Before the birth of the World Cup for clubs under the supervision of Fifa, in the past there have been several attempts to organize a “supranational” tournament to decree the best club at international and world level. Recognized or not, organized by patrons or shortly after suppressed, the desire to choose the strongest team in the world dates back to the early 1900s when football was still amateur and an embryonic form of what it is today.
1908, The International Sports Press Tournament
Forerunner of the current Club World Cup and the International Sports Press Tournament , a sporting event of 1908, organized by La Stampa, Turin newspaper. The format provided for an internal qualification mini-tournament for the Italian teams that were Ausonia Pro Gorla, Juventus, Piedmont and Turin, with the winner who would then participate in the actual tournament, together with the Swiss of Servette, the Germans of Freiburger and to the French of the Parisienne. That edition was won by Servette who defeated Turin 3-1 in the final.
1909-1911, Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy
The International Sports Press Tournament was liked, there was enthusiasm around, so, Thomas Lipton , Scottish businessman and merchant above all of you, offered to subsidize a second edition that took his name. Thus was born the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, a two-year tournament played in 1909 and 1911 . The leading clubs in the championships of the strongest nations at that historical moment had to participate in the competition , namely England, Switzerland, Germany, while for Italy we opt for a selection of the best players between Turin, Juventus and Piedmont. In the 1911 edition the rules changed slightly: there was no German team, for England there was confirmation of the title-holder team, or West Auckland Town (which I also conquer this edition), for Switzerland the club in head, while Juventus and Turin participated separately.
1951-1952, Copa Rio
In the early 1950s a new international competition was proposed, organized by the Sports Confederation of Brazil, with a reference to the 1950s World Cup held in Brazil after an empty World War. In fact, the eight national champion teams of the nations that best placed themselves in the World Championship participated, by invitation, at the Copa Rio tournament . The first edition of 1951 saw the victory of Palmeiras against Juventus , while the following year, in 1952, in the all-Brazilian derby, Fluminense got the better of Corinthians. Although with reservations, Fifa recognized the 1951 event as the first world-class club tournament and, therefore, Palmeiras can be considered the first world champion in club history.
1952-1975, Pequena Copa del Mundo The Pequena Copa del Mundo
was also fascinating and multifaceted , a tournament that was organized in Caracas , Venezuela, in 1952. Also for this event you could only enter by invitation and, in the 14 editions at irregular intervals until 1975, heterogeneous teams participated: from Real Madrid, to the Colombians of Millonarios, passing through Valencia, Benfica and Chelsea, Roma also played the trophy in 1953, coming second, and Lazio, in 1966, third. Space also for a national team: in 1975, East Germany lifted the trophy to the sky .
1960-2004, Intercontinental Cup
In those same years a parallel trophy took shape, but which in fact became the Intercontinental Cup officially recognized by clubs and fans. Born in 1960, as an exclusive tournament between the winner of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup (later Champions League), and the winner of the Libertadores Cup, the Two World Cup has undergone changes over the years: annually, from its debut in 1960 at the 1979 edition the two challengers met in a first leg and a return match in their respective stadiums .
But due to increasingly hostile climates in South America and due to the difficult placement in the calendar between the various commitments, the teams began to decline participation : in 1971, the Dutch Ajax were the first.
In the ’80s, to recover prestige and create an establishment, Toyota decided to directly manage the event, financing it and moving it to Japan with a dry match. A formula that works and that we Italians remember above all for the matches of Juventus in 1996 and Milan in 1989, 1990 and 2003.
2004, Club World Cup
In 2004, FIFA forcefully entered the structuring of competitions,extending the tournament to all the winners of the continental tournaments organized by the six confederations under the label of the same international federation. So in addition to the Champions League and Libertadores, the Central-North American, African, Asian and Oceanian champions also take part in the competition. Furthermore, since 2007, the winning team of the host nation’s championship has also participated.
