A LOOK BACK: The competition ran up until 2008 but endured a nomadic existence, with many clubs and supporters critical of its unique format and tiny trophy
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2021-22 Europa League group stage draw in full
This week sees another new European competition make its bow when the Europa Conference League gets underway.
Tottenham are England’s sole representative in the 32-team tournament.
However, it won’t quite be taking centre stage as the Europa League is taking place simultaneously.
Nevertheless, the addition of a third European competition will for fans of a certain age give them fleeting memories of the now-defunct and often maligned Intertoto Cup.
It’s 13 years since the last-ever staging of the competition.
Held mostly over the summer, the Intertoto offered many Premier League teams a back-door route to European football.
Qualification for the tournament for English clubs was on an application basis, open to the highest-placed team who didn’t qualify for the Champions League or UEFA Cup.
The competition was aimed mainly at ‘mid-sized’ clubs across Europe. That is how, for instance, Bradford City found themselves entering the competition in the summer of 2000. City, who had escaped relegation on the final day of the 1999-2000 campaign, applied to enter the Intertoto after an unnamed Italian team pulled out.
It led to some fine memories for Bantams’ fans, including victories over Lithuanian side FK Atlantas and Dutch outfit RKC Waalwijk before a gutsy showing over two legs against Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg in the semi-final.
The competition essentially offered a pathway into the then UEFA Cup if teams could manoeuvre their respective ties.
But still, the concept of having three different winners was something that many fans could not get their head around.
Nevertheless, that did not dampen the excitement that West Ham (1999), Aston Villa (2001) and Fulham (2002) fans experienced upon seeing their side lift a European trophy.
Former Hammers’ midfielder Steve Lomas recalled his memories of the competition, saying: “We finished fifth in the Premier League in 1998/99, but we didn’t qualify for Europe automatically, so we had to go the long way around through the Intertoto Cup.
“Obviously the lads were a bit gutted because it meant cutting the break short, but once we got into it we went to some great places.
“If you ask the fans who went, I think they’d say going there and winning was one of their most enjoyable occasions. We had a run in the UEFA Cup after that, which they also enjoyed.”
His only complaint was regarding the size of the trophy handed out. Speaking to the Athletic in 2019, he said: “The trophy was so small!
“It’s the only trophy I won in my career – that little egg-sized cup… I think John Moncur might have kicked it across the changing room, so in West Ham’s trophy cabinet there might be a dent in it!”
At least the Hammers got their hands on a trophy, albeit a small one.
What are your memories of the Intertoto Cup? Tell us in the comments section
Towards its final days, many complained that the Intertoto had become farcical. Indeed, for the final three editions from 2006 to 2008 there were no fewer than 11 different winners.
These included English trio Newcastle (2006), Blackburn (2007) and Villa again (2008).
This time, instead of having three trophies handed out competition chiefs decided that they would award the title of outright winners to whoever went furthest in the subsequent UEFA Cup.
Newcastle were the only team of the aforementioned trio to secure that honour, thanks to them reaching the last-16 of that season’s UEFA Cup.
And they didn’t even get a trophy for their efforts!
There is the now-infamous picture of a confused-looking Newcastle captain Scott Parker holding aloft a certificate rather than a trophy after United’s ‘victory’ had been confirmed.
The next two seasons would see Blackburn and Villa finish as main winners, although neither could replicate Newcastle’s feat by going furthest in Europe’s second-biggest competition.
In December 2007, following the election of new UEFA president Michel Platini, it was announced that the Intertoto Cup would be abolished as of 2009. This was a part of a range of changes that were to be made to European football and instead of teams competing in the Intertoto Cup, they instead went into the qualifying stages for the newly-named and expanded Europa League.
2008 would be the last staging of the competition, with Portuguese side Braga holding the distinction of being the last-ever winners.
Whilst it may be looked back on as something of a distraction and a tournament barely worth celebrating, try telling that to those clubs for whom the Intertoto offered a glimpse at what success on a European stage can look like.
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