1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Football tournament

1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Ball used in the final (FC Barcelona Museum)

Tournament details
Dates| 4 June 1955 – 1 May 1958
Teams| 12 (10 competed)
Final positions
Champions|  Barcelona XI
(Later recognized as FC Barcelona) (1st title)
Runners-up|  London XI
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 23
Goals scored| 93 (4.04 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Evaristo
Peter Murphy
(4 goals each)

1958–60 ->

International football competition

The first Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place over three seasons from 1955 to 1958. The competition began with a group stage with each team playing home and away against each other. Due to the competition rules which stated only one side from each city was allowed to compete, many cities with several football clubs picked the best players from those teams to create a city representative side. One of these, the London XI, went on to reach the final where they were beaten over two legs by the Barcelona XI (later recognized as FC Barcelona).

## Teams location[edit]

~~Vienna XI~~

Copenhagen XI

Leipzig XI

Birmingham City

London XI

Inter Milan

Barcelona XI

Basel XI

Lausanne-Sport

~~Cologne XI~~

Frankfurt XI

Zagreb XI

class=notpageimage|

Location of teams in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Brown: Group A;  Red: Group B;  Orange: Group C;  Yellow: Group D

## Group stage[edit]

### Group A[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Barcelona XI | 2  | 1  | 1  | 0  | 7  | 3  | +4  | 3
2  |  Copenhagen XI | 2  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 3  | 7  | −4  | 1
3  |  Vienna XI (W) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

Source: [citation needed]
(W) Withdrew from the competition

25 December 1955

Barcelona XI | 6–2|  Copenhagen XI

|
|

Areta 8', 10'
Tejada 40', 80'
Villaverde 40'
Kubala 59' | Report | Lundberg 65', 75'

Camp de Les Corts, Barcelona

* * *

26 April 1956

Copenhagen XI | 1–1|  Barcelona XI

|
|

Lundberg 61' | Report | Villaverde 85'

Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen

### Group B[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Birmingham City | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 6  | 1  | +5  | 7
2  |  Inter Milan | 4  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 6  | 2  | +4  | 5
3  |  Zagreb XI | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 0  | 9  | −9  | 0

Source: [citation needed]

16 May 1956[1]

Inter Milan | 0–0|  Birmingham City

|
|

| Report |

Arena Civica, Milan[1]

Attendance: 8,000[2]

Referee: Paul Wyssling (Switzerland)

* * *

22 May 1956

Zagreb XI | 0–1|  Birmingham City

|
|

| Report | Brown 8'

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb

* * *

6 June 1956

Zagreb XI | 0–1|  Inter Milan

|
|

| Report | Campagnoli 74'

Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb

Attendance: 40,000[3]

Referee: Ezio Damiani (Yugoslavia)

* * *

3 December 1956

Birmingham City | 3–0|  Zagreb XI

|
|

Orritt 3'
Brown 60'
Murphy 67' | Report |

St Andrew's, Birmingham

* * *

19 March 1957

Inter Milan | 4–0|  Zagreb XI

|
|

Skoglund 8', 89'
Lorenzi 43', 50' | Report |

Arena Civica, Milan

Attendance: 5,000[4]

Referee: Josef Gulde (Switzerland)

* * *

17 April 1957

Birmingham City | 2–1|  Inter Milan

|
|

Govan 44', 53' | Report | Lorenzi 88'

St Andrew's, Birmingham

Attendance: 34,461[5]

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

### Group C[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Lausanne-Sport | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 10  | 9  | +1  | 2
2  |  Leipzig XI | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 9  | 10  | −1  | 2
3  |  Cologne XI (W) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

Source: [citation needed]
(W) Withdrew from the competition

6 March 1956

Leipzig XI | 6–3|  Lausanne-Sport

|
|

Walter 5'
Konzack 9', 82'
Krause 23', 36'
Fettke 69' | Report | Maillard 11'
Rey 31'
Eschmann 43'

