Copa Macaya

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Copa Macaya
Copa Macaya.png
Organising bodyHispania Athletic Club
Founded20 January 1901
Abolished1903; 120 years ago (1903)
RegionCatalonia
Related competitionsCatalan football championship
Last championsClub Espanyol (1907)
Most successful club(s)Hispania AC
FC Barcelona
Club Espanyol
(1 title)

The Hispania Athletic Club Tournament–Alfonso Macaya Cup, popularly known as the Copa Macaya, was an competition for football clubs from Catalonia that ran from 1900 to 1903.[1] It was the first football championship played on the Iberian Peninsula, and the predecessor and forerunner for the Catalan football championship which began in 1903.[2] Until that point, the teams founded at the end of 1899 and during 1900 had been limited to playing friendly games only.

It was named in honor of the donator of the trophy Alfonso Macaya.[3]

Notable figures of this tournament are Joan Gamper, Arthur Witty, Samuel Morris, Gustavo Green and Udo Steinberg.

History

Origins

The Copa Macaya trophy.

In December 1900, Alfonso Macaya, the then president of Hispania AC, offered a trophy (the Copa Macaya) to the winners of a tournament to be contested in a league format between the different clubs that had been created in Spain, because initially, the contest was open to all national clubs and registration was open to clubs throughout the country, although in the end, only six Catalan teams participated, of which only one was a non-Barcelona team, the Tarragona Club, given the resignations of those from Madrid and Mallorca, thus it can be considered the first national championship.[4] The rest of the participants, in addition to Tarragona and Hispania itself, were FC Barcelona, Sociedad Franco-Española, SD Santanach and Club Espanyol (currently RCD Espanyol), with the latter two withdrawing from the tournament.[2]

Copa Macaya I

Hispania AC became the first Catalan champions after winning the inaugural Copa Macaya after narrowly beating FC Barcelona. The title was only decided in the last matchday of the tournament, held on 14 April 1901 at the Muntaner, in a game where Barcelona needed to defeat Hispania to at least force a playoff, they drew at 1 after the referee controversially disallowed Barça's second goal, thus giving the hosts the championship that would ultimately be the only one in its short history. The inaugural Copa Macaya was surrounded by protests against the competition committee, claiming that the refereeing had favored the hosts throughout the tournament.[4] Gustavo Green was Hispania's captain and best player at the tournament, playing a pivotal role in helping his side become the very first Spanish club to win an official title. On the other hand, Joan Gamper was Barcelona's captain and their best player at the tournament, being its top scorer with 31 goals.[4]

Copa Macaya II

The following season, 1901–02, saw FC Barcelona lift the Copa Macaya trophy, their first-ever piece of silverware. In the eight games played in the tournament, Barça only conceded two goals, in a 2–4 win over Hispania on 6 January 1902, and scored a resounding 60 goals, 15 of which came on the final matchday in a 15–0 victory over Català SC on 23 March 1902, with Udo Steinberg netting 6 goals, and Gamper and Leask clutching a hat-trick each.[5]

Copa Macaya III

In the 1902–03 season, FC Barcelona lost two points for fielding an ineligible player, and their reaction was to withdraw from the tournament and decided to organize a tournament of their own, called Copa Barcelona, and all the clubs of the city of Barcelona were invited, including the ones who were playing the Copa Macaya, and thus, this new trophy counted on the participation of many clubs, initially counting with 11 teams, although 3 of them (X Sporting Club, Universitary SC and FC Catalònia) had to withdraw before the end of the tournament. The Copa Barcelona is also considered an official tournament nowadays. So two rival competitions were organized (similar to the 1910 and 1913 editions of the Copa del Rey), and while Club Espanyol won the third and last edition of the Copa Macaya after beating 3–1 Hispania AC in a play-off, Barcelona won the Copa Barcelona with a short advantage over Club Español.[2] Remarkably, Gustavo Green won all three editions of the Copa Macaya with three different clubs (Hispania, Barça and Español).[6]

Keeping the trophy

From 1903–04 onwards, the Catalan championship began to be organized by the Catalan Football Federation and it became known as the Campionat de Catalunya.[2] On 22 December 1903 a tournament was played between the previous three champions, Hispania AC, FC Barcelona and Club Español, for the right to keep the trophy. As Hispania had dissolved and Club Español had won all the games of that season against Barcelona, ​​the trophy was awarded to Club Español.[citation needed]

Madrid FC

In 1903, Madrid FC asked the organizers for their participation in the Copa Barcelona, but the request was made too late to be accepted as the tournament was about to begin, making it impossible for them to join, although Madrid FC was offered to play a match against the winner at the end of the competition to compete for a prize. Naturally, FC Barcelona, Club Español and Hispania AC were the main favorites to win the tournament, and in the end, it was Español who emerged as the winner.[7] Thus, Español faced the Madrid team, with the game ending in a 0–0 draw.[8] Another of the reasons for the trip of the whites to Barcelona was to further strengthen the ties of friendship between them and the Spanish Gymnastic Federation, as well as the Catalan clubs, especially with FC Barcelona, meaning that the rivalry between them had not yet arisen.[7]

