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CCCF Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CCCF Championship
Trophy given to the champion
Organizing bodyCCCF
Founded1941 (1941)
Abolished1961; 63 years ago (1961)
Region
Number of teams9 (1961)
Qualifier forPanamerican Championship (Until 1960)
Related competitionsCONCACAF Championship
Last champion(s) Costa Rica
Most successful club(s) Costa Rica (7 titles)

The CCCF Championship was an association football (soccer) tournament made for teams in the area of Central America and the Caribbean between the years of 1941 and 1961. It was founded in 1938 and the precursor of the CONCACAF, that was formed when the Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (CCCF) merged with the North American Football Confederation (NAFC) in 1961.

The North American Football Confederation also organized the NAFC Championship in 1947 and 1949 before the introduction of the CONCACAF Championship.

The CCCF Championship was succeeded by the CONCACAF in 1961, along with NAFC following the merger.

History

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The regional competition was born in 1938, in Panama City, with the founding of the Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation, but the outbreak of the Second World War, a year later, prevented the first championship from taking place.

The initiative, at first, did not have great acceptance in May 1941, during the opening tournament in the Costa Rican capital San José, as only five teams were registered. The champion was the host Costa Rica and in the individual field, the Costa Rican José Rafael "Fello" Meza and the Curacao-born Hans Najar were the top scorers, with eight goals, and the Costa Rican Hugo Zúñiga was the goalkeeper who was beaten the least, having only conceded five goals in four games. [1]

In the II Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held in December 1943 at the Estadio Jorge "El Mágico" González in San Salvador.

The host El Salvador was shaping up to be the future champion, and to do so it only needed to beat Costa Rica. The tournament's Organizing Committee was so confident that it prepared a final ceremony with great pomp and display. Unfortunately for them, Costa Rica won 4-2, against a local team cheered on by 30,000 people. The Ticos thus aborted the Salvadoran celebration. The fans unleashed their anger against Costa Ricans and Guatemalans, who happily hugged each other in the middle of the field and were showered with insults. Members of the army intervened to guard the Costa Rican team to the Astoria Hotel, guaranteeing their safety. The site was soon surrounded by a crowd, which came defiant of their team's defeat.

El Salvador and Guatemala tied for first place with nine points, and had to play a playoff to decide the title. But the Guatemalan delegation, after the bitter experience of Costa Rica in the last game, decided to withdraw from the competition, fearful of what would happen if they won, so the Salvadoran team was the champion for having a better goal difference than the Guatemalans. [2]

The III Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held again in San José, between February and March 1946, Guatemala was one point behind Costa Rica, which took over the title with eight points, compared to seven of its enemies.

For the IV Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, Costa Rica once again took over the laurels. An incredible 5-4 in favor of the Canaleros, in their duel against Guatemala, automatically produced the championship for Costa Rica with 11 points.

Jaime Meza, like his brother Fello did in 1941, obtained this time the title of top scorer of the championship, with 11 points; while Manuel Cantillo was declared the goalkeeper with the fewest defeats, with eight goals in five matches. [3]

Only Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica attended the 1951 Central American and Caribbean tournament, as Guatemala, El Salvador and the rest of the nations in the area declined to participate, concerned about the news of an outbreak of polio in Panama.

The first game was Costa Rica, which decided to bring a team of young people since it protected its figures from the disease, against the weak Nicaraguan team. It was the only game that the Ticos took seriously, as they won it with an unchallengeable 8-1.

However, this victory, which fueled the belief that the tournament would be another trophy for the Ticos, was just an illusion. The Panamanians soon defeated them 0-2, in a very rough game.

In the second round, Costa Rica lost the chance to retain the cup, as it tied 1-1 with Panama and beat the Panamanian team 7-2, results that gave the title to the host team and the runner-up spot to the Costa Rican team. Thanks to the title, the host qualified for the 1952 Panamerican Championship.[4]

Undefeated in six games, it was the highest scoring team, with 19 goals, and the team with the fewest goals scored, with two. These results gave Costa Rica - in March 1953 - its fourth Central American and Caribbean football title, with which it regained the crown lost two years earlier in Panama.

