Vienna Cup (association football)

The Vienna Cup was a football competition held in Vienna, Austria and organized by Vienna Football Club in 1914.[1] It was only played once due to the outbreak of World War I, and won by Glentoran.[2][3][4]

Vienna XI (white) - Glentoran (1914)

Glentoran, as winners of the Irish Cup in 1914, embarked on a tour of Central Europe in May and June of that year. After losing 4–3 to Deutscher FC in front of a crowd of 3000 in Prague on 21 May, only a few days after winning the Irish City Cup on 16 May. Prager Tagblatt considered the match the "best ever" in Prague.[5] Glentoran defeated Hertha Berlin on their ground 4–1 on 23 May.

Glentoran, the first ever Irish side to play in Vienna, drew 1–1 with a Vienna Select XI on 27 May at Hohe Warte stadium. A second match was played against the Vienna Select XI side on 30 May on the same location which Glentoran won 5–0. The 30 May match was played for the Vienna Cup.

Glentoran played two further times on their tour, following up the Vienna Cup win with a 3–0 victory against a combination of Pozsonyi FC and Budapesti AC in Pressburg (Bratislava) on 31 May before losing 7–0 against a Hungarian XI on 1 June.[6][7][8]

FA Cup winners, Burnley and Scottish Cup winners, Celtic also participated in concurrent European tours, including a game against each other in Budapest on 21 May for the similarly titled Budapest Cup.[9][better source needed] The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with a replay at Turf Moor won 2–1 by Celtic on 1 September.[10] Neither side faced Glentoran during their tours.

  1. ^ Questions & Answers - Times Online
  2. ^ Belfast Telegraph[dead link]
  3. ^ lisburngsc
  4. ^ One Saturday Before The War: How two Scottish brothers fill in blanks of history-making team, Clive Lindsay, BBC Sport, 11 December 2022
  5. ^ "Allgemeiner Sport", Prager Tagblatt, 22 May 1914, p. 5
  6. ^ Roy France, Glentoran: A Complete Record (2001), p.92
  7. ^ Sam Robinson, One Saturday Before The War (2020)
  8. ^ How Glentoran clinched European glory on the eve of war, Padraig Coyle, BBC Sport NI, 8 November 2020
  9. ^ The Budapest Cup 1914, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863–1937. 28 February 2013
  10. ^ Budapest Cup in 1914, Javier García & Andrea Veronese, RSSSF, 14 November 2002