Home » The history of the European Cup: a difficult start for the birth of 30 years, the French “unified” Europe

The history of the European Cup: a difficult start for the birth of 30 years, the French “unified” Europe

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Original title: In the history of the European Cup: a difficult start for the birth of 30 years, the French “unified” Europe

The European Cup is a four-year event in European football and a flagship product of UEFA. However, when the game was first launched, it was very similar to the previous UEFA Champions League. It was also questioned and neglected by the big powers, especially the four local football associations in the United Kingdom. -The British have a “local four-corner championship” that has been engaged for decades, and they think they represent the highest level in the world. In addition, there are many regional championships in Europe in the ascendant, plus the World Cup, most European countries are not interested in hosting a pan-European international event. Thanks to the persistence and hard work of the French, the European Cup finally broke through.

The European Cup started in a qualifying game 63 years ago: September 28, 1958, at the Lenin Central Stadium in Moscow (later renamed Luzhniki), the Soviet Union defeated Hungary 3-1, taking the first step in the history of the European Cup (It was called the European Cup of Nations at the time). Home team forward Ilyu made a penalty kick in the 4th minute and scored the first goal in the history of the game. It stands to reason that this game should not be the first European Cup qualifying game in history, just the Czechoslovak and Irish screening matches.

Only 17 teams signed up for the first European Cup. Warsaw Pact countries responded positively. Seven of the eight member states came (Albania was absent). The first European Cup was also known as the “Red European Cup”. In order to make up the “golden section” of 16, a team must be eliminated first. So the lottery was drawn and Czechoslovakia and Ireland were drawn out. When the two teams met in the first round on April 5, 1959, some of the qualifying rounds had ended, except for the Soviet Union defeated Hungary, Romania defeated Turkey, France even eliminated Greece to advance to the top 8.

Now, the size and impact of the European Cup is second only to the World Cup, but it used to be more noble than the World Cup. Before the 1990s, entering the European Cup was more difficult than entering the World Cup. From the first in 1960 to the fifth in 1976, there were 4 teams in the final week, and the host selected from this (4 stadiums were used when they were dead, without the need for major construction). From 1980 to 1996, the expansion of the European Cup doubled to 8 teams, only then need to pre-apply to host. In the European Cup at that time, all the kings could come, and the groups couldn’t avoid the heavyweights. The kings were piled up in bronze, and they had to work step by step and go all out as soon as the fight started.

The Delaunay Cup will be retained by the champion for 4 years and will be returned to the next tournament. This is different from the Remit Cup. You cannot claim as many champions as your own. The 2008 European Cup winner Spain picked up the new “Delauna”, which was prototyped by the well-known British jewellery company “Espley”. The size is slightly larger. The pattern of the player’s ball on the prototype is removed, and the base is changed to sterling silver. Build.

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Gestation 30 years

To commemorate the first UEFA Secretary General, the Frenchman Henry Delaunay, who gave birth to the tournament, the European Cup is also known as the “Draaunay Cup”. Unfortunately, Mr. Delaunay drove away five years before the event was born. His son Pierre served as the Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the first European Cup, and commissioned the famous French medal and flag design firm “Subirong” to make the trophy. In ancient times, the son inherited his father’s career as “analyzing salaries with the Dutch”. Pierre can make the European Cup from a dream into a reality, and it can also be regarded as a salary with a lot of money.

The French have a tradition of hosting large-scale cultural and entertainment activities. The Olympics (Coubertin), the World Cup (Remit), and the Champions League (Arnold) are all French historical contributions to the sports world. Delaunay had the idea of ​​organizing the Pan-European International Championship for a long time. As early as 1927, as a member of the FIFA Council, when he agreed with Remit to establish the World Cup, Delaunay had the idea of ​​hosting the European Cup.

Limited by the traffic conditions in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Delaunay was not optimistic about the World Cup and felt that it was more reliable to hold international events in Europe. The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Only four countries in Europe took place. The traversing of mountains and rivers ended in a hurry, proving that De’s worries were not unfounded. In Europe, the conditions for holding international events have matured. In the late 1920s, many regional international championships were in full swing, such as the aforementioned British Championships, as well as the Central European Championship, the Nordic Championship, the Balkan Cup and the Baltic Cup.

The British Championship began in 1884, with the oldest qualifications and the longest existence. Four teams from the British Football Association (Ireland split in 1921 and qualifications were inherited by Northern Ireland). Later, due to the impact of the World Cup and the European Cup, the Northern Ireland civil change in 1981, frequent club schedules and fan riots were suspended for a century. . The Nordic Championship began in 1924. The founding members were Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Finland joined afterwards. It also stopped in 1983 due to lack of influence (no money).

