The tournament was the brain child of Gigi Peronace, an Italian manager who had lived in Britain for a few years. He became the key link between Italian and English football and he was involved in many of the transfers of British players to Serie A such as, John Charles, Dennis Law, Jimmy Greaves up to Liam Brady. He also later collaborated with the Italian national team as a sort of general manager.
In 1969 Swindon Town won the League Cup beating Arsenal at Wembley. As they were in the Third Division however, they could not play in Europe. Enter Peronace.
The first edition of the Anglo-Italian Cup was the most prestigious. It included 6 Serie A clubs (including Juventus, Lazio and Napoli) plus 6 English Clubs (4 from Division 1, 1 from Division 2 and Swindon Town from Division 3).
The formula was two mixed groups of 6, but clubs of the same nation did not play each other. Extra points were added for goals scored and the two clubs from each nation with the highest points played in the final. The offside rule was only valid in the last 16 metres. The first edition was fittingly won by Swindon Town.
This formula continued for three editions. In 1973 the clubs became 16 with two groups and then semi-finals.
In 1974 it was not held due to the World Cup in Germany and neither in 1975 due to organisational issues.
In 1976 it returned but it was modified to cater for Italian semi-professional Serie C teams and English amateurs (5th tier and down). It was also the first tournament in the world to award 3 points per win. It also took on the name of sponsors, for example Alitalia Challenge Cup.
In 1979 the teams were reduced to four and the final played in Italy.
In 1980 Gigi Peronace died prematurely and from 1982 the tournament was named in his honour. From 1982 to 1986 it became a knock out competition played in Italy and still with four teams.
After the Heysel tragedy in Brussels, in 1985, the relationship between the Italians and the Brits soured and the tournament, which had also lost its appeal, was abandoned.
It was re-introduced in 1992-93. It involved 8 Italian Serie B clubs (the 4 relegated from A plus the 4 best non-promoted) and 8 from Division 1 in England. The formula was the same as 1973 but the final would be at Wembley.
Over the years however the Cup had increasing difficulty finding space in the busy fixture list, the fans and clubs lost interest, with the games often played between reserves and finally was abandoned. The last edition was won by Genoa in 1996. In the end it was won 14 times by Italian clubs and 5 by English.
Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
1970 | Swindon Town | Napoli |
1971 | Blackpool | Bologna |
1972 | Roma | Blackpool |
1973 | Newcastle | Fiorentina |
1976 | Monza | Wimbledon |
1977 | Lecco | Bath City |
1978 | Udinese | Bath City |
1979 | Sutton Utd | Chieti |
1980 | Triestina | Sutton Utd |
1981 | Modena | Poole Town |
1982 | Modena | Sutto Utd |
1983 | Cosenza | Padova |
1984 | Francavilla | Teramo |
1985 | Pontedera | Livorno |
1986 | Piacenza | Pontedera |
1992-93 | Cremonese | Derby County |
1993-94 | Brescia | Notts County |
1994-95 | Notts County | Ascoli |
1995-96 | Genoa | Port Vale |
Sources
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