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Copa Suecia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copa Suecia
The trophy awarded to champions
Organising bodyAFA
Founded1958
Abolished1960; 64 years ago (1960) [1]
RegionArgentina
Number of teams16
Related competitionsPrimera División
Last championsAtlanta

The Copa Suecia (in English: Sweden Cup) was an official Argentine football cup competition held once from 1958 to 1960 by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).[2] It was competed by clubs in the Argentine Primera División. Atlanta won the tournament in the final held in 1960.[3]

History

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Given that the World Cup was held in faraway Sweden in 1958, the Argentine league competition was interrupted after the third round and it was not restarted until three months later. As a result, AFA organized a cup competition in order to keep the teams in readiness and also let the clubs receive some economic benefits throughout the prolonged intermission.[4] The Swedish Embassy in Argentina donated the trophy and hence the name of the tournament.[5]

The 16 teams of the Primera División were divided into two groups (A and B), and each group played a round-robin. The top team from each group would contest a single-legged final. If two teams had the same number of points in a group, a single-legged play-off would be competed to determine the qualification.[6]

Team of Atlanta that beat Racing in the final

Atlanta started very well in this year by three consecutive wins in the league. It also made a strong debut in the Group B of the Copa Suecia by defeating River Plate 4–1. Eventually it was the top team of its group, having the same number of points with Rosario Central. A play-off was contested and Atlanta won by 1–0.[5]

Racing Club was the qualified team in the Group A and they played the final in 1960. Atlanta won the match 3:1 and was crowned the champion.[5] It remains the only official top flight tournament title in Atlanta's history. Moreover, it was the first time that one of the so-called "little teams" of Argentina won an official cup in the professional era, aside from the "Big Five" (River Plate, Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Independiente, and Racing Club).

Initially, the tournament drew strong crowds. However, public interest declined soon due to various factors.[4] The competition was harmed by the lack of commitment of some of the competing clubs that presented too many substitutes. Moreover, interest was lost due to the dismal performance of the Argentina national football team in World Cup 1958. Last but not least, once the Primera División was resumed, there was a lack of available match dates and the scheduling of the remaining part of the tournament became very difficult. As a result, the tournament became a prolongated competition, with some matches played in 1959 and the final was held in 1960, two years and nine days after the commencement.[4]

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pts GP W D L GF GA GD
1 Racing 21 14 10 1 3 34 16 18
2 Newell's Old Boys 18 13 8 2 3 24 15 9
3 Estudiantes (LP) 15 14 5 5 4 27 22 5
4 Tigre 15 13 5 5 3 27 25 2
5 Huracán 13 14 4 5 5 23 27 -4
6 Vélez Sarsfield 13 14 3 7 4 25 30 -5
7 Boca Juniors 9 14 3 3 8 18 25 -7
8 Central Córdoba (R) 6 14 2 2 10 15 33 -18
Qualified to the final

Group B

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Pos Team Pts GP W D L GF GA GD
1 Atlanta 17 14 7 3 4 26 18 8
2 Rosario Central 17 14 8 1 5 33 29 4
3 Lanús 15 14 6 3 5 27 28 -1
4 Argentinos Juniors 15 14 6 3 5 30 26 4
5 Independiente 13 14 5 3 6 29 24 5
6 San Lorenzo 13 14 4 5 5 23 27 -4
7 River Plate 11 14 4 3 7 23 30 -7
8 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 11 14 4 3 7 25 34 -9
Qualified to Tie breaking play-off

Tie breaking play-off

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Team 1 Score Team 2 Stadium City
Rosario Central 0–1 Atlanta Estadio Coloso del Parque Rosario
Qualified to the final

Final

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Details

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Copa Suecia Final
Atlanta3–1Racing
Nuin 13'
Bellomo 41'
González 74'
Report Sosa 62'
Attendance: 8,300
Referee: Duval Goicoechea
Atlanta
Racing

Top goalscorer

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Source: [7]

Player Goals Club
Argentina Domingo L. Zabaleta
12
Lanús

References

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