Leila Pereira granted an interview to Süddeutsche Zeitung, Jornal da Germany, and said the Palm trees was world champion in 1951. The title, according to the president, came with the Rio Copa, considered at the time a World Cup of Selection.
– The story cannot be erased. For us, and for everyone who knows the history of football, Palmeiras is world champion – said Leila.
The businesswoman also explained that the red star in the alviverde shield represents pioneering. She also talked about the search for FIFA’s seal by the entity’s Executive Committee, which officially recognized the title as the first Club World Cup in football.
– The star represents the pride of our history, and the fact that we were pioneers, who put the name of Brazilian football at the top of the world – completed the businesswoman.
The content released in the German newspaper on Friday also detailed that FIFA removed an air document that explained the equalization of some competitions with the World and QU, and in this document, the title of 1951 and the intercontinental tournaments that took place from 1960s were in the “Interconfected Cups |” category |
The repercussion was so great that FIFA removed the document from the air. After all, it was, in practice, a relegation.
The Palmeiras World Cup
A International Rio Cup of 1951 It was idealized by the Brazilian Confederation of Sports (CBD), with support from the Federal Government and FIFA. The tournament was born with the ambition to bring together the largest clubs in Europe and South America in a dispute that would consecrate the best team in the world.
At the time, Brazil sought to assert itself as a power of football after the trauma of the defeat in the 1950 World Cup final in Maracanã, and the competition was thought of as a gesture of sports and diplomatic affirmation of the country on the international scene.
Disputed between the days June 30 and July 22, 1951the Rio Cup had eight clubs: Juventus (Italy), Sporting (Portugal), Red Star (Yugoslavia), Nice (France) e Austria Vienna (Austria)and Brazilians Palm trees e Vasco da Gama.
The matches were held in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in the stadiums of Pacaembu, Maracanã and São Januário. Divided into two groups, the teams played with each other, with the top two of each group advancing to the semifinals.
O Palm treesrepresenting São Paulo, eliminated Vasco in the semifinal. In the final, it faced the powerful JuventusItalian champion who had in his cast stars like Giampiero Boniperte and Muccinelli.
The first game of the final, in Pacaembu, ended with victory of Palmeiras for 1 a 0. In the return game in Maracanã, the Italians even opened the scoring, but Palmeiras reacted and tied in 2 a 2ensuring the title by the aggregate score.
For decades, there have been debates about the official competition as “Club World”. FIFA never directly organized the tournament, but participated in the approval and supported the realization.