Costa Rica thus managed, with a football related to quality and spectacle, to overcome all rivals and add the unattainable score of 12 points.

The next tournament was held at the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa, from August 14 to 28, 1955, and was quite an event, since Guatemala withdrew after the incidents in the match against Costa Rica; the organizing committee first decided to award 2 points to all teams even though they had to play against Guatemala (Cuba, Honduras and Aruba) but following a protest from Curacao and consultation with FIFA, it was decided on August 25 to annul all their results.

In the end, Costa Rica was the champion, winning 4 of the last 5 editions. Therefore, it qualified for the 1956 Panamerican Championship.

Havana (Cuba) took part in the IX Central American and Caribbean Football Championship between February and March 1960.

Costa Rica regained the championship title that it had lost in 1957, due to its absence from the tournament in Willemstad, Curacao, and which on that occasion was passed on to Haiti.

The championship was played on that occasion in a single round, all against all, with the participation of Dutch Guiana, Honduras, the Netherlands Antilles, Costa Rica and the host country, Cuba, which was going through times of turmoil due to the recent revolutionary events of 1959, led by Fidel Castro.

At the end of the contest, Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles had six points. It was therefore necessary to hold an attractive playoff game.

The Ticos showed their hegemony and better football, and consequently, they defeated the team 4-0, thus the title once again remaining in Costa Rican territory. As an additional reward for this triumph, Costa Rica placed one of its forwards, Alberto Armijo, as the top scorer of the competition, with five goals.

No one was spared from Costa Rica's artillery during the 10th Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held in San José in March 1961. In seven matches in the first and second phases, they scored 32 goals against the enemy. The Costa Rican team's performance, which earned them the title of the last Central American and Caribbean Championship held, was led by Juan Ulloa, author of ten victories in the competition.

An undefeated record that confirmed Costa Rica as the last champion of the regional competition. They won seven titles throughout their ten editions. An unforgettable era in which Costa Rican football was the strongest in the area.

Tournament results

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List of the final four.[5]

Year Host country Final Group Rank
Champion Runner-up Third place 4th Place
1941  Costa Rica
Costa Rica

El Salvador

Curaçao

Panama
1943  El Salvador
El Salvador

Guatemala

Costa Rica

Nicaragua
1946  Costa Rica
Costa Rica

Guatemala

El Salvador

Honduras
1948  Guatemala
Costa Rica

Guatemala

Panama

Curaçao
1951  Panama
Panama

Costa Rica

Nicaragua
(none) [nb 1]
1953  Costa Rica
Costa Rica

Honduras

Guatemala

Curaçao
1955 Honduras Honduras
Costa Rica

Curaçao

Honduras

El Salvador
1957  Netherlands Antilles
Haiti

Curaçao[nb 2]

Honduras

Panama
1960  Cuba
Costa Rica

Netherlands Antilles

Honduras

Suriname
1961  Costa Rica
Costa Rica

El Salvador

Honduras

Haiti
  1. ^ Only three teams competed.
  2. ^ The Territory of Curaçao officially became the Netherlands Antilles on 15 December 1954 although the national football team played under the name of Curaçao until 1958.

Titles by team

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Wins Nation Year(s)
7  Costa Rica 1941, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1961
1  El Salvador 1943
1  Panama 1951
1  Haiti 1957

Competitive history

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Team Costa Rica
1941
El Salvador
1943
Costa Rica
1946
Guatemala
1948
Panama
1951
Costa Rica
1953
Honduras
1955
Netherlands Antilles
1957
Cuba
1960
Costa Rica
1961
Years
Netherlands Aruba 5 1
 Costa Rica 1st 3rd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 9
 Cuba[6] 7 5 5 GS 4
 Curaçao 3rd 4 4 2nd 2nd 5
 Netherlands Antilles 2nd GS 2
 El Salvador 2nd 1st 3rd 5 5 4 2nd 7
 Guatemala 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd w/o[7] GS 6
 Haiti 1st 4 2
 Honduras 4 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 6
 Nicaragua 5 4 6 3rd 6 GS 6
 Panama 4 5 3rd 1st 7 4 GS 7
 Suriname 4 1
Total 5 4 6 5 3 7 7 5 5 9
Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarter Finals
  • GS – Group stage
  • q – Qualified
  •     — Hosts

