1927 Copa del Rey (unofficial)

Copa del Rey (unofficial) 1927 Copa del Oro Spain 3 SCO Motherwell ESP Real Madrid 2 11 1927 (official) 1928 The 1927 unofficial Copa del Rey was a one-off friendly international football tournament held in Madrid in May 1927, and which was contested by Real Madrid, Motherwell, and Swansea City.https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/05/20/when-motherwell-were-the-kings-of-spain/ When Motherwell were the kings of Spain www.motherwellfc.co.uk 20 May 2020 20 December 2024https://www.macron.com/wo/news/motherwell-fc-when-club-and-community-are-as-one Motherwell FC, when club and community are as one www.macron.com 8 May 2024 20 December 2024 It was organized by the RFEF as a post-season unofficial edition of the Copa del Rey, and it was won by Motherwell, who defeated Madrid 3–1 in the final at Estadio Chamartín.https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/14/when-motherwell-won-a-copa-del-rey-and-other-foreign-cup-triumphs When Motherwell won a Copa del Rey and other foreign cup triumphs www.theguardian.com 14 June 2023 20 December 2024 The Scottish team thus won the so-called Copa del Oro ("Gold Cup"),https://cihefe.es/efemerides/17-5/ 17 de mayo May the 17th es cihefe.es 20 December 2024 a special version of the Copa del Rey trophy that was specially made to reward the winning team of this tournament, and which was donated by King Alfonso XIII. More important than the results, however, was its historical significance, as it was the first time that two British teams played against each other on Spanish soil and Motherwell became only the third Scottish club to defeat Madrid in the 1920s. Furthermore, Motherwell is sometimes wrongly labeled as the only foreign club to have ever won a Copa del Rey. Summary Since 1903, the Copa del Rey has been contested by the winners and runners-up of each of the several regional championships in Spain, including the ('Centro' (Madrid area), Catalonia, North (Biscay), and the South (Andalusia) championships, but this system came to an end when the current league format was finally adopted in the late 1920s.https://breakingthelines.com/historical/when-the-scots-ruled-spain/ When the Scots Ruled Spain breakingthelines.com 16 February 2023 20 December 2024 Therefore, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) decided to organize one last edition in the post-season either as some sort of send-off or to celebrate the transition. To achieve this, RFEF invited John Hunter's Motherwell, the runner-ups of the 1926–27 Scottish Football League, as well as Swansea City. Both accepted the invitation and traveled to Madrid to face each other in a match whose winner would then meet Madrid to contest the so-called Copa del Oro, a special version of the Copa del Rey trophy that Alfonso XIII, the King of Spain, had donated. In what was the very first match between two British teams on Spanish soil, Motherwell won by a score of 4–3; King Alfonso XIII described this match as a "brilliant display of scientific football". In order to improve their chances of winning, the Real Madrid team was reinforced by some players from other Spanish clubs, not to mention that Motherwell only rested two days, but the Scots were able to overcome all of these obstacles, including Madrid's home ground advantage, and won the final of the 1927 unofficial Copa del Rey. The match was held at Estadio Chamartín on 17 May, and Motherwell won 3–1.http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/tempo27.htm Temporada 1926-27 1926-27 season es www.leyendablanca.galeon.com 20 December 2024 19 September 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190919110419/http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/tempo27.htm deadhttps://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/madrid-friend0239.html International Friendlies of Real Madrid CF 1902-1939 RSSSF 2 February 2017 20 December 2024 In doing so, Motherwell became only the second Scottish club to defeat Madrid in the 1920s, the other being Dundee in 1923, although only the former returned home with silverware, official or otherwise.https://www.deearchive.co.uk/matchdetails.php?id=5763 Real Madrid 0-2 Dundee, Thursday, 24 May 1923 - Match Details www.deearchive.co.uk 20 December 2024 The final was refereed by Albert Prince-Cox, who had recently officiated an international match between Spain and Hungary in Vigo.https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19270513-35.html La semana inglesa del Real Madrid Real Madrid's English week es www.abc.es ABC 13 May 1927 20 December 2024 Match details 17 May 1927 17:15 CET Real Madrid ESP 1785 1–3 Report SCO Motherwell Hutchinson 85 o.g. Stevenson 7 20Hutchinson 47 Estadio Chamartín, Madrid 10,000 Albert Prince-Cox (England) _realmadrid2425h _realmadrid2425h _realmadrid2425h _realmadrid2425h _realmadrid2425hl FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF Madrid _darkredlower _1_RCClermont _darkredlower _bursaspor1011tl FF9900 FF9900 FF9900 FF9900 Motherwell GK 1 ESP 1874 JesúsDF 2 ESP 1874 Patricio Escobal DF 3 ESP 1874 José María BenguriaMF 4 ESP 1874 JoaquínMF 5ESP 1874 Lope PeñaMF 6ESP 1874 José María PeñaFW 7ESP 1874 José María Muñagorri (Mejía)FW 8ESP 1874 Manuel ValderramaFW 9ESP 1874 Juan MonjardínFW 10ESP 1874 Félix PérezFW 11ESP 1874 Gerónimo del Campo GK 1 SCO Allan McCloryDF 2 SCO JohnnanDF 3 SCO BryersMF 4 SCO Craig IMF 5SCO Craig IIMF 6SCO Thackeray IFW 7SCO McMurtrieFW 8SCO HutchinsonFW 9SCO Thackeray IIFW 10SCO StevensonFW 11SCO Ferris Source: Aftermatch Both Motherwell and Swansea took advantage of RFEF's invitation to turn it into a tour in Spain, which generated much local interest, with the former making a very successful tour, winning six out of the eight games they played and losing only one.Wilson 2009 36 In addition to this emphatic victory over Madrid, Motherwell's tour also included a trip to the Catalan capital, where after a 2–2 draw with Barcelona, and another win over Swansea, they were presented with a second trophy, the Copa Barcelona. Their only loss came on 29 May at the hands of Athletic Bilbao, which had been reinforced by four players from Arenas Club de Getxo, who had all played in the official 1927 Copa del Rey final two weeks earlier.https://www.athletic-club.eus/en/teams/athletic-club/1926-27/matches/1_4381/line-ups Athletic Club VS Motherwell FC 05/29/1927 www.athletic-club.eus 20 December 2024 Even though neither trophy is listed in the official history books, Motherwell still exhibits both in their museum. Bibliography Derek Wilson Motherwell FC Miscellany 2009 Pitch Publishing 978-1-905411-37-5 See also 1927 Copa del Rey References Association football Spain Category:1926–27 in Spanish football Category:Real Madrid CF matches Category:May 1927 sports events in Europe Category:Sport in Madrid Category:Football events in Spain