1999: Veneto indebted to De Toni
Saturday 1 July 2006
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A total of 32 sides entered the qualifiers for the inaugural UEFA Regions' Cup, with eight reaching the finals in Italy in the summer of 1999. The final tournament saw the eight teams divided into two groups of four, playing each other once with the top teams in both groups going head-to-head in the final. Group A was made up of Madrid AMA, Praha AMA, Dutch side District West II AMA and Poland's Malopolska AMA, while hosts Veneto took on Kyiv AMA, Tbilisi AMA and Israel AMA in Group B.
Top teams
Madrid took the honours in Group A, winning against West II and Malopolska after a 1-1 opening day draw against Praha, the eventual group runners-up. Meanwhile, Veneto made home advantage count in Group B. Despite drawing 1-1 in their opening game against Tbilisi, wins against Kyiv and Israel saw them through.
Driving seat
The final took place at the Communale Delle Terme stadium in Abano/Montegrotto on 5 November 1999. Javier Moreno gave the Spaniards a ninth-minute lead but goals from Alain Borriero and Federico Giaretti either side of half-time seemed to have put the home side into the driving seat. Indeed, Veneto were 19 minutes away from claiming the title when David Sanz Pascual's 71st-minute strike brought Juan José Carretero Munoz's side back into the tournament, and with no further scoring, the game went into extra time.
Last-gasp winner
Both sides looked set for penalties after the first 29 minutes of extra time failed to produce a goal, but with the clock counting down, Michele de Toni scored the winner for Loris Bodo's Veneto. The trophy went to Italy and the tone was set for the tense UEFA Regions' Cup finals to come.
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