1955–1958 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Football tournament
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The first Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place over three seasons from 1955 to 1958. The competition began with a group stage with each team playing home and away against each other. Due to the competition rules which stated only one side from each city was allowed to compete, many cities with several football clubs picked the best players from those teams to create a city representative side. One of these, the London XI, went onto reach the final where they were beaten over two legs by the Barcelona XI (later recognized as FC Barcelona).
Dates4 June 1955 – 1 May 1958
Teams12 (10 competed)
Champions
Barcelona XI
(Later recognized as FC Barcelona) (1st title)
Barcelona XI(Later recognized as FC Barcelona) (1st title)
Runners-up
London XI
London XIBall used in the final (FC Barcelona Museum) | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 June 1955 – 1 May 1958 |
| Teams | 12 (10 competed) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Barcelona XI (Later recognized as FC Barcelona) (1st title) |
| Runners-up | London XI |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 23 |
| Goals scored | 93 (4.04 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Evaristo (Barcelona XI) Peter Murphy (Birmingham City)4 goals each |
Teams location
Location of teams in the 1955–1958 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Brown: Group A; 
Red: Group B; 
Orange: Group C; 
Yellow: Group D
Brown: Group A; 
Red: Group B; 
Orange: Group C; 
Yellow: Group DGroup stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona XI |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 3 |
| 2 |  Copenhagen XI |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
| 3 |  Vienna XI (W) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barcelona XI | 6–2 | Copenhagen XI |
|---|---|---|
Areta  8', 10'Tejada 40', 80'Villaverde 40'Kubala 59' |
Report | Lundberg 65', 75' |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham City |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 |
| 2 |  Inter Milan |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 |
| 3 |  Zagreb XI |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
| Zagreb XI | 0–1 | Inter Milan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Campagnoli 74' |
| Inter Milan | 4–0 | Zagreb XI |
|---|---|---|
| Skoglund 8', 89' Lorenzi 43', 50' |
Report |
| Birmingham City | 2–1 | Inter Milan |
|---|---|---|
| Govan 44', 53' |
Report | Lorenzi 88' |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lausanne-Sport |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 2 |
| 2 |  Leipzig XI |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 2 |
| 3 | Cologne XI (W) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leipzig XI | 6–3 | Lausanne-Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Walter 5' Konzack 9', 82'Krause 23', 36'Fettke 69' |
Report | Maillard 11' Rey 31'Eschmann 43' |
| Lausanne-Sport | 7–3 | Leipzig XI |
|---|---|---|
| Tedeschi 28' Eschmann 37', 43', 55'Moser 38'Stefano 60', 62' |
Report | Walter 13' Konzack 58'Frohlich 70' |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London XI |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 |
| 2 | Frankfurt XI |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Basel XI |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 2 |
| Frankfurt XI | 1–0 | London XI |
|---|---|---|
| Preisendorfer 72' |
Report |
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| Lausanne-Sport
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| London XI
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
| London XI
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Barcelona XI
| 2 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||
| Birmingham City
| 4 | 0 | 4 (1) | ||||||||
| Barcelona XI
| 3 | 1 | 4 (2) | ||||||||
- Teams playing first leg at home shown first.
- Birmingham City and Barcelona required a play-off after their semi-final finished level on aggregate. The play-off was played in Switzerland.
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lausanne-Sport |
2–3 | London XI |
2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Birmingham City |
4–4 | Barcelona XI |
4–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
First leg
| Lausanne-Sport | 2–1 | London XI |
|---|---|---|
| Vonlanden 6', 74' |
Report | Haverty 70' |
| Birmingham City | 4–3 | Barcelona XI |
|---|---|---|
| Eddy Brown 2' Orritt 33'Murphy 35', 60' |
Report | Tejada 12' Evaristo 27'Martínez 40' |
Second leg
| London XI | 2–0 | Lausanne-Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Greaves 10' Holton 76' |
Report |
| Barcelona XI | 1–0 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Kubala 82' |
Report |
Play-off
| Barcelona XI | 2–1 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Evaristo 33' Kubala 83' |
Report | Murphy 48' |