The Commonwealth Cup (until 2011 inclusively - the Commonwealth Champions Cup ) is a football tournament among youth teams of the countries of the former USSR , held under the auspices of the Russian Football Union [1] and FIFA . [2] The first draw was held in January 1993, until 2011, clubs from the countries of the former USSR participated in the tournament. Since 2012, youth and youth teams have participated in the tournament.
| Commonwealth Cup | |
|---|---|
| Based | 1993 |
| Region |  CIS |
| Federation | FIFA |
| Current winner |  Russia (U-21) (3) |
| Most titled | Spartak Moscow (6) |
| Site | Official website of the Commonwealth Cup |
The tournament was planned as a competition for the champions of the CIS and Baltic countries , but for various reasons they were often replaced by either prize-winners or youth teams of Russia. The tournament was held annually, it was planned that it will be held in different countries of the CIS and the Baltic states, but from 1993 to 2007, in 2009 and 2010, it was held in Moscow , and in 2008 and from 2011 in St. Petersburg .
On July 23, 2016, RFU President Vitaliy Mutko announced the closure of the competition [3] , however, the issue of the revival of the tournament in Azerbaijan [4] is being discussed.
Content
History
In July 1992, at a meeting of the executive committee of the Association of CIS Football Federations, it was decided to hold the first Commonwealth Champions Cup. The tournament started on January 25, 1993. There were proposals to hold the Cup in summer on natural grass, but in the summer the clubs have a busy calendar, so everything remains unchanged: the tournament is held annually in the second half of January. The Commonwealth Cup brings together representatives of 15 national football federations in one place, which allows you to arrange meetings with the heads of these federations, which is why the presidents of UEFA and FIFA constantly attend the competition.
At first, the tournament aroused interest from fans and specialists. But the representatives of Ukraine did not participate in the first two draws, so the Russian champions were the clear favorites. And only since 1995 , when the teams of Ukraine nevertheless agreed to play, the tournament gained popularity, which grew from year to year. The most memorable matches were the confrontations between the champions of Russia and Ukraine - Kiev Dynamo and Moscow Spartak .
Hegemony of Spartak
In the early years of the Commonwealth Cup, Ukrainian champions refused to participate. Therefore, the Moscow “Spartak”, which dominated the Russian championship, was then a clear favorite. The club won the Commonwealth Champions Cup 1993 with a total goal difference of 25-1. In 1994, the situation did not change: Ukraine again boycotted the tournament, and Spartak with a total goal difference of 28-2 won the cup again. And the third tournament, despite the fact that representatives of Ukraine made its debut in it (although it was not the champion, but the vice-champion of Ukraine - Donetsk Shakhtar , who lost to Dynamo in the semifinals), Spartak won again (21- 2).
Making up for lost
Dynamo Kyiv repeated the achievement of Spartak and for three consecutive years became the owner of the Commonwealth Cup. From 1996 to 1998 , Dynamo won the Russian clubs in the final - in 1996, Alania , and in 1997 and 1998, Spartak. It was the matches of these two teams that became the most visited and most spectacular in the tournament.
Title Sponsors
- 2000-2002 - ITERA
Tournament Formula
From 1993 to 1995, all 16 participants were divided into 4 groups and the group winners reached the semifinals.
From 1996 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2011 , two teams left the groups, taking the first two places, and the playoffs began with quarter-finals. But in 2005 Lokomotiv and Dynamo Kiev were admitted immediately to the semifinals.
From 1999 to 2001, all participants, based on the rating of countries, were divided into two divisions, two groups in each (the highest and first divisions). Only eight teams from the top division fought for the cup: the clubs that took the first two places in the groups of the top division reached the final part, which also represented a group of four clubs, and the teams that took the first two places reached the final, where played among themselves the Champions Cup of the Commonwealth. And the clubs that took the first two places in the first division exchanged places with the clubs that took the last two places in the top division.
Since teams of only 15 countries took part in the CIS Cup, the role of the 16th at different times was played by the national teams of Russia: youth, Olympic, youth, club teams, as well as the Moscow Dynamo and the Spartak double. And since 2007 , the 16th became the first team from a far abroad - OFK ( Belgrade , Serbia )
Since 2012, the clubs have participated in the Commonwealth Cup, but youth teams (under 21 years old) [5] . The number of teams was reduced to 12.
In 2014, teams from only 10 countries took part in the Commonwealth Cup; the 11th and 12th teams were played by the Moscow National Team and the St. Petersburg National Team .
In 2016, teams from 8 countries took part in the Commonwealth Cup. All 8 participants were divided into 2 groups and the winners of the groups reached the final.
