1952 Copa Rio

The 1952 Copa Rio was the second and last edition of the Copa Rio, the first intercontinental club football tournament with teams from Europe and South America, held in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo from 12 July to 2 August. The competition was organized by CBD and Fluminense, and it carries this name because it was sponsored by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall. Participant clubs were divided into two zones of four teams, playing each other once in a single round-robin tournament.^[1][2]

1952 Copa Rio

The cup won by Fluminense (team displayed below) exhibited at the club's hall of trophies
Tournament details
Host country	Brazil
Dates	12 July – 2 August
Teams	8 (from 7 associations)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Fluminense
Runners-up	Corinthians
Tournament statistics
Matches played	18
← 1951

History

The second edition of the Copa Rio was supposed to be contested in 1953, according to the stipulated plan when the competition was created in 1951, indicating it would be a biennial event. However, it was advanced to 1952 at the request of Fluminense, which wanted to organize the event as part of the celebrations for its fiftieth anniversary. The club took on the organization of the tournament with authorization and support from the CBD and financial support from the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro.^[2]

The tournament featured players such as Obdulio Varela, Roque Máspoli, Alcides Ghiggia, Juan Alberto Schiaffino of Peñarol, José Travassos of Sporting Lisbon, Didi, Joao Pinheiro of Fluminense, Luizinho, goalkeeper Gilmar of Corinthians and Roger Vonlanthen of Grasshopper.

Peñarol withdrew from the competition in the semifinals after the first leg against Corinthians Paulista. Dissatisfied with the refereeing in the tumultuous and violent match against Corinthians Paulista (in which even the German referee and a newspaper photographer were assaulted, the latter hospitalized with a leg fracture, according to O Estado de S. Paulo on July 25, 1952), and claiming that their bus was stoned by an 'excited crowd' of Corinthians supporters 'the powerless police couldn't contain' after the game, the Uruguayans requested the rescheduling of the return match to Rio de Janeiro (originally scheduled for Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo) as a condition to stay in the competition. Corinthians did not agree to the change in the location of the game, leading the Uruguayans to abandon the competition.^[3]

The final was played in a two-legged format, contested by Brazilian teams Fluminense and Corinthians Paulista. Fluminense won the series 2–1 on points, achieving their first Copa Rio trophy.^[1]

Fluminense considers the Copa Rio its greatest title ever won by the club and is striving for the competition to be recognized as the FIFA Club World Cup. In 2021, the club submitted a dossier to FIFA through CONMEBOL, requesting the official recognition of the title. On that occasion, the document had the support of the CBF and then-president Rogério Caboclo.^[4]

Participants

Team	Qualification
Austria Wien	1951–52 Austrian League 2nd.
Corinthians	1952 Campeonato Paulista champion
Fluminense	1951 Campeonato Carioca champion
Saarbrücken	1951–52 Oberliga 2nd.
Libertad	1952 Primera División 3rd.
Sporting CP	1951–52 Primeira Divisão champion
Grasshoppers	1951–52 Nationalliga A champion
Peñarol	1951 Primera División champion

Notes

• Italian team Juventus (1951–52 Serie A champion) and Argentine club Racing (1951 Primera División champion) withdrew from the competition.

Venues

Rio de Janeiro	São Paulo
Maracanã Stadium	Pacaembu Stadium
Capacity: 150,000	Capacity: 71,000

Tournament course

Rio de Janeiro Group

All matches played at Estádio do Maracanã.

Teams	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Fluminense	3	2	1	0	4	0	4	5
Peñarol	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	4
Sporting CP	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	3
Grasshoppers	3	0	0	3	1	4	-3	0

Peñarol	1–0	Grasshoppers
Hohberg 61'	Report

12 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Referee: Arnold Gabler (Austria)

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Fluminense	0–0	Sporting
	Report

13 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 73,915

Referee: Eugen Dinger (West Germany)

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Peñarol	3–1	Sporting
Romay 55' Míguez 77' Schiaffino 84'	Report	João Martins 60'

16 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Referee: Eugen Dinger (West Germany)

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Fluminense	1–0	Grasshoppers
Marinho 79'	Report

17 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 19,703

Referee: Arnold Gabler (Austria)

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Sporting	2–1	Grasshoppers
José Travassos 37' Jesus Correia 47'	Report	Ballaman 66'

19 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Referee: Arnold Gabler (Austria)

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Fluminense	3–0	Peñarol
Marinho 36', 75' Orlando 44'	Report

20 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 63,536

Referee: Eugen Dinger (West Germany)

São Paulo Group

All matches played at Estádio do Pacaembu.

