UEFA Intertoto Cup

Beginnings The Intertoto Cup was the idea of three men: Malmö FF chairman Eric Persson; the later FIFA vice-president and founder of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Ernst B. Thommen; and the Austrian coach Karl Rappan, who coached the Switzerland national team at the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups. Following the threat of bans of English teams from all UEFA competitions, In subsequent years, UEFA made it possible for nations to forfeit Intertoto places. For example, in 1998, Scotland, San Marino, and Moldova forfeited their places, while England, Portugal, and Greece forfeited one of their two, Crystal Palace being the sole English entrant despite finishing bottom of the Premier League. However, UEFA rejected the idea that the tournament was disruptive, pointing out that, among other successes, all three 2004 Intertoto Cup winners went on to qualify for the Champions League in 2004-05: Schalke and Lille qualified directly, while Villareal progressed through the qualifying rounds. ==Format==

When the competition was taken over by UEFA in 1995, the format was both a group stage and a knock-out stage; 60 teams were split into 12 groups of five with the 16 best teams then contesting the knock-out stage with two-legged ties at each stage, the two winning finalists qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In 1996 and 1997, just the 12 group winners entered the knock-out round, with now three finalists advancing. Nations were allocated places according to their UEFA coefficients, much as with other UEFA tournaments. The group stage was scrapped for the 1998 tournament, which became a straight knock-out tournament, with clubs from more successful nations entering at a later stage. This arrangement lasted until 2005. From the 2006 tournament, the format for the Cup changed. There were three rounds instead of the previous five, and the 11 winning teams from the third round went through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.{{cite web | url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/IntertotoCup/news/Kind=1/newsId=400217.html | title=New look for Intertoto Cup | publisher=UEFA | access-date=20 February 2007 Only one team from each national association was allowed to enter. However, if one or more nations did not take up their place, the possibility was left open for nations to have a second entrant. Seedings and entry were determined by each association. Teams from the weakest federations entered at the first round stage, while those from mid-level federations entered in the second round, and those from the strongest federations entered in the third round. ==Results==

Before UEFA sanctioning Winners by year (1961–1967) The results shown are the aggregate total over two legs unless otherwise noted. No declared winners (1967–1994) During this time there were no competition winners, as only group stages were contested. The outright winners (determined by their best champions) are marked in bold. Region system (1967, 1968, 1970) Non-region system (1969, 1971–1994) Winners by year (UEFA) 1995–2005 The results shown are the aggregate total over two legs. Listed are each year's three teams (two in 1995) that won the final matches, qualifying them for the UEFA Cup. 2006–2008 Listed are all 11 teams that won the Intertoto Cup, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The outright winners (determined by the best performance in the UEFA Cup) are marked in bold. ==Statistics==

From 2006 onwards, the final round was no longer termed as the "Final", but instead simply as the "Third Round". In addition, there were 11 winners, compared to three under the old system. The clubs which progressed furthest in the UEFA Cup were awarded with a trophy (plaque). Winners by nation } ==See also==