Results

1900–01 Standings

Main article: 1900–01 Copa Macaya
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hispania AC 8 7 1 0 39 2 +37 15 Champion
2 FC Barcelona 8 6 1 1 51 4 +47 13
3 Espanyol[a] 8 3 0 5 6 6 0 6
4 Club Tarragona[b] 8 2 0 6 0 30 −30 4
5 Franco-Española[c] 8 1 0 7 0 54 −54 2
6 Santanach (WD)[d] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: Copa
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair-play points; 7) playoff match
Notes:
  1. ^ Espanyol retired after the fourth game. All their opponents until the end of the tournament were awarded with a victory.
  2. ^ Tarragona didn't play at Franco-Española, awarded with a victory.
  3. ^ Franco-Española didn't play at Tarragona, awarded with a victory.
  4. ^ Santanach withdrew before the tournament.

1901–02 Standings

Main article: 1901–02 Copa Macaya
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 FC Barcelona 8 8 0 0 60 2 +58 16 Champion
2 Hispania AC 8 6 0 2 30 7 +23 12
3 Espanyol 6 3 1 2 11 20 −9 7
4 Universitary SC 8 1 2 5 8 33 −25 4
5 Català SC 8 0 1 7 3 50 −47 1
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair-play points; 7) playoff match

1902–03 Standings

Main article: 1902–03 Catalan Football Championship § Copa Macaya
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Club Espanyol 4 3 0 1 9 2 +7 6 Champion
2 Hispania AC 4 3 0 1 10 3 +7 6
3 FC Internacional 4 0 0 4 1 15 −14 0
4 FC Barcelona (WD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Universitary SC (WD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair-play points; 7) playoff match

Playoff

Club Espanyol and Hispania AC finished level on points, so a play-off had to be played to decide the winner.

Club Espanyol3–1Hispania AC
Report

Copa Barcelona

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 FC Barcelona 14 12 2 0 45 10 +35 26 Champion
2 Club Espanyol 14 11 2 1 32 7 +25 24
3 Hispania AC 14 9 1 4 22 18 +4 19
4 Català SC 14 7 1 6 25 25 0 15
5 Irish FC 14 4 2 8 25 11 +14 10
6 FC Internacional 14 3 3 8 5 16 −11 9
7 Ibèria SC 14 4 0 10 7 20 −13 8
8 Salut SC 14 0 1 13 2 46 −44 1
9 Universitary SC (WD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 X Sporting Club (WD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair-play points; 7) playoff match

Statistics

Titles by club

Country Winners Runner-ups
Catalonia Hispania AC
1
2
Catalonia FC Barcelona
1
1
Catalonia Club Espanyol
1
1

Records and statistics

Top scorers per tournament

Tournament Name Team Goals
1901 Switzerland Joan Gamper FC Barcelona
31
1902
19
1903 (Macaya) Spain Gustavo Green Club Español
7
1903 (Barcelona) Switzerland Joan Gamper FC Barcelona
21

All-time top goalscorers

Rank Name Team Goals Tournament(s)
1 Switzerland Joan Gamper FC Barcelona 71 1901 (31), 1902 (19) and 1903 (21)
2 Germany Udo Stenberg 24 1902 (17) and 1903 (7)
3 Spain Gustavo Green FC Barcelona
Hispania AC
Club Español 		17 1901 (9), 1902 (1) and 1903 (7)
4 England John Parsons FC Barcelona 11 1901 (8), 1902 (3)
5 Scotland John Hamilton Hispania AC 7 1901 (7)
Spain Luis de Ossó FC Barcelona 1902 (1), 1903 (6)
7 Switzerland Paul Widerkehr 6 1902 (6)
8 Scotland Joseph Black Hispania AC 5 1901 (5)
Scotland Alexander Black FC Barcelona

Legacy

The Copa Macaya was the first football championship played on the Iberian Peninsula, and its success led to the organization of the first Catalan championship in 1903, and thus, the Copa Macaya has been officially accepted as the first Catalan Championships, which was the most important football competition in Catalonia in the first half of the 20th century.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lee, Chris (19 April 2021). Origin Stories. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78531-923-5.
  2. ^ a b c d "Spain - Final Tables Catalonia". RSSSF. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Macaya Cup - Museu Olímpic i de l'Esport". www.museuolimpicbcn.cat. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Primera edición de la Copa Macaya Enero-Abril 1901" [First edition of the Macaya Cup January–April 1901]. www.cihefe.es (in Spanish). 1 June 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Barça Rewind: The first ever title". www.fcbarcelona.com. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  6. ^ "La identidad de Gustavo Green desvelada después de 120 años" [Gustavo Green's identity revealed after 120 years]. www.cihefe.es (in Spanish). 17 January 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b "El Madrid Football Club rumbo a la Copa Macaya" [Madrid Football Club heading to the Macaya Cup] (in Spanish). Diario El Cardo. 8 February 1903. p. 12. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Madrid contra Español (Copa Macaya)" [Madrid vs. Spanish (Macaya Cup)] (in Spanish). Diario El Cardo. 28 February 1903. Retrieved 31 October 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://justapedia.org/index.php?title=Copa_Macaya&oldid=1119271697"