Bruno-Plache-Stadion, Leipzig

* * *

21 October 1956

Lausanne-Sport | 7–3|  Leipzig XI

|
|

Tedeschi 28'
Eschmann 37', 43', 55'
Moser 38'
Stefano 60', 62' | Report | Walter 13'
Konzack 58'
Frohlich 70'

Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne

### Group D[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  London XI | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 9  | 3  | +6  | 6
2  |  Frankfurt XI | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 10  | 10  | 0  | 4
3  |  Basel XI | 4  | 1  | 0  | 3  | 7  | 13  | −6  | 2

Source: [citation needed]

4 June 1955

Basel XI | 0–5|  London XI

|
|

| Report | Firmani 35', 81'[a]
Holton 37', 43', 74'

St. Jakob Stadium, Basel

* * *

26 October 1955

London XI | 3–2|  Frankfurt XI

|
|

Jezzard 46', 86'
Robson 60' | Report | Pfaff 25'
Kaufhold 30'

Wembley Stadium, London

* * *

4 May 1956

London XI | 1–0|  Basel XI

|
|

Robb 87' | Report |

White Hart Lane, London

* * *

20 June 1956

Frankfurt XI | 5–1|  Basel XI

|
|

Buchenau 19', 80'
Pfaff 31', 73'
Herrmann 52' | Report | Hugi 35'

Stadion am Bornheimer Hang, Frankfurt

* * *

27 March 1957

Frankfurt XI | 1–0|  London XI

|
|

Preisendorfer 72' | Report |

Riederwaldstadion, Frankfurt

* * *

12 June 1957

Basel XI | 6–2|  Frankfurt XI

|
|

Allemann 3', 47', 66'
Sanmann 33'
Hugi 64'
Burger 88' | Report | Kraus 32'
Mayer 65'

Landhof, Basel

## Knockout stage[edit]

| Semi-finals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |  |
|  Lausanne-Sport | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
|  London XI | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| |  London XI | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|  |
| | |  Barcelona XI | 2 | 6 | 8 |
|  Birmingham City | 4 | 0 | 4 (1) |

|  Barcelona XI | 3 | 1 | 4 (2) |

* Teams playing first leg at home shown first.
* Birmingham City and Barcelona required a play-off after their semi-final finished level on aggregate. The play-off was played in Switzerland.

### Semi-finals[edit]

Team 1  | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2  | 1st leg  | 2nd leg

|
|
|
|

Lausanne-Sport | 2–3  |  London XI | 2–1  | 0–2
Birmingham City | 4–41 |  Barcelona XI | 4–3  | 0–1

1 Barcelona beat Birmingham City 2–1 in a play-off to qualify for the Final.

#### First leg[edit]

23 October 1957

Lausanne-Sport | 2–1|  London XI

|
|

Vonlanden 6', 74' | Report | Haverty 70'

Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne

* * *

23 October 1957

Birmingham City | 4–3|  Barcelona XI

|
|

Eddy Brown 2'
Orritt 33'
Murphy 35', 60' | Report | Tejada 12'
Evaristo 27'
Martínez 40'

St Andrew's, Birmingham

#### Second leg[edit]

13 November 1957

London XI | 2–0|  Lausanne-Sport

|
|

Greaves 10'
Holton 76' | Report |

Stamford Bridge, London

* * *

13 November 1957

Barcelona XI | 1–0|  Birmingham City

|
|

Kubala 82' | Report |

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Play-off

26 November 1957

Barcelona XI | 2–1|  Birmingham City

|
|

Evaristo 33'
Kubala 83' | Report | Murphy 48'

St. Jakob Stadium, Basel

### Final[edit]

Main article: 1958 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final

#### First leg[edit]

5 March 1958

London XI | 2–2|  Barcelona XI

|
|

Greaves 10'
Langley 88' (pen.) |  | Martínez 7'
Tejada 35'

Stamford Bridge, London

Attendance: 45,466

Referee: Albert Dusch (West Germany)

#### Second leg[edit]

1 May 1958

Barcelona XI | 6–0|  London XI

|
|

Suárez 6', 8'
Martínez 42'
Evaristo 52', 75'
Vergés 63' |  |

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Attendance: 70,000

Referee: Albert Dusch (West Germany)

