced – as first | |
| 1957 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | continental nations – professional leagues. Austria started in 1924, followed by Hungary in 1925 and | |
| 1958 (2) | Red Star Belgrade | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia in 1926. In order to strengthen the dominance of these countries in European football and | |
| 1959 | Budapest Honvéd FC | Hungary | to financially support the professional clubs, the introduction of the Mitropacup was decided on a meeting | |
| 1960 (3) | Hungary | Hungary | in Venice in July 17th, following the initiative of the head of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) Hugo | |
| 1961 | Bologna F.C. 1909 | Italy | Meisl. Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams – that unlike the Challenge Cup and | |
| 1962 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | the Mitropa Cup would not be annual – was also part of the agreement. The first matches were played on | |
| 1963 | MTK Budapest | Hungary | August 14 of that year. The competition was between the top professional teams of Central Europe. | |
| 1964 | AC Sparta Praha | Czechoslovakia | ||
| 1965 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | Initially two teams each from Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and | |
| 1966 | AC Fiorentina | Italy | Slovenes entered, competing in a knock-out competition. The countries involved could either send their | |
| 1967 | Spartak Trnava | Czechoslovakia | respective league winners and runners-up, or league winners and cup winners to take part. The first | |
| 1968 | Red Star Belgrade | Yugoslavia | winners were the Czech side, AC Sparta Prague. In 1929 Italian teams replaced the Yugoslavian ones. | |
| 1969 | Inter Bratislava | Czechoslovakia | ||
| 1970 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | The competition was expanded to four teams from each of the competing countries in 1934. Other | |
| 1971 | NK Čelik Zenica | Yugoslavia | countries were invited to participate – Switzerland in 1936, and Romania, Switzerland and Yugoslavia in | |
| 1972 | NK Čelik Zenica | Yugoslavia | 1937. Austria was withdrawn from the competition following the Anschluss in 1938. Prior to WW II the | |
| 1973 | Tatabányai Bányász | Hungary | cup was competed for in 1939 with only eight teams (two each from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Italy | |
| 1974 | Tatabányai Bányász | Hungary | and one each from Romania and Yugoslavia). The level of the competing nations is clearly shown by | |
| 1975 | Admira Wacker | Austria | Italy's two World Cup titles (1934 & 1938), Czechoslovakia's (1934) and Hungary's (1938) World Cup | |
| 1976 | Admira Wacker | Austria | final, and Austria's (1934) and Yugoslavia's (1930) semi-finals. Out of the eleven different teams | |
| 1977 | Vojvodina Novi Sad | Yugoslavia | competing in the first three World Cups, five were part of the Mitropa Cup. | |
| 1978 | FK Partizan | Yugoslavia | ||
| Tournament not played 1979. | An edition in 1940 was started but abandoned due to World War II. Again, only eight teams competed – | |||
| 1980 | Udinese Calcio | Italy | three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania. This edition was abandoned before the | |
| 1981 | Tatran Prešov | Czechoslovakia | final match. Hungarian Ferencváros and Romanian Rapid (which had won on lots after three draws) | |
| 1982 | AC Milan | Italy | qualified for the final, but did not meet because Hungary had invaded North-West Romania. | |
| 1983 | Vasas Budapest | Hungary | ||
| 1984 | SC Eisenstadt | Austria | After WW II, the cup was resumed in 1951 initially as Zentropa Cup. Later editions, again under the | |
| 1985 | Iskra Bugojno | Yugoslavia | Mitropa Cup label, lost much of its status because of the introduction of other UEFA European club | |
| 1986 | SC Pisa | Italy | competitions and faced an ongoing decline. By the 1980s it was competed for between the second | |
| 1987 | Ascoli Calcio | Italy | division champions of the participating countries. It was last played for in 1992 and won by the Yugoslav | |
| 1988 | SC Pisa | Italy | side, Borac Banja Luka in front of under a thousand spectators. | |
| 1989 | FC Baník Ostrava | Czechoslovakia | ||
| 1990 | A.S. Bari | Italy | ||
| 1991 | Torino Calcio | Italy | ||
| 1992 | Borac Banja Luka | Yugoslavia | ||
(1) Tournament played as “Zentropa Cup”
(2) Tournament held as Donaupokal (Danube Cup)
(3) Results of 6 clubs from 5 countries were added on a national basis