The Central European Championship was founded by Austrian football pioneer Maisier. It started in 1927. The participating countries are Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia in the Danube Basin. Later, Italy and Yugoslavia joined. Czech Prime Minister Shvehra donated the trophy, and the event was named after his surname. It was held for six times and died in 1960. To commemorate the violent death of the Austrian Football Association President Dr. Gro, the last Central European Championship was renamed the “Gro Cup”. Since 1928, the three Baltic countries Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have held the “Baltic Cup” every year. In 1940, the Soviet Union annexed the three countries through the “Soviet-German Non-Aggression Treaty”.

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The Balkan Cup began in 1929 and, as the name suggests, was contested by Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania in the Balkans. 16 years ago, these companies were still fighting for territorial disputes, and they suddenly turned into rivals against their allies. The birth of the Balkan Cup promoted regional peace, and there will be no brotherly barriers on the peninsula for 60 years. After World War II, Greece withdrew from the Balkan Cup, Albania made up for it, and Yugoslavia returned. It was expanded in 1948 to include Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. It was the largest regional championship before the European Cup was born.

The above-mentioned competitions basically follow the league system, and the Balkan Cup system is the most disordered, swinging between the league and the tournament system. Each event takes a long time. One Nordic Championship was played for 11 years due to World War II interference. The number of teams varied from odd to even, and the results were often unfair. Although these regional international events are not perfect, there are already World Cups and Olympic Games around the world, and the idea of ​​adding a pan-European international championship is ahead. After waiting for 31 years, after war and reconstruction, UEFA was established, advocated by “French Football”, Delaunay’s vision was put into practice.

The birth of UEFA was silent. At the time of the fierce World Cup in 1954, European representatives who went to Berne, Switzerland to participate in the FIFA General Assembly gathered in Basel to complete the establishment of the future jurisdiction of European football. The FIFA news brief did not even mention such a thing. The establishment of UEFA means that the European Cup has a legal backing-South American Football has the America’s Cup, FIFA has the World Cup, and of course UEFA should have the European Cup. In June 1957, the UEFA Executive Committee passed a resolution to name the tournament the “European Cup”, which is different from the “European Cup” used in the Central European Championship. The trophy was named after Mr. Delaunay’s surname.

Thanks to the advanced Champions League, it aroused great attention from the industry as soon as it started, and the European Cup made a comeback with a lot of difficulties. The 16 finals were eliminated at home and away until the final four were decided. This model lasted for 20 years. Fortunately for the French semi-finals, the first final week was able to settle in Gaul, to comfort Delaunay’s spirit of heaven.

Difficult start

The success of the European Cup is inseparable from the support of FIFA. Old Delaunay urged that the number of matches should not be too many, and the schedule should not be too long, so as not to interfere with the World Cup and its qualifiers. The final week is embedded in the World Cup years, and the teams should avoid the same duel. Anything new in its infancy will inevitably attract suspicion from the outside world, and the European powers are not optimistic about the prospects of the European Cup.

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Just like the opening of the first Champions League, the champions of all countries were invited to the meeting, and they were not rejected. The new champion Chelsea of ​​England failed to make the trip due to the pressure of the FA. The same is true for the European Cup. UEFA posted messages to the 31 founding members at the time, and 7 of them could not say, 6 of which participated in the 1958 World Cup. In addition, the Saarland Football Association did not wait for the start of the European Cup, and the region was voted to merge with West Germany and died on its own, leaving 30 UEFA members.

Britain has always suspected the activities and organizations initiated by foreigners and declined; Italy lost to Northern Ireland in the World Preliminaries, and failed to make it to the final week, and shook its head; Sweden is the host of the World Cup the following year, and the Nordic Championships are also played during the final week. There are good reasons not to go. ; West Germany’s reason is far-fetched, its national football is controlled by the Serie A giants, unable to form a team. The deadline is approaching, and only 14 teams have signed up. UEFA is in a hurry. After some behind-the-scenes threats and transactions, the Hua Pact Group has received strong support and finally got enough teams. Not only had enough but also had more than enough, 17 teams came.

The draw for the first and second rounds of the first European Cup took place in Sweden. It was mesmerizing when Brazil saw a whirlwind in the World Cup. Even if the Soviet Union and Hungary (the last two Olympic gold medalists) met in the first round, no one noticed. However, the beginning of the European Cup has attracted great attention in the Soviet Union. More than 100,000 people came to the Lenin Central Stadium to watch the game, setting a record for attendance. The attendance rate of the subsequent 23 knockout matches was also impressive. On the contrary, the fans lost interest in the final week and the finals arrived. The number is less than 20,000. In the final, the Soviet Union defeated Yugoslavia 2-1 in overtime and became the first leader, announcing another event in football.

When the second edition started, countries rushed in. Only four of the 31 member football associations (West Germany, Scotland, Finland and Cyprus) did not register. Since then, only the three smallest countries of Albania, Iceland, and Malta have occasionally absent. The size of the European Cup is getting bigger and bigger, doubling every 20 years. As of the last European Cup, nearly half of UEFA members (UEFA absorbed Kosovo, 55 current members) gathered in France-this is already the No. Hosted the European Cup three times.Return to Sohu to see more

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