1902 Copa de la Coronación explained

Copa de la Coronación
Year:1902
Country:Spain
Num Teams:5
Winners:Bizcaya
Second:FC Barcelona
Matches:5
Goals:27
Scoring Leader: Walter Evans
William Dyer
(5 goals each)
Next Season:1903

The 1902 Copa de la Coronación (Coronation Cup in english) was a football competition in honour of the coronation of Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as the first season of the Copa del Rey, which began the following year.[1]

The competition was thought up after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid for the first competition: FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, Bizcaya (a combination of Athletic Club and Bilbao Football Club) and New Foot-Ball Club. The competition featured the first recorded game between Barcelona and Madrid FC, with the former emerging as 3–1 winners, courtesy of goals from Udo Steinberg and Joan Gamper.

Carlos Padrós was also the referee of the final, held at the Hipódromo in Madrid, in which Bizcaya lifted the trophy after beating Barcelona 2–1.[2]

Quarterfinals

[3]

Semifinals

[4]

[5]

Final

See main article: article and 1902 Copa de la Coronación Final.

Note: Some sources list Udo Steinberg as the goalscorer of Barcelona's consolation goal.[6]

Consolation Trophy / Copa de la Gran Peña

Originally, this was to feature the four clubs aside from Copa de la Coronación winners Bizcaya in a knockout tournament.

However, New Foot-Ball Club had returned home after their crushing defeat to Bizcaya in the Copa de la Coronación, while FC Barcelona were forced to withdraw as their players had to return to their occupations, leaving them unable to field a team.

Therefore, the Gran Peña Cup was played as a single match between Madrid FC and Club Español.[2]

Statistics

Goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamGoals
1 Walter Evans Bizcaya5
William Dyer
2 Juan Astorquia3
3 Raymond Cazeaux2
Udo Steinberg Barcelona FC

Legacy

The Copa de la Coronación was the first national football tournament played in Spain, being organized as a punctual commemorative celebration. However, its success led to the organization of the first edition of the Copa del Rey the following year, then known as the Spanish Championship. Since then, it has been held on an annual basis. Due to this fact, the Copa de la Coronación is generally considered informally as the first edition of the Copa del Rey, although the Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as such.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: La FEF no reconocerá al Barça la Liga del año 37. The FEF will not recognize Barça's League in 1937 . Spanish . 3 April 2009 . Diario AS . 16 June 2010 .
  2. Web site: Spain - Cup 1902 . 15 September 2000 . . 20 July 2022.
  3. Web site: Bizcaya 5–1 Club Español . Official Athletic Club Website . 20 July 2022.
  4. Web site: Barcelona 3–1 Madrid . 1 July 2015 . 14 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180814152937/http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/tempo03.htm . dead .
  5. Web site: Bizcaya 8–1 New Club . Official Athletic Club Website . 20 July 2022.
  6. Web site: Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII 1902 . Linguasport . 20 July 2022.
  7. Web site: La Copa de la Coronación, donde todo comenzó . The Coronation Cup, where it all began . es . www.rfef.es . 25 January 2015 . 22 July 2022 . 9 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200109195438/https://www.rfef.es/noticias/copa-del-rey/copa-coronacion-donde-todo-comenzo . dead .