Only three clubs have never been relegated from Spain’s premier league tournament, La Liga, since its inception in 1929. They are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao. The competitive pedigree of these three ‘unsinkable’ clubs pre-dates La Liga’s formation by almost three decades. This is the story of the Copa de la Coronación (Coronation Cup), Spain’s first national tournament, which was a catalyst to launching football in Spain.
Football arrived in Spain relatively late. By the time Scotsman William Alexander Mackay introduced the game into the southern port of Huelva with the formation of what is now Recreativo de Huelva in 1889, nascent football cultures already been established in most northern European countries. By 1894, British workers were kicking about with Basque students in the area now known as the Campa de los Ingleses (Englishmen’s Field) next to where the Guggenheim Museum now stands. There’s a plaque there to commemorate the place where football in the Basque Country started. Two clubs dominated early on – Bilbao FC, which attracted crowds of 3,000-plus at the turn of the century, and Athletic Club.
In Catalonia, a gaggle of clubs were founded at the very tail end of the 19th century. The first was Palamós Foot-Ball Club, founded by Gaspar Matas Danés, a local man who had studied in England. FC Barcelona and Club Español de Football (now RCD Espanyol) followed in the next couple of years and by 1900 there was a local competition up and running in Catalonia.
In Madrid, a football culture emerged around the same time, with the emergence of the New Foot-Ball Club, which was active in the capital between 1897 and 1903. Madrid Football Club – now Real Madrid Club de Fútbol – was founded by former students on 6 March 1902.
Spain’s first national competition
Spanish football had a prominent advocate in the form of the new king, Alfonso XIII. To mark his ascent to the throne, the Copa de la Coronación was held in Madrid in May 1902, with teams across the kingdom invited to take part. Madrileño clubs Madrid FC and New FC signed up, as did FC Barcelona and Club Español from Catalonia. To give themselves the best possible chance in the tournament, Athletic Club and Bilbao FC submitted a joint team named ‘Bizcaya’ (Biscay). The team line-ups show an interesting mix of local and international participants, including British, Swiss, and French players.
In the first match on 13 May 1902, Bizcaya thrashed Club Español at the Madrid Hippodrome 5-1, with a hat- trick for Walter Evans. Later that day at the same venue, Madrid and Barça – now one of the hottest rivalries in world football – played each other for the first time. The Catalans won 3-1, which included a penalty from the club’s Swiss co-founder, Joan Gamper. Bizcaya strolled past New Foot-Ball Club 8-1 to reach the final, where they beat Barça 2-1 to claim the first piece of nation-wide silverware on offer in Spanish football.
The legacy of the Copa de la Coronación
A number of key things emerged from the Coronation Cup that defined the future direction of football in Spain.
Most notably, the two clubs that won the trophy as Bizcaya decided that they worked very well together and merged to become Athletic Club de Bilbao. The Copa de la Coronación trophy – a silver vase-like urn standing on a round black plinth – is now on show at the Athletic Club museum in Bilbao.
The tournament saw the first encounter of what would become El Clásico, Madrid v FC Barcelona. It also led to the creation of the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup), which helped garner interest in the sport across Spain. King Alfonso XIII’s endorsement of the sport led to his bestowing the Real (Royal) title to a number of clubs across the country.
The Coronation Cup is not recognised by the Royal Spanish Football Association (RFEF) as the first season of the Copa del Rey, which commenced the following year. Athletic Club de Bilbao, under the tutorship of English manager Mr Shepherd, also won the first editions of that cup too…
If you’re interested in the roots of football in Spain – and all major footballing countries – do please get hold of a copy of my book, Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World.