1902 Copa de la Coronación

1902 Copa de la Coronación
The trophy on display in the Athletic Bilbao museum
Tournament details
CountrySpain
Teams5
Final positions
ChampionsBizcaya
Runner-upFC Barcelona
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored27 (5.4 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)England Walter Evans
England William Dyer
(5 goals each)
1903 →

The 1902 Copa de la Coronación (Coronation Cup in english) was a football competition in honour of the coronation of Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as the first season of the Copa del Rey, which began the following year.[1]

The competition was thought up after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid for the first competition: FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, Bizcaya (a combination of Athletic Club and Bilbao Football Club) and New Foot-Ball Club. The competition featured the first recorded game between Barcelona and Madrid FC, with the former emerging as 3–1 winners, courtesy of goals from Udo Steinberg and Joan Gamper.

Carlos Padrós was also the referee of the final, held at the Hipódromo in Madrid, in which Bizcaya lifted the trophy after beating Barcelona 2–1.[2]

Quarterfinals

Bizcaya5–1Club Español
Juan Astorquia
Walter Evans
William Dyer -' (pen.)		 Report Ángel Ponz

[3]

Semifinals

FC Barcelona3–1Madrid FC
Udo Steinberg
Joan Gamper -' (pen.)		 Report Arthur Johnson
Referee: Spain Luis Arana

[4]

Bizcaya8–1New Foot-Ball Club
Walter Evans
Armand Cazeaux
William Dyer
Juan Astorquia 		Report Montojo

[5]

Final

Main article: 1902 Copa de la Coronación Final
Bizcaya2–1FC Barcelona
Juan Astorquia 10'
Armand Cazeaux 20'		 RSSSF
CIHEFE
bdfutbol		 John Parsons 75'

Note: Some sources list Udo Steinberg as the goalscorer of Barcelona's consolation goal.[6]

Copa de la Coronación 1902 Winners
Bizcaya
1st Title

Consolation Trophy / Copa de la Gran Peña

Originally, this was to feature the four clubs aside from Copa de la Coronación winners Bizcaya in a knockout tournament.

However, New Foot-Ball Club had returned home after their crushing defeat to Bizcaya in the Copa de la Coronación, while FC Barcelona were forced to withdraw as their players had to return to their occupations, leaving them unable to field a team.

Therefore, the Gran Peña Cup was played as a single match between Madrid FC and Club Español.[2]

Madrid FC3–2Club Español
?
 ?
 ? 		?
 ?
Referee: ?

Statistics

Goalscorers

Rank Player Team Goals
1 England Walter Evans Spain Bizcaya 5
England William Dyer
2 Spain Juan Astorquia 3
3 England Raymond Cazeaux 2
Germany Udo Steinberg Spain Barcelona FC

Legacy

The Copa de la Coronación was the first national football tournament played in Spain, being organized as a punctual commemorative celebration. However, its success led to the organization of the first edition of the Copa del Rey the following year, then known as the Spanish Championship. Since then, it has been held on an annual basis. Due to this fact, the Copa de la Coronación is generally considered informally as the first edition of the Copa del Rey, although the Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as such.[7]

References

  1. ^ "La FEF no reconocerá al Barça la Liga del año 37" [The FEF will not recognize Barça's League in 1937]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 3 April 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Spain - Cup 1902". RSSSF. 15 September 2000. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Bizcaya 5–1 Club Español". Official Athletic Club Website. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Barcelona 3–1 Madrid". Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Bizcaya 8–1 New Club". Official Athletic Club Website. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII 1902". Linguasport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. ^ "La Copa de la Coronación, donde todo comenzó" [The Coronation Cup, where it all began]. www.rfef.es (in Spanish). 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2022.