The Mediterranean Cup was an association football competition contested by
men's national teams and national B teams of the states bordering the Mediterranean Sea. There have been three tournaments for the Mediterranean Cup: the first one was officially called Eastern Mediterranean Friendship Cup, the second was called Eastern Mediterranean Cup and the last one was just "Mediterranean Cup".
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
were the four participants of the first two editions (Italy played with the national B team).
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
joined in the last edition (both with the national B team). The first edition, the only one with a permanent location,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, was played in 1949, lasted less than a month and was won by Italy B. The second edition, from 1950 to 1953, was won again by Italy B. The third and last edition, from 1953 to 1958, was won by Spain B.
Due to political/social reasons (tension between Greece and Turkey, troubles in Egypt) and the introduction of the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
in 1960, led to the abolition of further tournaments.
Results
1949
Results
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Top Scorers
All-time top goalscorers
Hat-tricks
Since the first official tournament in 1949, 5 hat-tricks have been scored in over 50 matches of the 3 editions of the tournament. The first hat-trick was scored by
Georgios Darivas
Georgios Darivas ( el, Γεώργιος Δαρίβας; born 12 March 1926) is a Greek former footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska ...
of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, playing against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
on 29 February 1952; and the last was by
Joaquín Peiró
Joaquín Peiró Lucas (29 January 1936 – 18 March 2020) was a Spanish football attacking midfielder and manager.
After excelling at Atlético Madrid – where he would start and end his professional career, amassing La Liga totals of 166 game ...
, netting a hat-trick for
Spain B in a 3-1 win over
Italy B on 16 October 1958. The record for the most goals scored in a single Mediterranean Cup game is 4, which has been achieved on two occasion: both by
Manuel Badenes
Manuel Badenes Calduch (31 October 1928 – 26 November 2007) was a Spanish footballer, who played as a forward for clubs such as FC Barcelona and Valencia CF.
Club career
Badenes started his career at CD Castellón. His first season at the c ...
when he scored 4 for Spain B in a 7-1 win over Greece and 4 again in a 5-1 win over
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. These two 4-goal haul single-handendely make him the all-time top goal scorer of the competition with 8 goals. Badenes is also the only player to have scored two hat-tricks in the Mediterranean Cup. Spain B holds the record for most hat-tricks scored with 3, and Egypt holds the record for most hat-tricks conceded with 2.
List
See also
Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles.
Overview
The first edition featured Romania, ...
Baltic Cup Central European International CupNordic Football Championship
The Nordic Football Championship ( da, Nordisk Mesterskab, no, Nordisk Mesterskap, sv, Nordiska Mästerskapet, fi, Pohjoismaiden-mestaruusturnaus, commonly abbreviated NM or PM) was an international football competition contested by the men's ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Mediterranean Cup results
International men's association football invitational tournaments
Sport in the Mediterranean