Intercontinental Cup
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The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the Intercontinental Cup, and also known as the World Club Championship or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Champions League and the South American Copa Libertadores in a match played each December at the Yokohama International Stadium, Japan.
From 2005, the Intercontinental Cup has been replaced by the FIFA Club World Championship.
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History
The Intercontinental Cup was created by Henri Delauney as a way of determining who is the top club in the world (Europe and South America being the football world's top continents).
Europe already had its European Champions Club Cup, but South America did not have a similar competition. Thus, South American Confederación (CONMEBOL's predecessor) created a similar competition, and named it after the heroes of South American independence. The Copa Libertadores made the Intercontinental Cup viable.
The first match-up was in 1960, between Spanish side Real Madrid and the Uruguayan club Peñarol.
Ever since the 1950s (and especially since the 1970s) many talented South Americans crossed the Atlantic to play for European teams, who also tend to be richer. Perhaps as a consequence, South American fans have always attached more importance to the Intercontinental Cup than their European counterparts.
European teams often suffered from the eagerness of South American competitors, which could degenerate into aggressive playing. An especially traumatic event was the 1969 series between Estudiantes and Milan, which resulted in extremely harsh suspensions for many Estudiantes players.
Out of concern for the integrity of players, and also because of the lack of financial incentive, several European champions declined to participate; in all cases, their runners-up took their place. The 1975 and 1978 editions were not disputed at all.
The very viability of the competition came under fire until Toyota assumed the role of sponsor for the 1980 edition; for the remainder of the competition's history, no club declined playing the Intercontinental Cup.
Cup Format
From 1960 to 1979, the Intercontinental Cup was played in two legs. Between 1960 and 1968, the cup was decided on points only, the same format used by CONMEBOL to determine the winner of the Copa Libertadores final through 1987. Because of this format, a third match was needed when both teams were tied on points. From 1969 through 1979, the competition adopted the European standard method of aggregate score, with away goals.
Starting in 1980, the final became a single match. Up until 2000, the matches were held at Tokyo's National Stadium. Finals after 2001 were held at the Yokohama International Stadium, venue of the Template:Wc final.
Intercontinental Cup finals
Single match finals
Two-legged finals
aet - after extra time
Overall Statistics
By Team
| Team | Cups | Years |
|---|---|---|
 Boca Juniors | 3 | (2003 2000 1977) |
 AC Milan | 3 | (1990 1989 1969) |
| Missing image Escudo_ch.jpg Nacional Montevideo | 3 | (1988 1980 1971) |
| Missing image PenarolLogo.GIF Peñarol | 3 | (1982 1966 1961) |
 Real Madrid | 3 | (2002 1998 1960) |
| Missing image Afcajax.jpg Ajax | 2 | (1995 1972) |
| Missing image 200px-Fcbayern.png Bayern Munich | 2 | (2001 1976) |
| Missing image CAIndependienteLogo.GIF Independiente | 2 | (1984 1973) |
| Missing image FC_Internazionale_logo.png Inter Milan | 2 | (1965 1964) |
 Juventus | 2 | (1996 1985) |
 FC Porto | 2 | (2004 1987) |
| Missing image SantosBrazilLogo.GIF Santos F.C. | 2 | (1963 1962) |
| Missing image Sao_Paulo_(Soccer)_Shield.gif São Paulo | 2 | (1993 1992) |
| Missing image C_atletico_de_madrid.gif Atlético de Madrid | 1 | (1974) |
| Missing image Bvbcrest.JPG Borussia Dortmund | 1 | (1997) |
| Missing image Estudiantes_de_La_Plata_logo.png Estudiantes La Plata | 1 | (1968) |
| Missing image Feyenoord.gif Feyenoord | 1 | (1970) |
| Missing image Flamengo_logo_football.png Flamengo | 1 | (1981) |
| Missing image Gremio_foot_ball_porto_alegrense.gif Grêmio | 1 | (1983) |
 Manchester United | 1 | (1999) |
| Missing image Olimpia_asuncion.GIF Olimpia Asunción | 1 | (1979) |
| Missing image Racing_Club_de_Avellaneda.GIF Racing Club | 1 | (1967) |
| Missing image Crvenazvezda.PNG Red Star Belgrade | 1 | (1991) |
| Missing image River_Plate_logo.png River Plate | 1 | (1986) |
| Missing image Sarsfield.GIF Vélez Sársfield | 1 | (1994) |
By countries
| Country | Teams | Cups | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 6 | 9 | (2003 2000 1994 1986 1984 1977 1973 1968 1967) |
| Missing image Flag_of_Italy.png Italy | 3 | 7 | (1996 1990 1989 1985 1969 1965 1964) |
 Brazil | 4 | 6 | (1993 1992 1983 1981 1963 1962) |
 Uruguay | 2 | 6 | (1988 1982 1980 1971 1966 1961) |
 Spain | 2 | 4 | (2002 1998 1974 1960) |
 Germany | 2 | 3 | (2001 1997 1976) |
 Netherlands | 2 | 3 | (1995 1970 1972) |
| Missing image Portugal_flag_large.png Portugal | 1 | 2 | (1987 2004) |
 Paraguay | 1 | 1 | (1979) |
 England | 1 | 1 | (1999) |
| Missing image Flag_of_SFR_Yugoslavia.png Yugoslavia | 1 | 1 | (1991) |
By Continent
| Continent | Teams | Countries | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missing image Copalibertadores.JPG South America | 13 | 4 | 22 |
| Europe | 12 | 7 | 21 |
Coaches
Carlos Bianchi won three editions as coach: one with Vélez Sársfield in 1994, and 2 with Boca Juniors in 2000 and 2003.
Luis Cubilla and Juan Mugica, 2 Uruguayans won cups both as a player and coaching:
- Luis Cubilla (played for Peñarol in 1961 and for Nacional in 1971; then coached Olimpia Asunción in 1979)
- Juan Mugica (played for Nacional in 1971; and coached it in 1980)
Team - Players
- Alessandro Costacurta participated 5 times of the competition, always with Milan (1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2003).
- Estudiantes (1968, 1969 and 1970) and Independiente (1972, 1973 and 1974) participated 3 consecutive years. Of these teams a few players played the three years, including Carlos Salvador Bilardo and Juan Ramón Verón.
External links
- Official Competition Website (http://www.toyotacup.com)
- UEFA website (http://www.uefa.com/competitions/eusa/)
- International Clubs Cup - The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (http://www.rsssf.com/tablest/toyota.html)de:Weltpokal
fr:Coupe intercontinentale it:Coppa Intercontinentale nl:Wereldbeker Voetbal ja:トヨタ ヨーロッパ/サウスアメリカ カップ sv:Interkontinentala cupen