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

The Small 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, São Paulo, Millonarios, Corinthians, and Barcelona.

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 it 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

Ed. Year Champion
1
1952Spain Real Madrid
2
1953 (I) [note 1]Colombia Millonarios
3
1953 (II) [note 1]Brazil Corinthians
4
1955Brazil São Paulo
5
1956Spain Real Madrid
6
1957Spain Barcelona
7
1963Brazil São Paulo
8
1965Portugal Benfica
9
1966Spain Valencia
10
1967Spain Athletic Bilbao
11
1969Czechoslovakia Sparta Prague
12
1970Portugal Vitória de Setúbal
13
1975 East Germany [note 2]
Notes
  1. 1 2 There were 2 tournaments played in the same year; none was held in the next calendar year, 1954 due to the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
  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. 1 2 Pequeña Copa del Mundo by Andrés Acosta on RSSSF
  2. 1 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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