Glentoran FC is proud to announce that in the 2022-2023 season the teams’ shirts will have a single gold star above the club crest. This is in honour of the Glentoran team that won the Vienna Cup – the first European trophy – in 1914.
In 1914 Glentoran Football Club won the Irish Cup for the first time, defeating Linfield in the Final. As a result they received an invite from the Austro-Hungarian FA to travel to the region along with the winners of the Scottish Cup (Celtic) and the FA Cup (Burnley)
The Austro-Hungarian FA hosted a tournament involving some of the strongest teams in Europe at the time including Hertha Berlin, DFC Prag (Prague) Pressburg (Bratislava) along with a Hungarian Select XI. The tournament required the teams to play games in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Czechoslovakia.
After defeating German side Hertha Berlin to qualify for the final, the Glentoran squad travelled to the Austrian capital Vienna to play two games against a Vienna Select XI. The Glens set about the task of lifting the cup with a scant disregard for the calibre of the opposition. The final score (5-0 to Glentoran) would see this beautiful trophy return to East Belfast where it has remained in the Oval Trophy Cabinet.
The Vienna Cup is recognised as the oldest European Trophy in existence today and remains the only Glentoran artefact to have survived the Belfast Blitz.
Glentoran Chairman Ian Kerr said of the star: “It is with great pleasure that we now properly recognise the unique achievement of winning the Vienna Cup in 1914 and its importance in football history not only to Glentoran but also the wider football community in an appropriate way. Being the first professional club to win a European trophy is nothing short of excellent. It is something to rejoice in and celebrate.
Through the tremendous work and enthusiasm of our historian Sam Robinson, the fantastic story and facts surrounding this wonderful achievement are now fully documented and recognised. All Glentoran fans and players will feel a great sense of pride in our new badge and its link to that great achievement and to the people who made it possible.
Mick McDermott: “This star was earned in Vienna…. It shines bright over Belfast today
Its outstanding that the Vienna Cup has been acknowledged by football authorities as the “First European Trophy.” Glentoran FC can be proud of this achievement - being “first” is unique and casts a long shadow.
We are thankful that Mr. Infantino and FIFA took such a keen interest in the history of the competition and the trophy, and we must pay respect to our local Glentoran historians, particularly Sam Robinson, who have kept this story alive.
Our star is the first…..but should be a motivator to every club in our country. Hopefully, it is not the last.”
Glentoran’s tale of the underdog going all the way to being crowned winners of the first European Trophy will be forever remembered.
Glentoran extends out thanks to ATTNx for producing our moving graphics for this important media release www.attnx.co.uk.