1955 Small Club World Cup Explained

Tourney Name:Small Club World Cup
Year:1955
Dates:7 July – 4 August
Country:Venezuela
Num Teams:4
Associations:2
Venues:1
Cities:1
Champion Other: São Paulo
Count:1
Matches:12
Goals:40
Top Scorer: Rubén Padín (10 goals)
Prevseason:1953 (2nd tournament)
Nextseason:1956

The 1955 Small Club World Cup was the fourth edition of the Small Club World Cup, a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, and in 1963 and in 1965. It was played by four participants, half from Europe and half from South America in double round robin format and featured players like Mario Coluna, José Águas, goalkeeper Costa Pereira for Benfica, Dino Sani, Nílton de Sordi for Sao Paulo,[1] Dutch Faas Wilkes and Pasieguito for Valencia.

As Milan and Real Madrid declined to participate,[2] they were replaced by Spanish club Valencia and local team La Salle. On the other hand, Brazilian club São Paulo's participation was part of a tour that also included Colombia and Mexico, while Valencia became the third Spanish team to visit Venezuela, after Real Madrid and Barcelona.[3]

The tournament was organised by Spanish entrepreneurs Damián Gaubeka and Pedro Reyes, and named "Copa General de Brigada Marcos Pérez Jiménez" by the press, which never mentioned it as "Pequeña Copa del Mundo". Argentine striker Rubén Padín of La Salle (who had been loaned from Cúcuta Deportivo to play this tournament exclusively) was the topscorer with 10 goals.[3]

Participants

TeamQuelification
Champions of 1954–55 Primeira Divisão
5th. in 1954–55 La Liga
4th. in 1954 Campeonato Paulista
Champions of Venezuelan Primera División

Matches

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Final standings

Team[4] PtsPWDLGFGAGD
São Paulo763121183
662221192
6622211101
46133213-6

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A conquista da Pequena Copa do Mundo de 1955 . São Paulo FC . 4 August 2015 . 29 August 2023 . pt.
  2. http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1955/04/24/pagina-5/627557/pdf.html?search=caracas
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20131208184824/http://www.futboldevenezuela.com.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=416&Itemid=427 1955: 4ta. Pequeña Copa del Mundo
  4. https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/peq-copamundo55.html Pequeña Copa del Mundo 1955