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Some sources give the final goal to Hooper.[6][7]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Blues in Europe – Part One 1956–1958". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
2. ^ "Internazionale 0-0 Birmingham City :: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1957/58 :: Match Events :: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
3. ^ "Zagreb XI 0-1 Internazionale :: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1957/58 :: Match Events :: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
4. ^ "Internazionale 4-0 Zagreb XI :: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1957/58 :: Match Events :: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
5. ^ "Birmingham City 2-1 Internazionale :: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1957/58 :: Match Events :: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
6. ^ EC 1 & Fairs Cup 1595-1960. International Federation of Football History & Statistics. pp. 158–171.
7. ^ Velasco, Santiago. "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955-58 (game details)". linguasport.com. Retrieved 25 May 2018.

## External links[edit]

* UEFA Inter-Cities Fair Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Seasons 1955-58 – results, protocols
* website eurocups-uefa.ru Fairs' Cup Seasons 1955-58 – results, protocols
* website Football Archive 1955–58 Fairs' Cup
* Weltfussball

* v
* t
* e

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Seasons|

* 1955-58
* 1958-60
* 1960-61
* 1961-62
* 1962-63
* 1963-64
* 1964-65
* 1965-66
* 1966-67
* 1967-68
* 1968-69
* 1969-70
* 1970-71

Finals|

* 1958
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971

Trophy Play-Off|

* 1971

* v
* t
* e

1955–56 in European football (UEFA)

« 1954–55

1956–57 »

Domestic leagues|

* Albania '55 '56
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria '55 '56
* Czechoslovakia '55 '56
* Denmark
* England
* Finland '55 '56
* France
* East Germany '55 '56
* West Germany (Finals)
* Greece
* Hungary '55 '56
* Iceland '55 '56
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland '55 '56
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania '55 '56
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '55 '56
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Yugoslavia

Domestic cups|

* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Denmark
* England
* Finland '55 '56
* France
* East Germany '56
* West Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '55 '56
* Luxembourg
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '55 '56
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania '55 '56
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '55
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Wales
* Yugoslavia '55

League cups|

* Scotland

UEFA competitions|

* European Cup (Final)

Non-UEFA competitions|

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (Group stage)
* Mitropa Cup

* v
* t
* e

1956–57 in European football (UEFA)

« 1955–56

1957–58 »

Domestic leagues|

* Albania '56 '57
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria '56 '57
* Cyprus
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '56 '57
* Finland '56 '57
* France
* East Germany '56 '57
* West Germany (Finals)
* Greece
* Hungary '56 '57
* Iceland '56 '57
* Israel
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland '56 '57
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '56 '57
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Yugoslavia

Domestic cups|

* Albania '57
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '56 '57
* Finland '56 '57
* France
* East Germany '56 '57
* West Germany
* Greece
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '56 '57
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '57
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Wales
* Yugoslavia

League cups|

* Scotland

UEFA competitions|

* European Cup (Final)

Non-UEFA competitions|

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (Group stage)
* Mitropa Cup

* v
* t
* e

1957–58 in European football (UEFA)

« 1956–57

1958–59 »

Domestic leagues|

* Albania '57 '58
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria '57 '58
* Cyprus
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '57 '58
* Finland '57 '58
* France
* East Germany '57 '58
* West Germany (Finals)
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '57 '58
* Israel
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland '57 '58
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '57 '58
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Yugoslavia

Domestic cups|

* Albania '57 '58
* Bulgaria
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '57 '58
* Finland '57 '58
* France
* East Germany '57 '58
* West Germany
* Greece
* Israel
* Italy
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '57 '58
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '57 '58
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Wales
* Yugoslavia

League cups|

* Scotland

UEFA competitions|

* European Cup (Final)

Non-UEFA competitions|

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (Final)
* Mitropa Cup
* Danube Cup

*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[Agg.]: Aggregate score
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template