Zentropacup
| Zentropacup 1951 | |
|---|---|
| Number of clubs | 4th |
| winner | Rapid Vienna |
| venue | Austria |
| Opening game | 3rd July 1951 |
| Endgame | 5th July 1951 |
| Games | 4th |
| Gates | 17 (⌀: 4.25 per game) |
| Top scorer |
 Erich Probst
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The Zentropacup was a small four-way tournament in football , which was held from July 3 to 5, 1951 in Vienna among the participants Rapid Vienna , Wacker Vienna as well as Dinamo Zagreb and Lazio Rome .
history
The Centropacup was an attempt to inherit the Mitropa Cup , which fell asleep in 1940 , one of the largest European competitions of its time, and to revive it. But the cup was under criticism long before the tournament began. In competition with the Zentropacup there was an upcoming tournament in Brazil - the Copa Rio as a club world championship - for club teams (including Red Star Belgrade , Juventus Turin and Austria Vienna ). For this, the three best-placed Italian clubs of the 1950/51 season were invited, so that only less important Italian clubs came into question as guests for the competition held in Austria. As a result, the tournament lost importance, was viewed critically and lost attention. The two visiting clubs in particular saw the tournament as an unnecessary burden imposed by their association. Lazio Rome only had to move up after the cancellation due to lack of interest from Inter Milan . Ultimately, the four-way tournament was played with the teams from Rapid Vienna , Wacker Vienna , as Austrian champions and runner-up champions, as well as with Lazio Rome and Dinamo Zagreb .
But the invited foreign clubs saw no point in the tournament and called it a “farce”. Lazio officials said in retrospect: "We see no results for a rescheduling of the Zentrocup and we will advise all clubs in Italy not to participate." Criticism was in addition to the tournament mode (matches were out and back, only one game decided whether to win or lose) also the choice of the invited teams (Germany and Switzerland could also be considered). The whole tournament was a disaster. After initially 25,000 visitors each in the semifinals, only 9,000 spectators appeared in the Prater Stadium for the final , which means a financial failure that the clubs had to bear equally. There was no longer a new edition of the Cup. It was not until 1955 that the original competition, the Mitropacup , was brought back to life.
Teams
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Game results
1st semifinals
In the first semi-final, the teams from Wacker Vienna and the Yugoslav champions Dinamo Zagreb clashed . A total of five goals were scored in the 90 minutes of the encounter. Wacker set the course for the final in the first 30 minutes and went 2-0 into the half-time break. After the restart, Zagreb reared up briefly, but then could not prevent two more goals for Wacker and thus missed the final.
| Wacker Vienna | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
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July 3rd, 1951 Praterstadion ( Vienna ) Result: 4: 1 (2: 0) Spectators: 26,000 Referees :? |
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| ? | ? | ||
| Trainer :? |
Trainer: Bernard Hügl ( Yugoslavia )
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 1: 0 Ernst Bokon (20th) 2: 0 Walter Haummer (30th) 3: 1 Theodor Brinek (59th) 4: 1 Richard Brousek (89th)
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2: 1 Ivica Horvat (54th)
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| (Source: ZENTROPACUP 1951 on austriasoccer.at) | |||
2nd semifinals
In the second semifinals of the Zentropacup, the Austrian champions Rapid Wien and the fourth of Serie A , Lazio Rome , faced each other. As in the first tournament game, five goals were scored here. However, all goals were scored by the Vienna team. Rapid attacker Erich Probst scored early for his team. In the course of the game, the Pesser team scored four more goals, with Probst twice more. The Romans lost 5-0, so that the Vienna-Vienna duel should come in the final.
| Rapid Vienna | Lazio Rome | ||
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July 3rd, 1951 Praterstadion ( Vienna ) Result: 5: 0 (2: 0) Spectators: 26,000 Referees :? |
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| ? | ? | ||
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Trainer: Hans Pesser ( Austria )
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Coach: Giuseppe Bigogno ( Italy )
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1: 0 Erich Probst (15th) 2: 0 Alfred Körner (43th) 3: 0 Erich Probst (51st) 4: 0 Erich Probst (62nd) 5: 0 Gerhard Hanappi (71st)
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| (Source: ZENTROPACUP 1951 on austriasoccer.at) | |||
3rd place match
The game between the two visiting teams Dinamo Zagreb and Lazio ended 2-0 for the Adria team.
| Dinamo Zagreb | Lazio Rome | ||
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? July 1951 ? Result: 2: 0 (?) Spectators :? Referee :? |
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| ? | ? | ||
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Trainer: Hans Pesser ( Austria )
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Coach: Giuseppe Bigogno ( Italy )
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1: 0 2: 0
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| (Source: ZENTROPACUP 1951 on rsssf.com) | |||
final
After clear semi-final wins, the two best teams of the last Austrian football season found themselves in the final of the competition. As in the semi-games of the clubs, five goals should be recorded here. However, the encounter was much closer to the point and only a late hit decided the outcome. Theodor Wagner and Ernst Foreth brought the Wcker team into the lead twice, but the Rapid players Leopold Gernhardt and Erich Probst each equalized with their fourth tournament goal. The final point and thus the success for his club was set by defender Ernst Happel , who scored Rapid Wien to triumph in the 90th minute. After 1930, at that time still Mitropacup, it was Rapid's first success in this tournament. The last Austrian winner was FK Austria Wien in 1936 .
| Rapid Vienna | Wacker Vienna | ||
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July 5, 1951 Praterstadion ( Vienna ) Result: 3: 2 (2: 0) Spectators: 9,000 Referees :? |
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| ? | ? | ||
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Trainer: Hans Pesser ( Austria )
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Trainer :? | ||
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1: 1 Leopold Gernhardt (40th) 2: 2 Erich Probst (58th) 3: 2 Ernst Happel (90th)
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0: 1 Theodor Wagner (32nd) 1: 2 Ernst Foreth (54th)
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| (Source: ZENTROPACUP 1951 on austriasoccer.at) | |||
Conclusion
Due to the lack of enthusiasm and the poor response from both the Viennese audience and the press, and the massive hailing criticism of the tournament, the host decided not to hold the Centropa Cup again. The biggest decisive point for this should be the low acceptance of the Central European teams, as well as the financial loss. The Yugoslav team said in retrospect: “The competition must no longer be played like this. The whole Mitropacup was a farce. ”That didn't happen anymore, so that the competition fell asleep again after just one tournament.
Web links
- ZENTROPACUP 1951 (tournament in Vienna) on austriasoccer.at
- Zentropacup 1951 on rsssf.com
literature
- Matthias Marschik, Doris Sottopietra: Hereditary enemies and love-hate relationship. Concept and reality of Central Europe in sport (Sport. Culture, Change; Vol. 28). LIT-Verlag, Münster 2000, ISBN 3-8258-5093-5 .