Features
Due to the fact that matches are held in playpens, on artificial fields, some teams refuse to participate in the tournament, fearing injury to players. For example, the champion of Ukraine did not play in the first two draws, then the Commonwealth Cup had a very strong competitor in the person of the First Channel Cup , which lured the main teams of the champions of Russia and Ukraine onto the Mediterranean Israeli coast. These and other reasons (the big difference in the class of teams, the loss of spectators' interest in post-Soviet football [6] [7] ) led to the fact that gradually the tournament began to lose popularity.
Every year, the organizing committee of the Commonwealth Cup must decide how to separate the representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the tournament grid because of the Karabakh conflict . The first precedent happened in 2005 , when Pyunik and Neftchi formed one of the quarterfinal pairs. The proposal "to exchange rivals" did not find understanding among the organizers. The champion of Azerbaijan won 2-0 then, and the match itself was held in a rather nervous atmosphere. In the 2006 draw, the Armenian and Azerbaijani teams were to meet in the semifinals. Representatives of Pyunik, referring to the "lack of security guarantees", refused to go to the match with Neftchi and suggested that the organizing committee of the tournament review the composition of the semifinal pairs. The Russian Football Union promised a complete guarantee of safety for both the direct participants in the match and the fans of both teams. However, the leadership of the Armenian club did not like it. Pyunik refused to participate in the semifinal of the Commonwealth Cup and left the tournament.
Nevertheless, in 2011, a game between the Azerbaijani and Armenian clubs - Baku Inter and Yerevan Mika took place at the quarter-final stage.
In 2011, the tournament winner first received a cash prize of $ 1 million.
Tournament Participants
Finals
| Year | Winner | Finalist | Score | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Spartak Moscow) | Dynamo 93 | 8: 0 | Moscow , LFK CSKA, 5000 spectators. |
| 1994 | Spartak Moscow) | Neftchi (Ferghana) | 7: 0 | Moscow , Olympic Stadium , 18,000 spectators. |
| 1995 | Spartak Moscow) | Dynamo (Tbilisi) | 5: 1 | Moscow , LFK CSKA, 4500 spectators. |
| 1996 | Dynamo (Kiev) | Spartak Alania (Vladikavkaz) | 1-0 | Moscow , LFK CSKA, 4500 spectators. |
| 1997 | Dynamo (Kiev) | Spartak Moscow) | 3: 2 | Moscow , LFK CSKA, 5000 spectators. |
| 1998 | Dynamo (Kiev) | Spartak Moscow) | 1-0 | Moscow , LFK CSKA, 4500 spectators. |
| 1999 | Spartak Moscow) | Dynamo (Kiev) | 2: 1 | Moscow , Olympiysky Sports Complex 14,000 spectators. |
| 2000 | Spartak Moscow) | Zimbru | 3-0 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 16,000 spectators. |
| 2001 | Spartak Moscow) | Skonto | 2: 1 (d.v.) | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 25,000 spectators. |
| 2002 | Dynamo (Kiev) | Spartak Moscow) | 4: 3 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex, 24386 spectators. |
| 2003 | Sheriff ( Tiraspol ) | Skonto | 2: 1 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 2000 spectators. |
| 2004 | Dynamo (Tbilisi) | Skonto | 3: 1 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 4000 spectators. |
| 2005 | Lokomotiv (Moscow) | Neftchi (Baku) | 2: 1 | Moscow , Manege Dynamo. 2000 viewers. |
| 2006 | Neftchi (Baku) | Kaunas | 4: 2 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 6200 spectators. |
| 2007 | Pakhtakor | Ventspils | 0-0 (9: 8, pen.) | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 10,000 spectators. |
| 2008 | Khazar-Lankaran | Pakhtakor | 4: 3 | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 6000 spectators. |
| 2009 | Sheriff ( Tiraspol ) | Aktobe | 1: 1 (5: 4, pen.) | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 3,700 spectators. |
| 2010 | Rubin Kazan) | Aktobe | 5: 2 | Moscow , Olimpiysky Sports Complex , 4000 spectators |
| 2011 | Inter (Baku) | Miner (Salihorsk) | 0-0 (6: 5, pen.) | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 2000 spectators. |
Youth teams.
