1902 Copa de la Coronación
 The trophy on display in the Athletic Bilbao museum | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Teams | 5 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Bizcaya |
| Runner-up | FC Barcelona |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 5 |
| Goals scored | 27 (5.4 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Walter Evans William Dyer(5 goals each) |
The 1902 Copa de la Coronación was a football competition in honour of the coronation of Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as the first season of the Copa del Rey, which began the following year.[1]
The competition was thought up after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid for the first competition: FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, Bizcaya (a combination of Athletic Club and Bilbao Football Club) and New Foot-Ball Club. The competition featured the first recorded game between Barcelona and Madrid FC, with the former emerging as 3–1 winners, courtesy of goals from Udo Steinberg and Joan Gamper.
Carlos Padrós was also the referee of the final, held at the Hipódromo in Madrid, in which Bizcaya lifted the trophy after beating Barcelona 2–1.[2]
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Note: Some sources list Udo Steinberg as the goalscorer of Barcelona's consolation goal.[6]
| Copa de la Coronación 1902 Winners |
|---|
| Bizcaya 1st Title |
Consolation Trophy / Copa de la Gran Peña
Originally, this was to feature the four clubs aside from Copa de la Coronación winners Bizcaya in a knockout tournament.
However, New Foot-Ball Club had returned home after their crushing defeat to Bizaya in the Copa de la Coronación, while FC Barcelona were forced to withdraw as their players had to return to their occupations, leaving them unable to field a team.
Therefore, the Gran Peña Cup was played as a single match between Madrid FC and Club Español.[2]
| Madrid FC | 3–2 | Club Español |
|---|---|---|
?  ? ? |
? ? |
Statistics
Goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Evans
|
 Bizcaya
|
5 |
| William Dyer
| |||
| 2 | Juan Astorquia
|
3 | |
| 3 | Raymond Cazeaux
|
2 | |
 Udo Steinberg
|
Barcelona FC
|
Legacy
The Copa de la Coronación was the first national football tournament played in Spain, being organized as a punctual commemorative celebration. However, its success led to the organization of the first edition of the Copa del Rey the following year, then known as the Spanish Championship. Since then, it has been held on an annual basis. Due to this fact, the Copa de la Coronación is generally considered informally as the first edition of the Copa del Rey, although the Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as such.[7]
References
- ^ "La FEF no reconocerá al Barça la Liga del año 37" [The FEF will not recognize Barça's League in 1937]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 3 April 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Spain - Cup 1902". RSSSF. 15 September 2000. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Bizcaya 5–1 Club Español". Official Athletic Club Website. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Barcelona 3–1 Madrid". Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ "Bizcaya 8–1 New Club". Official Athletic Club Website. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII 1902". Linguasport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "La Copa de la Coronación, donde todo comenzó" [The Coronation Cup, where it all began]. www.rfef.es (in Spanish). 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