Teams	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Corinthians	3	3	0	0	14	2	12	6
Austria Wien	3	2	0	1	10	5	5	4
Libertad	3	1	0	2	6	11	-4	2
Saarbrücken	3	0	0	3	3	15	-12	0

Austria Wien	4–2	Libertad
Pichler 19' E. Melchior 27' Huber 30' Stojaspal 55'	Report	Fernández 32' Gómez 89' (pen.)

12 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Alberto da Gama Malcher (Brazil)

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Corinthians	6–1	Saarbrücken
Cláudio 1' Baltazar 27', 51', 73', 82', 83'	Report	Martin 61'

13 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Fritz Buchmuller (Switzerland)

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Austria Wien	5–1	Saarbrücken
Aurednik 2', 81' Stojaspal 12' Kominek 44' E. Melchior 52'	Report	Momber 81' (pen.)

16 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Alberto da Gama Malcher (Brazil)

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Corinthians	6–0	Libertad
Baltazar 20', 88' Carbone 24', 90' Cláudio 32' Luizinho 70'	Report

17 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Fritz Buchmuller (Switzerland)

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Libertad	4–1	Saarbrücken
Hermosilla 49' Heredia 30' Arrúa 74' Fernández 81'	Report	Momber 77' (pen.)

19 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Joaquim Campos (Portugal)

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Corinthians	2–1	Austria Wien
Carbone 49' Gatão 86'	Report	Kominek 34'

20 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Juan Carlos Armental (Uruguay)

Semi-finals

First leg

Fluminense	1–0	Austria Wien
Didi 75'	Report

23 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 34,180

Referee: Gabriel Tordjmann (France)

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Corinthians	2–1	Peñarol
Cláudio 65', 70' (pen.)	Report	Ghiggia 57'

24 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Referee: Eugen Dinger (West Germany)

First leg

Fluminense	5–2	Austria Wien
Telê 6' Orlando 31', 41', 65' Quincas 53'	Report	Stojaspal 15' Pichler 20'

27 July 1952

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 45,623

Referee: Gabriel Tordjmann (France)

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Corinthians	w/o	Peñarol

27 July 1952

Pacaembu, São Paulo

Finals

Champion	Runner-up	1 leg	Venue	2 leg	Venue	Aggr.
Fluminense	Corinthians	2–0	Maracanã	2–2	Maracanã	4–2

Match details

Fluminense	2–0	Corinthians
Orlando 22' Marinho 70'	Report

1952 Copa Rio Finals

30 July 1952

First leg

Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 38,680

Referee: Joaquim Campos (Portugal)

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Fluminense	2–2	Corinthians
Didi 10' Marinho 64'	Report	Jackson 56' Souzinha 89'

2 August 1952

Second leg

Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 65,946

Referee: Gabriel Tordjaman (France)

Fluminense

Corinthians

GK Castilho RB Píndaro LB Pinheiro  a' RH Jair Santana CH Edson LH Bigode OR Telê  b' IR Didi CF Marinho IL Orlando Pingo de Ouro OL Quincas Substitutes: Nestor  a' Robson  b' Manager: Zezé Moreira

GK Gilmar DF Homero DF Olavo DF Goiano MF Idário  a' MF Julião OR Cláudio IR Luizinho  b' CF Colombo IL Carbone OL Jackson Substitutes: Sula  a' Souzinha  b' Manager: Rato

Fluminense won the series 2–1 on points

1952 Copa Rio
Fluminense First title

References

1. Copa Rio de Janeiro 1952 by Ricardo Pontes on the RSSSF
2. COPA RIO INTERNACIONAL - 1952 by Alexandre Magno Barreto on Campeoes do Futebol, 15 Feb 2010
3. "acervo Estadão". Estadão.
4. "Como está a busca do Fluminense para a Copa Rio, que faz 70 anos, ser reconhecida como Mundial de Clubes". O Globo. August 2, 2022.