International cut

The international Cut (also called Cut Antonín Švehla at the time of the first edition; Coupe Dr. Gerö for the last one) was the first competition between national teams of football disputed regularly in Europe. It is an important precursor of the Championnat of Europe of the Nations. Six editions were disputed, between 1927 and 1960.

History

In the Years 1920, the Football hardly left a period pionière and, like much of other sports, it started to pass in addition to the borders of the simple nations while trying to organize competitions which would put at the catches the schools of each country.

, leader and trainer of the Austrian federation, already had thought and organized the Coupe Mitropa, competition for the teams of clubs, true predecessor of the Coupe of the clubs champions. It is still him which conceived and which organized a similar competition for the national teams: international Cut ( Europapokal der Fußball-Nationalmannschaften ).

Gilded years

The four founding members of the competition were the Austria, the Italy, the Czechoslovakia and the Hungary, i.e. the federations whose national teams dominated at the time European continental football. The Suisse also joined these teams.

This competition represented to some extent the dedication for more the footballistic great powers of the time. Indeed, except for the world cup of 1930 in Uruguay, the names of the five participants of the tournament (Switzerland including) had always appeared on the podium of the more big demonstrations of the Années 1920 and 1930: Olympic tournaments and other championships of the football world.

Danubian football , as it then was called, based on the dynamism of the actors and on the possession of ball, was enacted like example of style and elegance, whereas Italian football, perhaps more utilitarian, was however intended to collect the majority of the planetary bay-trees, being thus crowned world champion in 1934, 1938, and Olympic champion in 1936. It missed with the call the English, which were obstinated not to take part in some official competition that it is, except for the British Home Championship which saw them to be opposed to the other British national teams.

Twice with the Azzurri , once with the Wunderteam

The first edition of the cut was played in the years 1927 - 1930. The formula, which will have remained unchanged for the following editions, envisaged the constitution of a hen to Italian the : each national team was confronted twice with the others, once with residence and once outside.

The first edition was gained by Italy, which preceded by a small point the Austrian formation. It is said that Vittorio Pozzo, the selector of the Italy, made visit with its players the battle fields of the First World War before disputing the last match, decisive: it was necessary to beat the Hungary on its grounds to exceed the Austria (which had a point moreover but already had played all its meetings) and to outdistance the adversaries of the day, with equality of points with the Squaddra Azzura . In practice, it was a question of beating of only one blow the two nations resulting from the Empire Austro-Hungarian, old adversary in the last conflict. The company was crowned of success and Italy seized Budapest with a resounding 0 - 5 (and a Coup of the hat of Giuseppe Meazza) the May 11th 1930.

In reward, the winner accepted a particular crystal cut of Bohemia, gift of old the Czechoslovakian Prime Minister Antonín Švehla, reason for which this first edition was also called Coupe Švehla . The first specimen of the trophy broke while falling by ground shortly after to be gained by the Italians. An anecdote wants that Vittorio Pozzo preserved a glare out of pocket of it, like personal amulet.

The tournament was an enormous success and one organized a 2nd edition immediately, disputed between 1931 and 1932, and at the time of which the Austrian Wunderteam returned the similar one to Italy by gaining the tournament and by relégant the azzuri in the second place.

The third edition was still the business of Italy, again in singular fight with the robust transalpine team. The will squaddra will azzura lost against Austria in February 1934, in Turin, on the score of 2 goals to 4, but could obtain a decisive victory 0 - 2 (doubled Silvio Piola for its beginnings in national team), three months later with Vienna. The fourth edition was stopped after the first meetings because of the annexation of Austria by the Nazi Germany. In the years which followed, in particular because of the conflict relations, the tournament was not disputed any more.

Rebirth and decline

Already little time after the conclusion of the Second world war, the European countries who had previously animated the tournament activated to start again it: the new edition, the fifth , was disputed starting from 1948. The difficulties related to the years of post-war period however imposed an excessively spaced distribution of the matches. The Cold war started: Hungary and Czechoslovakia were opposed to a regime change and finished on the other side of the Iron curtain. These foreign events with football extrèmement made difficult the organization of the competition. It took almost five years to supplement the cycle of the meetings: at the end, it is Hungary of Ferenc Puskás (better striker with ten achievements) which finished the race at the head, thus collecting its only bay-tree. The Italian team, reduced by the Drama of Superga, could better only make penultimate, right in front of Switzerland, traditional red lantern of the tournament.

The international cut was played for the sixth and last time under the aegis of the any news UEFA, by including the team of Yugoslavia. The competition trailed with difficulty over six years (1954 - 1960) at the end of which vaincut Czechoslovakia in Net progress (it will become vice-champion of the world later two years). Italy was still relegated to the penultimate place, outclassing only Switzerland.

The cut played this period was entitled with the memory of the doctor Josef Gerö, directing Austrian federation of football, disappear in 1954. This name was sometimes allotted besides, wrongly, with the editions of pre-war period.

With the end of the sixth edition, in 1960, the international cut, which from now on had lost much of its significance and its interest, was replaced by more organized competition: the Championship of Europe of the Nations, organized directly by the continental federation.

Prize list

Better strikers

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