| Year | Winner | Finalist | Score | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Russia (U-21) | Belarus (U-19) | 2-0 | St. Petersburg , St. Petersburg CCM , 3000 spectators. |
| 2013 | Russia (U-21) | Ukraine (U-21) | 4: 2 | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 7000 spectators |
| 2014 | Ukraine (U-21) | Russia (U-21) | 4-0 | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 3000 spectators |
| 2015 | South Africa (U-21) | Finland (U-21) | 2: 1 | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 2500 spectators |
| 2016 | Russia (U-21) | Moldova (U-21) | 4: 2 | St. Petersburg , Petersburg JCC , 3000 spectators |
Victories and Finals by Country
| M | A country | Victory | Finals | Winners | Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | Russia | eleven | five | Spartak (6), Lokomotiv (1), Rubin (1), Russia (U-21) (3) | Spartak (3), Alania (1), Russia (U-21) (1) |
| 2 | Ukraine | five | 2 | Dynamo (Kiev) (4), Ukraine (U-21) (1) | Dynamo (Kiev) (1), Ukraine (U-21) (1) |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 3 | one | Neftchi (Baku) (1), Khazar-Lankaran (1), Inter (Baku) (1) | Neftchi (Baku) (1) |
| four | Moldova | 2 | 2 | Sheriff (2) | Zimbru (1), Moldova (U-21) (1) |
| five | Uzbekistan | one | 2 | Pakhtakor (1) | Pakhtakor (1), Neftchi (Ferghana) (1) |
| 6 | Georgia | one | one | Dynamo (Tbilisi) (1) | Dynamo (Tbilisi) (1) |
| 7 | South Africa | one | 0 | South Africa (U-21) (1) | |
| eight | Latvia | 0 | four | Skonto (3), Ventspils (1) | |
| 9 | Belarus | 0 | 3 | Dynamo 93 (1), Shakhtar (Salihorsk) (1), Belarus (U-19) (1) | |
| ten | Kazakhstan | 0 | 2 | Aktobe (2) | |
| eleven | Lithuania | 0 | one | Kaunas (1) | |
| 12 | Finland | 0 | one | Finland (U-21) (1) |
Bombardiers
| A place | Soccer player | Heads |
|---|---|---|
| one | Vladimir Beschastnykh ( Spartak Moscow ) | 20 |
| 2 | Egor Titov ( Spartak Moscow ) | 18 |
| 3 | Valery Kechinov ( Pakhtakor Tashkent , Spartak Moscow ) | 17 |
| * | Mikhail Mikholap ( Skonto Riga ) | 17 |
| five | Mikhail Kavelashvili ( Dynamo Tbilisi , Spartak Vladikavkaz ) | 14 |
| * | Louis Robson ( Spartak Moscow ) | 14 |
| 7 | Andrey Tikhonov ( Spartak Moscow ) | 13 |
| eight | Valentin Belkevich ( Dynamo Minsk , Dynamo Kiev ) | 12 |
| * | Andrey Shevchenko ( Dynamo Kyiv ) | 12 |
| ten | Gela Inalishvili ( Dynamo Tbilisi ) | eleven |
| * | Anatoly Kanishchev ( Spartak Vladikavkaz , Spartak Moscow ) | eleven |
| * | Mikhail Zemlinsky ( Skonto Riga ) | eleven |
Records
- The biggest victory - 19: 0 was won by Spartak Moscow in 1998, which beat Vakhsh ( Tajikistan ).
- Moscow Spartak and Dynamo Kiev won the Commonwealth Cup three times in a row, and Spartak did it twice. Spartak - from 1993 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2001, and Dynamo from 1996 to 1998.
- Most of the goals in the tournament were scored by Vladimir Beschastnykh , who played in Spartak, he has 20 goals.
- Riga " Skonto " took part in the tournament 14 times.
- Skonto player Mikhail Zemlinsky spent the most games in the tournament - 46.
- Referee Valentin Ivanov has served 20 matches.
- The only teams that became champions without losing a single goal during the tournament are Dynamo (Kiev) (in 1998 ) (19-0) and Inter (Baku) (in 2011 ) (16-0). But while Dynamo won all of their matches, Inter won the first 5 matches, tied in the final in regular time, and then won the penalty shootout.
See also
- Commonwealth of Independent States
Notes
- ↑ Official site of the RFU - tournaments (Inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 1, 2013. Archived December 6, 2013.
- ↑ Vitaliy MUTKO: "NEEDS 1 700 000 000. WHEREAS IT IS 198 000 000"
- ↑ Mutko announced the closure of the Commonwealth Cup (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment July 23, 2016. Archived on September 21, 2016.
- ↑ Commonwealth Football Cup may be revived in Azerbaijan
- ↑ CISsoccer Football CIS | Commonwealth Cup awaiting change
- ↑ 500,000 USD buried in a snowdrift
- ↑ Invisible Cup - News