History of CONCACAF Gold Cup

GOLD CUP HISTORY

1991: Triumph for the USA in the first ever tournament.

The USA won the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup competition in 1991 defeating Honduras before 40,000 screaming fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The teams battled to a scoreless draw through extra time and the first Gold Cup was decided on penalties with the stars & stripes emerging victorious. Tony Meola, the USA Goalkeeper, picked up MVP honors.

1993-1998: Triple Champion - El Tri.

Mexico dominated the rest of the decade winning three consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup titles (1993, 1996 and 1998). In 1993, over 120,000 passionate fans packed the famous Estadio Azteca as the tricolors ran out convincing 4:0 victors against defending champions USA. Three years later Mexico held onto their title with a 2:0 win against then World Cup Champions Brazil in front of 88,000 spectators. A sell out crowd in the 1998 Final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum witnessed Mexico's third consecutive triumph as Luis Hernández's sole strike beat the USA and won the cup for the tricolor.

2000: Maple Leafs' Magic.

2000 saw the temporary postponement of the US-Mexico domination of the Gold Cup. Inspired by tournament MVP Craig Forrest, Canada qualified for the quarterfinal via a coin flip and went on to defeat Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and then guest side Colombia in the final. Carlo Corazzin, the tournament's Golden Boot winner, scored a decisive penalty midway through the second half of the final to give Canada a 2:0 lead they would not relinquish.

2002: The USA back to winning ways.

Goals either side of half-time in the final against Costa Rica were enough to give the USA their first title since the inaugural event. Then head coach Bruce Arena commented "We improved in every game in the tournament. This victory means a lot." Costa Rica defeated South Korea in the semi final with two late strikes from the irrepressible Paulo Wanchope. Kasey Keller made two fine shoot out saves as the USA overcame the maple leafs on penalties in the other semi final.

2003: Mexico wins fourth title.

For the first time since 1993 Mexico co-hosted the tournament with the USA. El Tri ran out winners with Daniel Osorno's extra time strike against the guesting samba kings from Brazil enough to send the Estadio Azteca fans delirious. Goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez who held every single opponent scoreless earned top keeper's honors. With this win, Mexico secured a record fourth win in just the seventh edition of the Gold Cup.

2005: Spot Kicks Redux. USA wins their third Gold Cup.

The eighth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup saw 73 goals scored in twenty-five games a shade under 3 goals a game. Just as in 1991, however, the final remained scoreless after extra time. Panama, guilty of missing the game's best chances, couldn't replicate their quarterfinal shootout success against South Africa. Kasey Keller saved tournament MVP Luis Tejada's spot kick and the USA ran out 3:1 winners - picking up their third Gold Cup title.

CONCACAF CAMPEONATO DE NACIONES’ ERA

When the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) was formed in 1961, the first official national team competition was held lmore than two years later in El Salvador.

Nine teams took part in the first competition, Costa Rica defeating the host country in the final.

The CONCACAF Campeonato de Naciones, as it was called, was then held every two years from 1963-1971.

The second edition (1965) held in Guatemala, saw Mexico defeat the host in the final of a six-team tournament.

The 1967 competition was held in Honduras and saw a third different champion crowned, Guatemala.

Costa Rica won their second title as hosts in 1969, knocking off Guatemala, while two years later, Mexico won their second championship as the tournament moved to the Caribbean for the first time, held in Trinidad & Tobago.

In 1973, the tournament kept the same format of six teams in one site playing a single round-robin, but now there were bigger stakes attaches: the Confederation’s berth in the FIFA World Cup finals.

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the host country pulled off a shocking upset by winning the tournament and claiming a spot in West Germany 1974.

With the Campeonato de Naciones doubling as the final World Cup qualifying tournament, the next two editions were held in Ciudad de México and Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1977 and 1981, respectively, the host country came away as champion and grabbed the spots on offers each time.

In 1985 and 1989, the winner of the World Cup qualifying tournament was again crowned Confederation champion.

Canada and Costa Rica were named champions in ’85 and ’89, respectively, but without ever lifting a trophy.

THE EARLY YEARS

Prior to the formation of CONCACAF, football in the region was divided into smaller, regional divisions.

Two main bodies existed: the Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (CCCF) founded in 1938 and the North American Football Confederation (NAFC) founded in 1946.

The CCCF held 10 championships from 1941-1961, Costa Rica winning seven (1941, ’46, ’48, ’53, ’55, ’60, ’61), and one each by El Salvador (1943), Panama (1951) and Haiti (1957). The NAFC held two championships, in 1947 and 1949, won each time by Mexico.

Terra/Concacaf.com