In modern football, there are a large number of different trophies for which teams fight at various levels. In club football, the Champions League is considered the most prestigious tournament, while national teams are most actively fighting among themselves in the framework of the World Cup. However, football is not limited to these two tournaments; there are much more various trophies that a team can receive. And in this case we will talk about the Intercontinental Cup. You will learn about how long it has been held, what its essence is, and also who most often won it. In addition, you will learn about what the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup is and how great its differences are.
What it is
The Intercontinental Cup is a tournament that was held from 1960 to 2004 between the two clubs. One of them was the winner of the European Champions League, which was already mentioned above, and the other was the winner of the Libertadores Cup. The Libertadores Cup is an analogue of the Champions League in South America, in the framework of which it turns out which of the clubs is the strongest on the territory of this continent. Thus, the Intercontinental Cup is a small tournament consisting of one match, and within the framework of this tournament it is decided which football turns out to be stronger in a particular year, South American or European.
Tournament History
The Intercontinental Football Cup has been held since 1960, but it is worth noting that the first twenty years it consisted of two matches, but since 1980 the format of the tournament was changed, and the teams began to hold not one, but one match. The first champion in 1960 was Real Madrid, who defeated the Uruguayan Peñarol with a total score of 5: 1. Next year, the imperfection of the system became noticeable. In the first match against Penarol, the Portuguese Benfica won, but the Uruguayan club won in the second match. In the end, I had to play a third, decisive match, in which the Uruguayans snatched victory. However, three matches in the tournament, which is far from the most prestigious - it was too much, so the format did not last so long. The first club to win the trophy in 1980 in a new format was the Uruguayan Nacional, who beat the English Nottingham Forest.
The last owner of the Intercontinental Cup was the Portuguese club “Porto”, which in 2004 defeated the Colombian club “Onse Caldas” by penalty. The most titled clubs in this tournament are three South American and two European representatives. We are talking about the Argentine club “Boca Juniors”, about the Uruguayan teams “Peñarol” and “Nacional”, as well as about the Italian “Milan” and the Spanish “Real”. All these teams in the history of the tournament three times won the cup.
End of cup
Already in 2000, it became clear that the Intercontinental Football Cup is losing popularity and is moving towards its sunset. Then the Club World Cup was first held, which included representatives of not only the two strongest continental confederations. As a result, it was this tournament that gained popularity, and the Intercontinental Cup ceased to exist. However, as mentioned above, this tournament is held not only in classic football. Has such a tournament and beach soccer. The intercontinental cup there is a slightly different competition, and it is worth telling about it separately.
Beach Soccer Trophy
What is the difference between this tournament when it comes to beach soccer? The intercontinental cup in this case is completely different. Firstly, it is not held between clubs, but between national teams. Secondly, it is not so insignificant. On the contrary, he is considered the second most prestigious after the World Cup. These are the features of beach soccer. The Intercontinental Cup is a relatively young tournament, it has been held only since 2011. Thus, he was played only five times.
Who is the strongest in this tournament, which is famous for beach soccer? The Brazilian national team won the Intercontinental Cup for the first time, beating Iran. In the second tournament in the final, the Russian and Tahiti national teams clashed, and the Russians came out victorious. They showed that they are one of the best nations playing beach soccer. The Intercontinental Cup then won again Brazil, and then Iran. Both times in the final, the teams played against the Russians, who could not repeat the achievement of 2012. However, Russia does know how to play beach soccer - the Intercontinental Cup in the next two years was won by this particular team. And both times the Brazilian national team was beaten. As you can see, the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup is very different from what is held in big football.