Kvarnerska Rivijera is one of the oldest youth football tournaments in the world, first played in 1953.[1] The tournament is organised by HNK Rijeka, a Croatian football club, and attracts clubs from across Europe and other continents.[2] It is held each year during the May–June period in Rijeka, Croatia, and its surroundings, including towns in the Istria County, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Lika-Senj County. The final is commonly played in Rijeka. Until 2014, the tournament has been contested by under-19 club sides, with occasional national team participation. From 2015, the tournament features under-17 club sides.

Kvarnerska Rivijera
Founded1953
RegionRijeka, Croatia
Number of teams16
Current championsCroatia Dinamo Zagreb
(9th title)
Most successful club(s)Croatia Rijeka
(20 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website

History

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The tournament was first played in 1953, becoming Europe's third oldest youth football tournament after Torneo di Viareggio and Bellinzona tournament.[3] Hajduk Split were the first winners and 1860 München the first international side to compete. Each year there were 16 participants, with the exception of 1972 and 1976–80 (32 teams), and 1985 and 2002 (24 teams). Rijeka's Ivan Kocjančić and Marijan Brnčić participated in the tournament five times, making them the record holders for most appearances.[4]

Numerous later notable footballers have played in the tournament during their youth, including Dino Zoff, Pietro Carmignani, Giovanni Galli, Gerd Müller, Paul Breitner, Joe Jordan, Terry Yorath, Pierluigi Casiraghi, Robert Prosinečki, Alen Bokšić, Zvonimir Boban and Davor Šuker.[4]

A number of national under-19 sides have also taken part in the tournament, including Albania, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, United States, Tunisia, Oman, Iraq, China, Japan and South Korea.[5]

The hosts, Rijeka, are the most successful side, winning 20 tournaments, followed by Hajduk Split with 12 titles.[3]

Format and participating teams (2019)

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The 67th edition of the tournament was played from 27 May to 2 June 2019. The tournament featured 16 teams divided into 4 groups, played in Kostrena, Labin, Novi Vinodolski and Rovinj.[6] The group fixtures were played in a single round-robin format. The top two teams in each of the four groups qualified for the first knock-out round. Two one-legged knock-out rounds were played in Mavrinci, Rovinj and Kostrena. This was followed by a one-off final and third-place play-off in Krimeja on 2 June 2019.

Winners

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By year

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Note: Parentheses indicates the score after the penalty shoot-out.

