History
Wednesday 13 July 2005
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Fulham celebrate winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002 (©Getty Images)The UEFA Intertoto Cup began life as a summer tournament played for the benefit of football pools companies in central Europe. It was conceived by Ernst Thommen, from Switzerland, and the Austrian Karl Rappan, who dreamed of creating a European league, only to settle for a knockout tournament involving, for the most part, the continent's lesser lights.
Rappan idea
Rappan, an Austrian international, had made his name as a player for VfB Admira Wacker Mödling, SK Rapid Wien and FK Austria Wien before moving on to Switzerland where he played for Servette FC and Grasshopper-Club. As a coach he led Switzerland to the quarter-finals of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, defeating Italy along the way. Thommen, a future FIFA vice-president and founder of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, was involved in the pools in Switzerland and was interested in a competition that would keep the betting business ticking over during the summer. Despite UEFA's initial reluctance, Thommen was granted permission to launch the tournament - outside the governing body's jurisdiction - and the Intertoto Cup kicked off in 1961.
Ajax triumph
AFC Ajax were the first winners, progressing through a group stage and knockout rounds before winning the final. By 1967 scheduling matches had become a problem and the format was changed. The group stage remained, but the knockout stages were scrapped, leaving no overall winners – thus the competition without a trophy was born. UEFA sanctioned the event for the first time in 1995 and rewarded the two winners with UEFA Cup places. Sixty teams were divided into 12 groups with 16 teams advancing to the knockout round.
Bordeaux impress
FC Girondins de Bordeaux, inspired by Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, seized their opportunity, becoming one of two inaugural winners before going on to reach the final of the UEFA Cup. Bordeaux's 20th European match of the season came ten months after kicking off their European campaign. A third final, and UEFA Cup place, was introduced in 1996, as French sides began to dominate the competition. As well as Bordeaux, RC Strasbourg had won through to the UEFA Cup in 1995 and their feat was matched the following year by EA Guingamp. In 1997 all four French entrants reached the final round, with AJ Auxerre, SC Bastia and Olympique Lyonnais advancing to the UEFA Cup.
Growing stature
The competition has grown in stature every year, and in 1999 former UEFA Champions League winners Juventus FC added their name to the list of UEFA Intertoto Cup champions. The competition has suffered from the perception that an early start in late June or July can have a detrimental effect on a club's form come the spring. But that myth was dispelled during the 2004/05 season when two of the three 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup winners, LOSC Lille Métropole and FC Schalke 04, went on to finish second in their respective domestic leagues so qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the 2005/06 season. Villarreal CF, UEFA Intertoto Cup winners in 2003 and 2004, also showed no ill-effects from their early start. They finished third in the Primera División in 2005, their highest ever placing and good enough to earn a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League. They would go on and reach the semi-final, eventually losing out to Arsenal FC.
New format
The format was totally overhauled in 2006, with each nation generally restricted to one entry, with only three rounds leading to eleven UEFA Cup second qualifying round berths. Turkey, Switzerland, Cyprus, Austria, the Netherlands and Slovenia all had their first victors as Kayserispor, Grasshopper-Club, Ethnikos Achnas FC, SV Ried, FC Twente and NK Maribor all joined Olympique de Marseille, AJ Auxerre, Odense BK, Hertha BSC Berlin and Newcastle United FC in moving through. Newcastle were the only ones to reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32, and in a new system were awarded the UEFA Intertoto Cup outright.
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