Records and statistics

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Winning managers

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Year Manager Nation
1941 Costa Rica Alejandro Morera Soto  Costa Rica
1943 El Salvador Américo González  El Salvador
1946 Nicaragua Hernán Bolaños  Costa Rica
1948 Nicaragua Hernán Bolaños  Costa Rica
1951 Chile Óscar Rendoll Gómez  Panama
1953 Brazil Otto Bumbel  Costa Rica
1955 Costa Rica Alfredo Piedra  Costa Rica
1957 Greece Dan Georgiadis  Haiti
1960 Uruguay Ruben Amorín  Costa Rica
1961 Spain Eduardo Toba Muino  Costa Rica

Table Rakings

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Costa Rica was the leader in the ranking and had the most participations with nine.

Rank Team Part Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Titles
1  Costa Rica 9 40 51 40 4 7 189 56 +133 7
2  El Salvador 7 40 33 18 4 11 94 64 +30 1
3  Guatemala 5 40 35 16 8 11 82 61 +30 -
4  Honduras 6 33 31 14 5 12 64 50 +14 -
5  Netherlands Antilles 2 29 28 11 7 10 56 48 +8 -
6  Panama 7 26 35 11 4 20 60 94 -34 1
7  Haiti 2 14 11 7 0 4 22 22 0 1
8  Curaçao 5 9 8 3 3 2 23 16 +7 -
9 Netherlands Aruba 1 5 6 2 1 3 9 9 0 -
10  Cuba 4 4 18 2 0 16 11 49 -38 -
11  Nicaragua 6 4 28 2 0 26 28 157 -129 -
12  Suriname 1 3 4 1 1 2 4 5 -1 -

Top Scorers

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Scoring 4 goals more it was considered the top scorer, Jimie Meza (Costa Rica) was the top scorer with 11 goals becoming the top CCCF scorer in the history

Scorer Goals
Costa Rica Jamie Meza 11 goals
Guatemala Carlos Humberto Toledo 10 goals
Costa Rica Fello Meza
Honduras Roldofo Ramínez Godoy
Haiti Charles Fenol
Netherlands Hans Nahar
8 goals
Panama Rafael Arana 6 goals
Costa Rica Alberto Ulloa 5 goals
Costa Rica Rodolfo Harrera
El Salvador Mario Murillo
El Salvador Juan Francisco Barazza
4 goals

Biggest goals

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Below are the biggest wins in the CCCF Championship with a difference of 7 or more goals:

Team Store Team Edition
 Honduras 10-0  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1946 CCCF Championship
 El Salvador 10-1  Nicaragua El Salvador 1946 CCCF Championship
 El Salvador 10-2  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1961 CCCF Championship
 Curaçao 9-1  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1941 CCCF Championship
 El Salvador 8-0  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1941 CCCF Championship
 Curaçao 8-0  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1953 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 8-0  Haiti Costa Rica 1961 CCCF Championship
 El Salvador 8-1  Nicaragua El Salvador 1943 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 8-1  Nicaragua Panama 1951 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 7-0  Panama Costa Rica 1941 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 7-0  Nicaragua El Salvador 1943 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 7-0  Panama Costa Rica 1946 CCCF Championship
 Guatemala 7-0  Nicaragua Costa Rica 1946 CCCF Championship
 Costa Rica 7-0  Panama Guatemala 1948 CCCF Championship

Panamerican Championship

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The CCCF Championship was also an qualification path to the Panamerican Championship until 1960, only two CCCF teams participated on the championship

Team Chile
1952
(6)
Mexico
1956
(6)
Costa Rica
1960
(4)
 Panama 6th
 Costa Rica 3rd 4th

References

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  1. ^ "Costa Rica won the first Central American and Caribbean Football Championship undefeated". La Nación (Costa Rica) Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "A fateful ending but one that ended with El Salvador as champion". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  3. ^ "Costa Rica won the 1946 and 1948 titles". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Indiscipline led to Panama's crown in 1951". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "CCCF and Concacaf Championships". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  6. ^ NAFC Member 1946-1955
  7. ^ Guatemala only played 3 matches before withdrawing the tourment