Balkan Cup

The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931

All teams played each other twice, home and away and were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Romania won the first title winning with a game in hand after beating Yugoslavia 4 - 2 In the following cups the system would change with teams playing each other only once and instead of taking 3 years to complete it would change to one week. From 1932 to 1936 the Cup ran annually with the same four teams until the break-out of WWII. It began again in 1946 but Greece dropped out of the following tournaments and were replaced by Albania who would win the 1946 tournament by defeating Romania 1 - 0 in the final game. In 1947 Hungary entered the Cup and like Albania won it in its first attempt. Hungary were a world footballing power at the time and proved this with a 9 - 0 thrashing against Bulgaria. In 1948 the Balkans Cup expanded to 7 teams with Poland and Czechoslovakia entering the tournament. The 1948 Tournament was never completed due to unknown reasons. Hungary were topping the group at the time of its cancellation http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html, http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

The Cup would not be played until 1973 where a group system was replaced with a Semi - Finals and a Finals system. Only four countries would compete, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. Bulgaria would win this first tournament since 1948 in away goals against Romania. The tournament consisted of 5 teams with Yugoslavia returning. Romania would win the last tournament by beating Yugoslavia 4 - 1 at home

Balkan Cup 1929 - 31
6 October 1929
Romania  2 : 1  Yugoslavia
26 January 1930
Greece  2 : 1  Yugoslavia
25 May 1930
Romania  8 : 1  Greece
12 October 1930
Bulgaria  5 : 3  Romania
16 November 1930
Bulgaria  0 : 3  Yugoslavia
7 December 1930
Greece  6 : 1  Bulgaria
15 March 1931
Yugoslavia  4 : 1  Greece
19 April 1931
Yugoslavia  1 : 0  Bulgaria
10 May 1931
Romania  5 : 2  Bulgaria
28 June 1931
Yugoslavia  2 : 4  Romania
25 October 1931
Bulgaria  2 : 1  Greece
29 November 1931
Greece  2 : 4  Romania

Κυριακή 7 Δεκεμβρίου 1930

Αθήνα ( Γήπεδο Παναθηναϊκού )

Ελλάδα - Βουλγαρία 6 - 1 ( 3 - 0 )

Πρώτο Βαλκανικό Κύπελλο

Ελλάδα: Γιάμαλης ( αρχηγός ) - Κουράντης, Μάλλιος, Βικελίδης, Μπαλντάσης, Υποφάντης, Μηγιάκης, Αγγελος Μεσσάρης, Συμεωνίδης, Τσολίνας, Αργυριάδης

Προπονητής: Την ομάδα είχε συγκροτήσει Επιτροπή της ΕΠΟ

Βουλγαρία: Ντερμόνσκυ - Νικόλωφ, Νικόλωφ, Δημητρωφ,

Δημητρωφ, Εφραιμωφ, Ζεκωφ, Πόπωφ, Βασίλιεφ, Πέσεφ, Πάντσεφ

Διαιτητής: Ράζιτς ( Γιουγκοσλαβία )

Σκόρερς: 4΄ 50΄ 51΄ 60΄ Τσολίνας, 10΄ 15΄ Αγγελος Μεσσάρης, 56΄ Πέσεφ

Θεατές: 10 000

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup29.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans_Cup

1929/ 31

 6 -10- 1929 Bucuresti      Romania        2 - 1 Yugoslavia   

26 -1- 1930 Athinai        Greece         2 - 1 Yugoslavia  

25 -5- 1930 Bucuresti      Romania        8 - 1 Greece

12 -10- 1930 Sofia          Bulgaria       5 - 3 Romania  

16 -11- 1930 Sofia          Bulgaria       0 - 3 Yugoslavia  

 7 -12- 1930 Athinai        Greece         6 - 1 Bulgaria  

15 -3- 1931 Beograd        Yugoslavia     4 - 1 Greece  

19 -4- 1931 Beograd        Yugoslavia     1 - 0 Bulgaria    

10 -5- 1931 Bucuresti      Romania        5 - 2 Bulgaria  

28 -6- 1931 Zagreb         Yugoslavia     2 - 4 Romania      

25 -10- 1931 Sofia          Bulgaria       2 - 1 Greece   

29 -11- 1931 Athinai        Greece         2 - 4 Romania

  
Alla prima edizione della Coppa dei Balcani per nazioni ( 1929/ 31 ) parteciparono Bulgaria, Grecia, Romania e Jugoslavia. Nella prima edizione tutte le squadre participanti affrontavano le altre due volte, una in casa e una in trasferta, guadagando 2 punti per la vittoria e 1 per il pareggio. Fu la Romania ad aggiudicarsela con una giornata di anticipo battendo 4-2 la Jugoslavia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans_Cup

Nell'edizione 1931 la formula fu cambiata, portando ad una sola le partite da disputare contro ogni squadra avversaria. Così facendo il torneo si poté disputare in un'unica settimana invece che in 3 anni http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup29.html

Dal 1931 al 1936 la Coppa dei Balcani per nazioni si disputò annualmente con sempre le stesse 4 squadre fino alla seconda guerra mondiale

Il torneo riprese nel 1946 ma la Grecia decise di non partecipare e fu sostituita dall'Albania, che vinse la coppa. Nel 1947 a conquistare il trofeo fu l'Ungheria, che, come l'Albania l'anno precedente, vinse la prima edizione cui partecipava

Nel 1948 la Coppa dei Balcani fu ampliata a 7 partecipanti con l'aggiunta di Polonia e Cecoslovacchia. Il torneo tuttavia non fu concluso e al momento della sospensione in testa alla classifica vi era l'Ungheria http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/balkancup.html

La Coppa dei Balcani per nazioni non venne più disputata fino al 1973, quando parteciparono solo 4 nazioni ( Bulgaria, Grecia, Romania e Turchia ) e la fase a gruppi fu sostituita da un meccanismo di eliminazione diretta partendo dalle semifinali. Il torneo vide la vittoria della Bulgaria che sconfisse in finale la Romania grazie ai gol segnati in trasferta ( 1 - 0 in Ungheria e 3 - 2 in Romania )

L'edizione seguente, ultima della Coppa dei Balcani per nazioni, passò a 5 squadre con il ritorno della Jugoslavia e fu vinta dalla Romania