Cut Europe of the winners of cut of football

The Cut of Europe of the winners of cut or Cut of the cuts , sometimes shortened in C2 , was a European competition of football organized by the UEFA which brought together the winners of the Cuts of each European country. The first edition took place during the season 1960-1961 and the last, in 1998-1999. It was then removed to allow the extension of the Ligue of the Champions, the winners of national cuts gaining from now on an access to the Coupe of the UEFA.

During its existence, the Cut of Europe of the winners of cut was regarded as the second more prestigious competition between European clubs, behind the League of the Champions and in front of the Cut of the UEFA, even if many commentators estimated that this Cut was easiest of the three to gain.

Starting from 1972 took place a match putting at the catches each year the winner of the Cut of Europe of the clubs champions (future League of the Champions) and that of the Cut of Europe of the winners of cut, gaining it of the match carrying the Supercoupe of the UEFA. Since the disappearance of the Cut of the winners of cut, the match made be opposed the winner the League of the Champions and that of the Cut of the UEFA.

Format

The Cut always disputed in the form of matches outward journey and return, in residence then outside, until the final disputed in neutral ground, except at the time of its first edition, during which the final was disputed into two matches. The format was the same one as that of the Coupe of Europe of the clubs champions, with 32 teams playing four turns with direct elimination before the final, the tournament generally beginning in September to be completed in May of the following year. Following the surge of novel members of the UEFA in the years 1990, a preliminary round was added in August to reduce the number of teams qualified to 32.

The competition was reserved for a club by member of the UEFA, the only exception being the holder of the Cut of the winners of cut, which was authorized to take part in the sides of the new winner of the cut of his country to defend its title. However, if this team were also qualified for the Coupe of Europe of the clubs champions, it would leave its place out of Cut of the winners of cut without being replaced.

When a club carried at the same time its championship and its cut, it was qualified for the Cut of Europe of the clubs champions/Ligue of the Champions, and their place for the Cut of the winners of cut passed to the finalist cut. During the season 1998-99, the Dutch club SC Heerenveen took part in the Cut of the winners of cut, in spite of the fact that it had reached only the semi-finals of the preceding one Coupe of the Netherlands. Indeed, the two finalists of the cut, the Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, were both qualified for the League of the Champions. Heerenveen gained the match for the third place and became the only club to be itself qualified for the Cut of the winners of cut without to have reached the final of its national cut.

The winners of the Coupes of the League organized in certain country were never authorized to take part in the Cut of the winners of cut. They received sometimes a ticket for the Coupe of the UEFA.

History

Difficult beginnings

As for the Cut of the clubs European champions, the idea of a European cut bringing together the winners of the national cuts of all the countries of Europe was put forward by famous European sports correspondents. The Cut of Europe had proven to be a great success and the Coupe of Europe of the towns of fair was also popular. Consequently, from the ideas of other European tournaments were born.

The first Cut of the winners of cut took place during the season 1960-1961 and was a kind of official tournament-pilot to half. The initial reactions were not very enthusiastic. Many European associations at the time did not have national cuts, and in the countries which had some, this competition was generally held in poor regard and little taken with serious by the large clubs. It is primarily only in England and Scotland that the cut had a certain prestige. Much was skeptics as for the viability of a European tournament between winners of cuts, and several clubs which could have taken part in this Cut of the winners of cuts declined the offer, of which the Atlético of Madrid and the ACE Monaco.

Finally, only ten clubs took part in the first Cut of the winners of cuts, which was carried by the Fiorentina, but the matches accepted warm welcome of the public and media. For the 2nd edition, in 1961-1962, the UEFA dealt with the organization of the competition and this time, all the clubs which could take part in it accepted. In 1968, all the Member States of the UEFA had installed a national cut because of the success of the Cut of the winners of cut, which from now on was established like second more prestigious European competition inter-clubs.

A prestigious competition

The Cut of the winners of cut was a component-key of the European calendar during the years 1970 and 1980. The UEFA regarded it as the second competition in terms of importance, even if the tournament were regarded as being of a level lower than that of the Coupe of the UEFA. The reputation of the tournament came from its matches, marked by conclusive attackers and a spectacular football.

No club managed to gain two years of continuation the trophy. FC Barcelona carried it with four recoveries (1979, 1982,1989,1997) and was finalist twice (1969, 1991). Anderlecht gained the tournament twice (1976, 1978) and was finalist two other times (1977, 1990). With three recoveries between 1993 and 1997, the winner of the previous year rose finally, but was demolishes: Parma, winner in 1993 and finalist in 1994, Arsenal in 1994 and 1995, and the Paris Saint-Germain in 1996 and 1997.

Decline

After the creation of the League of the Champions (old Cut of the clubs European champions) to the beginning of the year 1990, the prestige of the Cut of the winners of cut started to decline. In 1997, the League of the Champions was extended to allow several teams among best classified of a championship to take part in it: the Cut of the winners of cut then started to appear definitely lower. At the time of the extension of the League of the Champions, the UEFA planned to extend the Cut from 32 to 64 teams while making it possible a second team to take part in it, but this modification was never concretized. The majority of the large clubs which would have taken part before in the Cut of the winners of cut could from now on reach the League of the Champions by finishing seconds of their championship, like Barcelona in 1997-1998 or PSV Eindhoven in 1998-1999, which weakens C2 largely.

At the end of the years 1990, C2 was more regarded only as one competition of second zone, which did not accommodate any more that one or two great names among its competitors, and the interest of the clubs as of the public was diverted of it. Finally, the extension of the League of the Champions in order to allow three or four clubs principal nations of football to take part in it returned any continuation of impossible C2, because of the lack of teams ready to take part in it. After the season 1998-1999, where the trophy was gained by the Lazio of Rome, it was decided to put a term at it. Since then, the winners of cut not qualified for the League of the Champions gain a ticket for the Cut of the UEFA.

Prize list

Assessment

By club

By country

Statistics

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