The 1980–81 World Champions' Gold Cup (Spanish for "Copa de Oro de Campeones Mundiales"), also known as Mundialito ("Little World Cup") or FIFA 1980 Gold Cup, was an international football tournament organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and granted official status by FIFA and recognized before its inception by then FIFA President João Havelange. It was a championship of the previous FIFA World Cup champions to get a Champion of the Champions to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup. At the July 4, 1980 FIFA congress, the president publicly stated: "At FIFA we have welcomed the initiative of the Uruguayan Football Association, granting official status to the Gold Cup. FIFA actively participates in the organization and offers its experience." The tournament was held at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, where the World Cup began, from 30 December 1980 to 10 January 1981.
The tournament gathered the national teams of Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, and Argentina,Mundialito 1980 by Martín Tabeira on the RSSSF five of the six World Cup-winning nations at the time, with the addition of the Netherlands –1974 and 1978 World Cup runners-up– who had been invited to replace England, who declined the invitation due to scheduling conflicts. After the final, FIFA celebrated the success of the tournament via their official newsletter, officially declaring Uruguay as "champions of all world champions".
Venue The host Country of the Champions of World Cup Champions was Uruguay
Participating teams Team Notes Hosts, 2-time Olympic champions (1924, 1928) and 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cup champions. 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cup champions 1954 and 1974 FIFA World Cup champions 1958, 1962, and 1970 FIFA World Cup champions 1978 and reigning FIFA World Cup champions 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup runners-up, replacing (1966 FIFA World Cup champions)
Format
The six teams were distributed in two groups of three: Group A was composed of the Netherlands, Italy, and Uruguay; Group B consisted of Argentina, Brazil, and West Germany. The winners of each group faced each other to decide the tournament winner.
Squads
Each team had a squad of 18 players (two of which had to be goalkeepers).
Outcome Uruguay and Brazil won their respective groups and played the final, with Uruguay defeating Brazil 2–1 with a late goal, the same result that had occurred 30 years earlier between the two teams in the deciding match of the 1950 World Cup. Uruguay's coach during the Mundialito, Roque Máspoli, had also been Uruguay's goalkeeper in the 1950 final-match. FIFA deemed the event a big success, and formally announced Uruguay as the first, "Champions of world champions." In Europe, Dutch manager Jan Zwartkruis resigned from his position as soon as he returned to the Netherlands, while Leopoldo Luque and Rainer Bonhof never represented their countries again.
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Final
GK 1 Rodolfo Rodríguez DF 15 Víctor Diogo DF 2 Walter Olivera DF 3 Hugo De León DF 6 Daniel Martínez MF 8 Eduardo de la Peña MF 5 Ariel Krasouski MF 10 Rubén Paz FW 7 Venancio Ramos FW 9 Waldemar Victorino FW 11 Julio César Morales Substitutes: MF 17 Jorge Barrios Manager: Roque Máspoli
GK 12 João Leite DF 2 Edevaldo DF 3 Oscar DF 4 Luizinho DF 6 Júnior MF 5 Batista MF 8 Toninho Cerezo MF 16 Paulo Isidoro MF 9 Sócrates FW 7 Tita FW 11 Zé Sérgio Substitutes: FW 17 Serginho FW 18 Éder Manager: Telê Santana
Scorers
3 goals Waldemar Victorino
1 goal
Ramón Díaz Diego Maradona Edevaldo Junior Serginho Sócrates Toninho Cerezo Zé Sérgio Klaus Allofs Horst Hrubesch Jan Peters Carlo Ancelotti Jorge Barrios Julio Morales Venancio Ramos
Own goals Manfred Kaltz (against Argentina)
See also FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA World Cup
References