1980 World Champions' Gold Cup

The 1980–81 FIFA World Champions' Gold Cup (Spanish for "Copa de Oro de Campeones Mundiales"), also known as Mundialito ("Little World Cup"), was an international football tournament organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and supported by FIFA[1][2] and recognized before its inception by then FIFA President João Havelange.[3] At the July 4, 1980 FIFA congress, the president publicly stated: "At FIFA we have welcomed the initiative of the Uruguayan Football Association, granting official status to the Gold Cup. FIFA actively participates in the organization and offers its experience."[3] The tournament commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first FIFA World Cup, which had been celebrated in 1930 at the same venue. It was held at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 30 December 1980 to 10 January 1981.

1980–81 World Champions' Gold Cup
Copa de Oro de Campeones Mundiales Uruguay 1980–81
Charrúa, the official mascot
Tournament details
Host countryUruguay
Dates30 December 1980 –
10 January 1981
Teams6 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Uruguay
Runners-up Brazil
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored19 (2.71 per match)
Attendance255,000 (36,429 per match)
Top scorer(s)Uruguay Waldemar Victorino
(3 goals)
Best player(s)Uruguay Ruben Paz

The tournament gathered the national teams of Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, and Argentina,[4] five of the six World Cup-winning nations at the time, with the addition of the Netherlands1974 and 1978 World Cup runners-up– who had been invited to replace England, who declined the invitation. After the final, FIFA celebrated the success of the tournament via their official newsletter, declaring Uruguay as "champions of all world champions."[5]

Participating teams

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Team Notes
  Uruguay 1924 and 1928 Olympic champions; Hosts, 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cup champions
  Italy 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cup champions
  West Germany 1954 and 1974 FIFA World Cup champions
  Brazil 1958, 1962, and 1970 FIFA World Cup champions
  Argentina 1978 and reigning FIFA World Cup champions
  Netherlands 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup runners-up, replacing   England (1966 FIFA World Cup champions)

Format

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Uruguayan goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez raising the Mundialito trophy

The six teams were distributed in two groups of three: Group A was composed of the Netherlands, Italy, and Uruguay; Group B consisted of Argentina, Brazil, and West Germany. The winners of each group faced each other to decide the tournament winner.

Squads

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Each team had a squad of 18 players (two of which had to be goalkeepers).

Outcome

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Uruguay and Brazil won their respective groups and played the final, with Uruguay defeating Brazil 2–1 with a late goal, the same result that had occurred 30 years earlier between the two teams in the deciding match of the 1950 World Cup. Uruguay's coach during the Mundialito, Roque Máspoli, had also been Uruguay's goalkeeper in the 1950 match.

Dutch manager Jan Zwartkruis resigned from his position as soon as he returned to the Netherlands,[6] while Leopoldo Luque and Rainer Bonhof never represented their country again.[6]

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Uruguay 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 4 Final
2   Italy 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
3   Netherlands 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
Source: [7]
Rules for classification:
  1. Points
  2. Goal difference
  3. Number of goals scored
  4. Drawing of lots
Uruguay  2–0  Netherlands
Ramos   31'
Victorino   45'
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Enrique Labo (Peru)

Uruguay  2–0  Italy
Morales   67' (pen.)
Victorino   81'
Attendance: 55,000

Italy  1–1  Netherlands
Ancelotti   7' Peters   15'
Attendance: 15,000

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Brazil 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 3 Final
2   Argentina 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 3
3   West Germany 2 0 0 2 2 6 −4 0
Source: [7]
Rules for classification:
  1. Points
  2. Goal difference
  3. Number of goals scored
  4. Drawing of lots
Argentina  2–1  West Germany
Kaltz   84' (o.g.)
Díaz   88'
Hrubesch   41'

Brazil  1–1  Argentina
Edevaldo   47' Report Maradona   30'

Brazil  4–1  West Germany
Júnior   56'
Cerezo   61'
Serginho   76'
Zé Sérgio   82'
Allofs   54'
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Juan Silvagno (Chile)

Final

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Uruguay  2–1  Brazil
Barrios   50'
Victorino   80'
Sócrates   62' (pen.)

Scorers

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3 goals
1 goal
Own goals

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ElPais (9 January 2021). "La verdad sobre la Copa de Oro, una gloria celeste olvidada". Diario EL PAIS Uruguay (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  2. ^ "A 40 años de la Copa de Oro, un título único - AUF". www.auf.org.uy. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  3. ^ a b "FIFA President Joao Havelange on the 1980–81 World Champions Gold Cup | 4 Stars - Media Archive". UruguayFootyHistory. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  4. ^ Mundialito 1980 by Martín Tabeira on the RSSSF
  5. ^ "FIFA 1981 World Champions Gold Cup document.png | 4 Stars - Media Archive". UruguayFootyHistory. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  6. ^ a b Petrossian, Shahan. "Mundialito 1980 (Copa de Oro)". theantiquefootball.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Mundialito 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 May 2017.