Balkan Cup
Encyclopedia
The Balkan Cup was an international football
tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania
, Greece
, Yugoslavia
and Bulgaria
over 3 years from 1929 to 1931.
All teams played each other twice, home and away and were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Romania won the first title winning with a game in hand after beating Yugoslavia 4-2. In the following cups the system would change with teams playing each other only once and instead of taking 3 years to complete it would change to one week. From 1932 to 1936 the Cup ran annually with the same four teams until the break-out of WWII. It began again in 1946 but Greece dropped out of the following tournaments and were replaced by Albania
who would win the 1946 tournament by defeating Romania 1-0 in the final game. In 1947 Hungary
entered the Cup and like Albania won it in its first attempt. Hungary were a world footballing power at the time and proved this with a 9-0 thrashing against Bulgaria. In 1948 the Balkans Cup expanded to 7 teams with Poland
and Czechoslovakia
entering the tournament. The 1948 Tournament was never completed due to unknown reasons. Hungary were topping the group at the time of its cancellation.
The Cup would not be played until 1973 where a group system was replaced with a Semi-Finals and a Finals system. Only four countries would compete, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey
and Greece. Bulgaria would win this first tournament since 1948 in away goals against Romania. The tournament consisted of 5 teams with Yugoslavia returning. Romania would win the last tournament by beating Yugoslavia 4-1 at home.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
, Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
over 3 years from 1929 to 1931.
All teams played each other twice, home and away and were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Romania won the first title winning with a game in hand after beating Yugoslavia 4-2. In the following cups the system would change with teams playing each other only once and instead of taking 3 years to complete it would change to one week. From 1932 to 1936 the Cup ran annually with the same four teams until the break-out of WWII. It began again in 1946 but Greece dropped out of the following tournaments and were replaced by Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
who would win the 1946 tournament by defeating Romania 1-0 in the final game. In 1947 Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
entered the Cup and like Albania won it in its first attempt. Hungary were a world footballing power at the time and proved this with a 9-0 thrashing against Bulgaria. In 1948 the Balkans Cup expanded to 7 teams with Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia national football team
The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...
entering the tournament. The 1948 Tournament was never completed due to unknown reasons. Hungary were topping the group at the time of its cancellation.
The Cup would not be played until 1973 where a group system was replaced with a Semi-Finals and a Finals system. Only four countries would compete, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
and Greece. Bulgaria would win this first tournament since 1948 in away goals against Romania. The tournament consisted of 5 teams with Yugoslavia returning. Romania would win the last tournament by beating Yugoslavia 4-1 at home.
Finals
Source: Link| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929/31 Details |
10 pts - 6 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1931 Details |
4 pts - 2 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1932 Details |
6 pts - 4 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1933 Details |
6 pts - 4 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1934/35 Details |
4 pts - 3 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1935 Details |
5 pts - 5 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1936 Details |
4 pts - 2 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1946 Details Balkan Cup 1946 The Balkans Cup 1946 was the 8th edition of this tournament. The Winner was the Albania national football team.-Table:... |
4 pts - 4 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1947 Details |
8 pts - 6 pts (played in group) |
||
| 1948 Details |
Tournament not completed | ||
| 1973/76 Details |
1 - 0, 2 - 3 (two legs) | ||
| 1977/80 Details |
0 - 2, 4 - 1 (two legs) | ||
Top Scorers per Tournament
| Year | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1929-31 |  Romania Iuliu Bodola Romania Rudolf WetzerRudolf Wetzer Rudolf 'Rudy' Wetzer was the captain and team-coach alongside Octav Luchide, under the management of Costel Rădulescu of the first Romanian side to participate in a FIFA World Cup. He was a Jewish-Romanian footballer.... |
7 |
| 1931 |  Bulgaria Asen PanchevAsen Panchev Asen Panchev was а Bulgarian footballer. Played as a left wing. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved to the youth club of Levski Sofia. In Levski he stayed thirteen seasons, played in 107 games and scored a total of sixty goals. He played one season for Bohemians... |
3 |
| 1932 |  Kingdom of Yugoslavia Aleksandar ŽivkovićAleksandar Živkovic (footballer born 1912) Aleksandar Živković was a Croatian footballer. Domestically he played for Croatian clubs Concordia Zagreb and Građanski Zagreb while abroad he played for Grasshopper-Club Zürich and RCF Paris, CA Paris and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.He was one of the top goalscorers in the Royal Yugoslavian... |
5 |
| 1933 | Romania Gheorghe Ciolac Gheorghe Ciolac Gheorghe Ciolac was a Romanian football player who played as a striker... Romania Ştefan DobayStefan Dobay Ștefan Dobay , native name István Dobay, was a Austrian-Hungarian native Romanian footballer.He played for Ripensia Timișoara and the Romania national football team for whom he got 41 caps, scored 20 goals and he appeared at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups as a forward and scoring a goal in each... |
4 |
| 1934-35 | Kingdom of Yugoslavia Aleksandar Tirnanić Aleksandar Tirnanic Aleksandar "Tirke" Tirnanić was a Serbian football player and manager.... Kingdom of Yugoslavia Aleksandar TomaševićAleksandar Tomašević Aleksandar Tomašević was a Serbian Yugoslav international football player and manager.-Playing career:... |
3 |
| 1935 | Bulgaria Liubomir Angelov |
5 |
| 1936 | Romania Alexandru Schwartz |
4 |
| 1946 |  Albania Loro BoriçiLoro Boriçi Loro Boriçi was an Albanian football player most famous in 1940s and 1950s.... Albania Qamil TelitiQamil Teliti Qamil Teliti is a former Albanian football player, known for being one of the most important players of the Albania team that won the Balkan Cup in 1946. Along with Loro Borici he was one of the artefices of the success of the team. He was a successful player for Besa and Dinamo.-References:...  Kingdom of Romania Nicolae Reuter Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Božidar SandićBožidar Sandić Božidar Sandić was a Serbian football player.-External sources:* at Reprezentacija.rs.... |
2 |
| 1947 |  Hungary Ferenc DeákFerenc Deák (footballer) Ferenc Deák was a Hungarian football player for teams such as Szentlőrinc SE, Ferencváros and Bp. Dózsa... |
5 |
| 1948 | Hungary Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954... |
8 |
| 1973/76 |  Turkey Cemil TuranCemil Turan Cemil Turan, is a former Turkish football player and a topscorer and current Director of Fenerbahçe S.K. Academy.... |
4 |
| 1977/80 | Romania Anghel Iordănescu Anghel Iordanescu Anghel Iordănescu is a Major General and former Romanian football striker, currently a politician. In 2007 Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member of the Romanian Senate, sitting on the Social Democratic Party benches.-Career... |
6 |