Copa Rio (International Tournament)

The Copa Rio ("Rio Cup") was arguably the first intercontinental soccer club tournament. Brazilian press, at the time, dubbed it as "club world cup", a title that would later be applied to the Toyota Cup. This competition presented a format resembling the one adopted by FIFA in the annual tournament recently created to substitute the Toyota Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup.

The three editions of Copa Rio took place in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil and were organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation, and endorsed by FIFA. In 1951, Palmeiras, from Brazil, was the winner of the tournament, while Fluminense, also from Brazil, won this title in 1952.

The competition was succeeded by a similar tournament, named Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer, which was won by Vasco da Gama, of Brazil. This tournament which succeeded Copa Rio had a different format, with the predominance of Brazilian teams (five Brazilian sides, and three foreign clubs), thus, losing its intercontinental aspect. In December 2007, FIFA decided that the first World Club Cup was played in 2000, thus not recognizing the Copa Rio as a world club cup competition. cite web | title = Fifa decide: primeiro Mundial de Clubes foi em 2000; Intercontinental e Copa Rio são ignorados | url=http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/esportes/futebol/2007/12/15/fifa_decide_que_torneio_de_2000_sera_considerado_primeiro_do_mundial_de_clubes_1121229.html | accessdate = 2007-12-23 | language=Portuguese | publisher=iG ]

1951 Copa Rio

Teams

*flagicon|BRA Vasco da Gama (1950 Rio de Janeiro state champions)
*flagicon|POR Sporting CP (1950/51 Portuguese champions)
*flagicon|AUT Austria Wien (1949/50 Austrian champions)
*flagicon|URU Nacional (1950 Uruguayan champions)
*flagicon|BRA Palmeiras (1950 São Paulo state champions)
*flagicon|FRA OGC Nice (1950/51 French champions)
*flagicon|YUG Red Star (1951 Yugoslav champion)
*flagicon|ITA Juventus (1949/50 Italian champion)

Rio de Janeiro Group

All matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.

1952 Copa Rio

Teams

*flagicon|AUT Austria Wien (1951/52 Austrian runners-up)
*flagicon|BRA Corinthians (1951, 1952 São Paulo state champions)
*flagicon|BRA Fluminense (1951 Rio de Janeiro state champions)
*flagicon|SUI Grasshopper-Club (1951/52 Swiss champions)
*flagicon|PAR Libertad (1952 Paraguayan runners-up)
*flagicon|URU Peñarol (1951 Uruguayan champions)
*flagicon|FRG FC Saarbrücken (1951/52 West German runners-up)
*flagicon|POR Sporting CP (1951/52 Portuguese champions)

flagicon|ITA Juventus (1951/52 Italian champions) and flagicon|ARG Racing Club (1951 Argentine champions) withdrew from the competition.

Rio de Janeiro Group

All matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.

Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer 1953

NB: tournament successor of Copa Rio held in 1951 and 1952.

Teams

*flagicon|BRA Botafogo (Second Place of the Small Cup of the World in 1952)
*flagicon|BRA Fluminense (Champion of the Copa Rio in 1952)
*flagicon|BRA Vasco (Rio de Janeiro State Champions in 1952)
*flagicon|BRA Corinthians (Champion of the Tournament Rio-São Paulo in 1953)
*flagicon|BRA São Paulo (São Paulo State Champions in 1953)
*flagicon|PAR Olimpia (Second Place in the Paraguayan Championship in 1953)
*flagicon|Scotland Hibernian (Scottish Champion in 1952)
*flagicon|POR Sporting CP (Portuguese Champion in 1953)flagicon|ESP Real Madrid (Champion of the Small Cup of the World in 1952) and flagicon|URU Nacional (Uruguayan Champion in 1953) withdrew from the competition.

Rio de Janeiro Group

Final Classification

Finals

Champion

ee also

*Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup statistics
*FIFA Club World Cup
*Intercontinental Cup

ee also

*International club competition records

References

External links

* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesr/riocup51.html RSSSF (1951)]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesr/riocup52.html RSSSF (1952)]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matflucrio52.htm Matches of Fluminense in Copa Rio 1952]
* [http://www.flumania.com.br/copario.htm Copa Rio 1952 history]
* [http://www.flumania.com.br/videosinternacionais.html Copa Rio 1952 film]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesr/rio8rcm53.html RSSSF (1953)]