The Copa Federación Centro (English: Center Federation Cup), or the Castilian Federation Cup, was a football competition contested by the best clubs from Central Spain (which encompassed Madrid and the wider Castile region). It was the second-tier competition for the said region after the Campeonato Regional Centro. The competition was formed and reformed numerous times in its 20-year-history between 1923 and 1943, going from a knock-out format to a league mode of all against all. Throughout the editions, the Castilian Cup took different names. Its first version was known as the Copa Madrid (1923–1928), then it developed into the Copa Castilla (1933–1934), and Copa Presidente de la Federación Castellana (1940–1944). Its first edition was organized in 1923 by the Castilian Federation [es] and the last was in 1953 under the same name.[1] The Castilian Federation Cup had five known editions, although it is probable that there are others, such as Copa Primavera (1941–1943) and Copa José Luis del Valle (1943–1945).
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1922–23 Copa Federación Centro
The first edition of this competition was held between 6 May and 17 June 1923 in Madrid and was contested by all the Madrid teams in a single-match knock-out tournament under the denomination of Copa Federación Centro (also known at the time as the Copa Madrid).[2][3] After the first two knockout rounds, Athletic de Madrid and Real Madrid reached the final that took place on 17 June at the newly-opened Estadio Metropolitano.[4][5]
In the first half, Madrid scored twice through crosses from Gerónimo del Campo and strikes from Santiago Bernabéu, helped in the second by a mistake by Pololo, but the hosts fought back and equalized shortly after courtesy with two quick goals, a header from Monchín Triana and a free kick launched by Luis Olaso.[4] This served as a wake-up call for the Madrid team, who responded with a relentless wave of attacks on Athletic's goal, who failed to resist, conceding four more goals: A superb shot by Posada broke the tie, and after this, Antonio de Miguel, Bernabéu and Posada sealed the game. Thus Real Madrid won the cup.[4]
Athletic line-up: Ortueta; Olalquiaga, Pololo; Fajardo, Burdiel, Marín; Bustillo, Ortiz de la Torre, Triana, Dunwater, Olaso.
1927–28 Copa Federación Centro
It was a single match disputed by the Regional Championship champion Athletic de Madrid and the runner-up Real Madrid on 7 June 1928 at the Chamartín stadium. The local team won by three goals to nil.[6] The game was organized by the Castilian Football Federation, which also donated the trophy.[7]
The Castillian Cup was organized again for the 1933–34 season under the denomination of Copa de Castilla, as a means to fill a calendar lacking in matches, especially due to the participation of the Spanish national team in the 1934 World Cup held in Italy. It was developed with a phase prior to a single match in which several teams had to be eliminated to reach the final phase in which five teams were automatically classified (Madrid FC, AD Ferroviaria, Athletic de Madrid, CD Nacional de Madrid and the guest Racing de Santander). The final phase consisted of elimination rounds between eight teams, for which the quarterfinals, semifinals and final were played.[8]
It was disputed by clubs from the Castilian Federation (preliminary phase) of the First Category (with the exception of Club Valladolid Deportivo), plus the first three of the Second Category of Madrid and the first two of the North and South sections.[9] The final was played by Athletic Club de Madrid and Club Deportivo Nacional de Madrid, the latter winning by four goals to three.[8]
The competition was resumed in 1941, as a means to resume the regional championships in central Spain that had been suppressed after the restructuring of the Royal Spanish Football Federation following the Spanish Civil War. The main reason, however, was the complete consolidation and success of the competitions at the national level.
For this reason, it was renamed the Copa Presidente Federación Castellana, having its renewed dispute in the 1940–41 season. The title was disputed by the champion and runner-up of the last Central Regional Championship, the 1939 Mancomunado [es], who were Athletic-Aviation Club and Real Madrid CF.[10]
The contest was played over two legs; the first on 15 June at the Chamartín Stadium, the second on 22 June at the Vallecas Stadium, where Atlético temporarily played until the reconstruction work of the Metropolitan Stadium was completed (it had been destroyed in the Civil War). Atlético-Aviación was champion of the competition for the first time after a 3–1 aggregate win against its neighbors and historical rivals, Real Madrid, the absolute dominators of the regional tournaments of Castile.[11][12]
This edition was disputed again by the same contenders from the previous edition, as representatives in the First Division of Castilian football, due to the fact that the Central Regional Championship was no longer disputed. A single match final was played, with Real Madrid winning.[13][14]
Including the Copa Primavera and Copa José Luis del Valle, Real Madrid CF is the most successful team with five titles, followed by CD Toledo with four titles, and with only one title is CD Nacional de Madrid, Club Atlético-Aviación (now Atlético de Madrid), Getafe Deportivo (now Getafe CF), CD Guadalajara and UD San Lorenzo.
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