Balkans Cup
| File:1968BK4-455x700.jpg Balkans Cup trophy in 1968 | |
| Founded | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1994 |
| Region | Southeast Europe |
| Teams | Various |
| Related competitions | Balkan Cup |
| Last champions | Turkey Samsunspor (1st title) |
| Most championships |  Beroe Stara Zagora (4 titles) |
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators),[1] being the second most important international club competition for clubs from the region (after the European Cup in which the champions could play; the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup originally attracted few teams from the region as many did not organise domestic cups regularly and only Yugoslavia had significant representation in the Fairs Cup).[1]
It later declined after Balkan clubs obtained more representation in the two minor UEFA competitions, in contrast to the (much older but also defunct) Balkan Cup (not Balkans) for national teams.
Editions
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- Competition formats:
- Round robin: One group.
- Two groups: Two groups, top team in each group qualifies for the final
- Knock-out: Straight knockout.
- Three groups: Two groups of 3 and one group of 4; top teams in the 3-team groups and the top two teams in the 4-team group qualify for the semi-finals
Performances
[edit | edit source]By club
[edit | edit source]When sorted by year of winning or losing final(s), the table is sorted by the year of each club's first final.
| Club | Winners | Finalists | Finals | Years of Winning | Years of Losing | Entries | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe Stara Zagora |
4 | 1 | 4[3] | 1968, 1969, 1983, 1984 | 1970 | 7 | 1984 Top Spot in Group |
| Slavia Sofia |
2 | 1 | 3 | 1986, 1988 | 1977 | 5 | |
| Romania Rapid Bucureşti | 2 | - | 2 | 1964, 1966 | — | 2 | Winner in Both Entries |
| Greece Panionios | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1971 | 1986 | 3 | |
| Trakia Plovdiv |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1972 | 1981 | 2 | Reached Final in Both Entries |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radnički Niš | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1975 | 1989 | 3 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia NK Rijeka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1978 | 1980 | 2 | Reached Final in Both Entries |
| Romania Sportul Studențesc | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1980 | 1976 | 3 | |
| Greece Olympiacos | 1 | - | 1 | 1963 | — | 3 | |
| Turkey Fenerbahçe | 1 | - | 1 | 1967 | — | 4 | |
| Albania Partizani Tirana | 1 | - | 1 | 1970 | — | 5 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia |
1 | - | 1 | 1973 | — | 4 | |
| Akademik Sofia |
1 | - | 1 | 1974 | — | 2 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | - | 1 | 1976 | — | 1 | |
| Greece Panathinaikos | 1 | - | 1 | 1977 | — | 1 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Velež Mostar | 1 | - | 1 | 1981 | — | 1 | |
| Greece Iraklis | 1 | - | 1 | 1985 | — | 3 | |
| Greece OFI | 1 | - | 1 | 1989 | — | 2 | |
| Romania Inter Sibiu | 1 | - | 1 | 1991 | — | 1 | |
| Turkey Sarıyer | 1 | - | 1 | 1992 | — | 1 | |
| Greece Edessaikos | 1 | - | 1 | 1993 | — | 1 | |
| Turkey Samsunspor | 1 | - | 1 | 1994 | — | 2 | |
| Romania Steagul Roşu Braşov | 1 | - | -[4] | 1961 | — | 4 | 1961 Top Spot in Group |
| Romania Argeş Piteşti | - | 2 | 2[3] | — | 1984, 1985, 1988 | 3 | 1984 Runner-up in Group |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vardar Skopje | - | 2 | 2 | — | 1972, 1974 | 4 | |
| Levski Sofia |
- | 1 | 1[4] | — | 1961, 1963 | 3 | 1961 Runner-up in Group |
| Spartak Plovdiv |
- | 1 | 1 | — | 1964 | 2 | |
| Romania Farul Constanţa | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1966 | 4 | |
| Greece AEK Athens | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1967 | 4 | |
| Spartak Sofia |
- | 1 | 1 | — | 1968 | 1 | |
| Albania Dinamo Tirana | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1969 | 5 | |
| Albania Besa Kavajë | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1971 | 2 | |
| Romania Târgu Mureș | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1973 | 2 | |
| Turkey Eskişehirspor | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1975 | 3 | |
| Romania Jiul Petroşani | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1978 | 1 | |
| Albania 17 Nëntori Tirana | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1983 | 4 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Budućnost Podgorica | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1991 | 2 | |
| Romania Oţelul Galaţi | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1992 | 1 | |
| Etar Veliko Tarnovo |
- | 1 | 1 | — | 1993 | 3 | |
| Greece PAS Giannina | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1994 | 2 | |
| Total | 28 | 26 | 52 | 52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format. | |||
- All 24 Clubs (out of 89 in total) that appeared in the Balkans Cup for 3 times or more, eventually Reached the Final with the exception of: Galatasaray (5 entries) and Beşiktaş (3) of Turkey, Vllaznia Shkodër (3) of Albania and Universitatea Craiova (3) of Romania.
- Beroe Stara Zagora of Bulgaria is competition's Record Holder concerning participation (7 entries), finals reached (4, plus one top spot in group) and wins (4), while in their single lost final against Partizani for 1970 edition, they opted not showing up in Tirana for the return leg of a 1–1 draw at home.
- Next to Beroe's 4, their compatriots Slavia Sofia reached 3 Finals (2 wins), while Romanian Argeş Piteşti had 2 (no win), plus one runner-up spot in group (each time they entered the competition, ended up in the losing side).
