The Argentine national team is looking for their second trophy in this competition. Photo: EFE
The trophy that will be awarded on Wednesday to the winner of Argentina-Italy is already engraved and has historical awards. “Final. Conmebol-Uefa. Champions Cup”, prays on one of its sides with the logos of the South American and European entities. After all, the previous winners: “France 1985, Argentina 1993”. On those two occasions the trophy was baptized Artemio Franchi.
Franchi was president of UEFA from 1973 to 1983 and vice-president of FIFA from 1974 to 1983. His death in a car accident on 12 August 1983 had an impact on the world of sport and generated various tributes, including the appointment of the trophy of that new Conmebol-UEFA Intercontinental Cup that bears his name.
The idea of this new tournament for national teams, between the champions of the European Championship and the Copa América, was to follow the example of the Intercontinental Cup, which each year measured the champion clubs of the Champions League (current Champions League) and the Libertadores Cup.
The details of the trophy that the champion of the Final will win.
That Intercontinental Cup led over the years to the current FIFA Club World Cup, open to representatives from other confederations, and the Artemio Franchi Cup was abandoned after 1993, such as the Copa del Rey Fahd / Copa de the Confederations, which also gathered teams from other continents and whose last edition took place in 2017. Since then his dispute has been suspended.
The details of the trophy that the champion of the Final will win.
In the context of the current good relations and their alliance, Conmebol and UEFA have signed a series of agreements and the dispute of a new Conmebol-UEFA Champions Cup, popularly called Finalissima, is one of the most visible, resurrecting the spirit of that Artemio Franchi Cup.
These are the two editions of the Artemio Franchi Cup: the first edition of this new tournament took place in 1985 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, where France defeated Uruguay 2-0, with goals from Dominique Rocheteau and Jose Touré. On the one hand Michael Platini and on the other Enzo Francescoli.
Platini overcomes the Artemio Franchi Cup which he won with France in 1985.
Although the Artemio Franchi Cup was played every four years, the next edition of the tournament was that of 1993, eight years after the first due to logistical difficulties and dates found.
As a principle of alternation, the second Artemio Franchi Cup was played in South America, in Mar del Plata, where the Argentine hosts, champions of the 1991 Copa América, also prevailed, beating the winner of the European Championship on penalties. 1992, Denmark (5-4 after 1-1).
Maradona and Batistuta complete the Olympic round with the Artemio Franchi Cup in 1992.
Coach Alfio Basile had a squad with stars such as Diego Maradona, Diego Simeone, Gabriel Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia and Sergio Goycochea. The Danish team won 1-0 with a goal by Néstor Craviotto against and equalized by Claudio Caniggia.
Almost three decades later, a refurbished mug will retain the original spirit of the one created in the 1980s.
Source: Clarin