Year Winner Runner-up Score
1953   Hajduk Split   Vienna 2–1
1954   Red Star Belgrade   Rijeka 3–1
1955   Red Star Belgrade   Rijeka 2–2 (8–7)
1956   Vasas Budapest   Ponziana Trieste 3–2
1957   Rijeka   Budućnost Podgorica 4–1
1958   Hajduk Split   Rijeka 1–0
1959   Partizan Belgrade   Hajduk Split 1–0
1960   Rijeka   Dinamo Zagreb 1–1 (4–3)
1961   Dinamo Zagreb   Marzotto Valdagno 3–3 (7–6)
1962   Vasas Budapest   Dukla Prague 1–0
1963   Dukla Prague   Rudar Labin 6–1
1964   Rijeka   Partizan Belgrade 1–0
1965   Partizan Belgrade   Dinamo Zagreb 1–0
1966   Partizan Belgrade   CSKA Sofia 1–0
1967   Dinamo Zagreb   Dukla Prague 3–0
1968   Rijeka   Dinamo Zagreb 2–1
1969   Red Star Belgrade   Partizan Belgrade 2–1
1970   Burevestnik Moscow   Dinamo Zagreb 2–0
1971   Leeds United   Red Star Belgrade 2–1
1972   Hajduk Split   Dinamo Zagreb 6–1
1973   Rijeka   Partizan Belgrade 3–0
1974   Velež Mostar   Dinamo Zagreb 2–1
1975   Rijeka   Fiorentina 2–0
1976   Burevestnik Moscow   Hajduk Split 1–0
1977   Dinamo Zagreb   Hajduk Split 0–0 (4–3)
1978   Red Star Belgrade   Vojvodina Novi Sad 3–3 (6–4)
1979   Hajduk Split   Rijeka 4–0
1980   Hajduk Split   Juventus 3–2
1981   Dinamo Zagreb   Hajduk Split 2–1
1982   Japan   Istra Pula 0–0 (4–3)
1983   Leeds United   Hajduk Split 1–0
1984   Dinamo Zagreb   Korea 3–1
1985   Sutjeska Nikšić   Vardar Skopje 5–2
1986   Dinamo Zagreb   Red Star Belgrade 1–0
1987   Rijeka   Istra Pula 2–0
1988   Hajduk Split   Sarajevo 1–1 (6–5)
1989   Rijeka   Istra Pula 0–0 (7–6)
1990   Hajduk Split   Notts County 1–0
1991   Partizan Belgrade   Zadar 3–0
1992   Rijeka   Dinamo Zagreb 2–1
1993   Rijeka   Dinamo Zagreb 1–0
1994   Hajduk Split   Orijent Rijeka 2–0
1995   Orijent Rijeka   Bari 1–0
1996   Rijeka   Dinamo Zagreb 2–1
1997   Hajduk Split   Osijek 3–0
1998   Hajduk Split   Rijeka 0–0 (5–4)
1999   Dinamo Zagreb   Osijek 1–0
2000   Hajduk Split   Perugia 2–2 (3–2)
2001   Rijeka   Hajduk Split 1–0
2002   Varteks   Rijeka 3–1
2003   Atlético Mineiro   Hajduk Split 0–0 (4–3)
2004   Atlético Mineiro   Rijeka 4–2
2005   Vicenza   Dinamo Zagreb 0–0 (4–2)
2006   Rijeka   Željezničar Sarajevo 1–0
2007   Hajduk Split   Maribor 2–2 (4–3)
2008   Dinamo Zagreb   Sparta Rotterdam 3–1
2009   Rijeka   Hajduk Split 2–1
2010   Rijeka   Istra 1961 Pula 1–0
2011   Rijeka   Slaven Belupo 3–1
2012   Rijeka   Vicenza 4–1
2013   Abuja Academy   Osijek 1–0
2014   Rijeka   Verona 3–0
2015   Abuja Academy   Domžale 2–0
2016   Rijeka   Abuja Academy 1–0
2017   Rijeka   Budućnost Podgorica 0–0 (4–2)
2018   Maribor   Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1
2019   Dinamo Zagreb   Rijeka 1–0

By club

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Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
    Rijeka 20 8 1957, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1973, 1975, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017
    Hajduk Split 12 8 1953, 1958, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2007
    Dinamo Zagreb 10 10 1961, 1967, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1999, 2008, 2019, 2023
  Partizan Belgrade 4 3 1959, 1965, 1966, 1991
  Red Star Belgrade 4 2 1954, 1955, 1969, 1978
  Abuja Academy 2 1 2013, 2015
  Vasas Budapest 2 1956, 1962
  Burevestnik Moscow 2 1970, 1976
  Leeds United 2 1971, 1983
  Atlético Mineiro 2 2003, 2004
  Dukla Prague 1 2 1963
  Orijent Rijeka 1 1 1995
  Vicenza 1 1 2005
  Maribor 1 1 2018
  Velež Mostar 1 1974
  Japan 1 1982
  Sutjeska Nikšić 1 1985
  Varteks 1 2002
  Osijek 1 2024
  Sturm 1 2022

References

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  1. ^ "Kvarnerska Rivijera". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Kvarnerska Rivijera: Contest Rules" (PDF). HNK Rijeka. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Kvarnerska rivijera" (in Croatian). HNK Rijeka. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Šezdeset Godina Nogometne Mladosti" (in Croatian). Novi List. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Mezzo Secolo Della Kvarnerska Rivijera 1953.–2002" (PDF) (in Italian). Universita Degli Studi di Trieste. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  6. ^ Frančišković, Denis (25 May 2019). "U ponedjeljak počinje 67. Kvarnerska rivijera, Rijeka kreće u Žuknici / Novi list". novilist.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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