- 6 clubs won Balkans Cup in their Single Entry: Dinamo Zagreb (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) in 1976, Panathinaikos Athens (Greece) in 1977, Velež Mostar (Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1980–81, Inter Sibiu (Romania) in 1990–91, Sarıyer İstanbul (Turkey) in 1991–92 and Edessaikos Edessa (Greece) in 1992–93 edition.
By country
[edit | edit source]Clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia competed as part of SFR Yugoslavia.
Top performer by country:
| Country | Club | Winners | Finalists | Finals | Entries | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUL |
Beroe Stara Zagora | 4 | 1 | 4[3] | 7 | Balkans Cup record holder in wins, finals reached and entries. |
| Romania ROU | Rapid Bucureşti | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YUG | NK Rijeka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Radnički Niš Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia same performance in 3 entries. |
| Greece GRE | Panionios | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Turkey TUR | Sarıyer İstanbul | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | Samsunspor and Fenerbahçe Turkey 1 win in 2 and 4 entries respectively. |
| Albania ALB | Partizani Tirana | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
Participation
[edit | edit source]By club
[edit | edit source]In the 33 years of its existence, a total of 89 clubs from 6 countries appeared in the 28 Balkans Cup editions. Two of them, both Turkish, withdrawn their participation before playing a single match: Zonguldakspor in 1980–81 and Trabzonspor in 1986. Sides with 4 entries or more:
| Club | Country | Entries | Winners | Finalists | Finals | First Edition | Last Edition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe Stara Zagora | BUL |
7 | 4 | 1 | 4[3] | 1967–68 | 1992–93 | |
| Slavia Sofia | BUL |
5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1977 | 1987–88 | |
| Partizani | Albania ALB | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 1961 | 1979–80 | |
| Dinamo Tirana | Albania ALB | 5 | - | 1 | 1 | 1961–63 | 1987–88 | |
| Galatasaray | Turkey TUR | 5 | - | - | - | 1961–63 | 1990–91 | Also Withdrew in 1977–78 and 1979–80. |
| Steagul Roşu Braşov | Romania ROU | 4 | 1 | - | -[4] | 1961 | 1972 | |
| Fenerbahçe | Turkey TUR | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 1961 | 1967–68 | Also Withdrew in 1963–64. |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | BUL |
4 | 1 | - | 1 | 1966–67 | 1988–89 | |
| Vardar Skopje | Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YUG | 4 | - | 2 | 2 | 1964–66 | 1974 | |
| Farul Constanţa | Romania ROU | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1975 | |
| AEK Athens | Greece GRE | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1961 | 1980–81 | |
| 17 Nëntori Tirana | Albania ALB | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1990–91 |
By country
[edit | edit source]Bulgarian and Turkish sides were present at each one of the 28 Balkans Cup editions, while Yugoslavian were absent 9 times in total, entering just twice during its last decade of existence (ironically, reaching both finals). Generally, South Slavs (both Football Association and clubs) were never keen supporters of the competition, as they had neither been enthusiastic about the national teams' Balkan Cup, too.
| Bulgaria | Turkey | Romania | Greece | Albania | Yugoslavia | ||
| Number of different sides that entered | 15 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 12 | |
| Editions of Balkans Cup that | |||||||
| [1] | Country was represented by at least one club | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 20 |
| [2] | Country's club withdrew before playing a match | — | 5 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| [3] | Country was still represented by another club | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| [4] | Country's clubs competed (=[1]-[2]+[3]) | 28 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 19 |
| Country's clubs were absent (=28 total editions-[4]) | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Years/editions that country's clubs were absent | — | 1977 to 1981 1986 |
1993–94 (Last Cup) |
1983–84 | 1983 to 1985 | 1961 (First Cup) 1983 to 1988 1991–end | |
| [5] | Editions a club quit after playing at least one match | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | — | 1 |
| Editions a club withdrew or quit (=[2]+[5]) | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | — | 2 | |
| [6] | Editions with double entry | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — |
| [7] | Total entries (=[4]-[3]+[6]) | 36 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 27 | 19 |
| [8] | Cups won | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| % success in winning the Cup (=[8]÷[7]×100) | 25% | 11% | 15% | 21% | 4% | 21% | |
| [9] | Finals reached | 15 | 4 | 11 [5] | 9 | 4 | 9 |
| % success in reaching the final (=[9]÷[7]×100)' | 42% | 14% | 33% | 31% | 15% | 47% | |
Despite the fact that in each edition there was at least one Turkish side initially entering, in no less than 5 occasions it withdrew before playing a single match and in 5 more quit during group stage, after unsuccessful results. Greeks followed with 1 withdrawal and 4 quits, while clubs from all countries had sporadically terminated their participation in some early stage of the competition, except for Albanian. Multiple winner and several other records holder Beroe Stara Zagora, became the only Bulgarian side ever to withdraw or quit a Balkans Cup match and the single one to do so in a final, by not showing up for 1970 edition's return leg against Partizani Tirana of Albania, following a 1-1 draw at home.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Draw for the venue was held by FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous.
- ^ a b c d e 1983–84 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.
- ^ a b c d 1961 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.
- ^ a b c 1961 and 1983–84 editions not included, since contested in Group Format.
External links
[edit | edit source]- Balkans Cup Archive, Romeo Ionescu, RSSSF (Recreation & Sports Soccer Statistics Foundation)
- Balkans Cup, Mehmet Çelik, Turkish Soccer
- Balkans Cup
- Defunct association football club competitions in Europe
- Football competitions in Bulgaria
- Men's football competitions in Greece
- Football competitions in Romania
- Football competitions in Turkey
- Sport competitions in the Balkans
- Recurring sporting events established in 1961
- 1961 establishments in Europe
- Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1994
- 1994 disestablishments in Europe
- Football competitions in Albania
- Football competitions in Yugoslavia