Newspapers that foster culture
Introduction
When we talk about L´Equipe, we are referring not only to one of the best sports newspapers in the world, but also the organizer and creator of the Tour de France and the European Cup of Soccer. We tell you more about its history and some interesting milestones in the following article. The sports newspaper was founded in 1946 in France, thanks to Jacques Goddet, a complete visionary for the time.
Developing
Prior to him there were other publications dedicated to sports: L´Auto-first first with notes on cycling because his editor Henri Desigrange was dedicated to that discipline- and later (printed on yellow paper to differentiate himself from his competitor, whichused green). In 1940 Desgrange died and the newspaper passed to a group of Germans. Jacques Goddet – son of the first financial director of L´Auto – is appointed editor, who opposes publishing Nazi advertising during World War II.
Goddet had to print specimens clandestinely, until it was allowed to have his own newspaper, called L´Equipe and that is the same as we know today. In this case, the paper used to print had to be white, to differentiate from the rest. L´Equipe went three times a week and from 1948 to the present it has been published daily (from 1980 the edition of Saturdays is added). In 2015 the cover format changed and went from being a sheet (58×28 cm) to tabloid (36×28 cm).
Undoubted. Perhaps it is somewhat curious that such a known international competition has been thought of a newspaper. But it has been. The Tour de France is the first cycling competition in stages and its first edition dates from 1903.
While at that time the newspaper L´Equipe did not exist, it did go on sale L´Auto, as precursor to this newspaper and directed by Desgrange (which also directed the competition from its beginnings until 1939), which in turn was a cyclist. Together with the journalist Géo Lefévre they developed the idea of promoting the career in the newspaper itself, and that the newspaper is promoted in the competition!
As if it was not enough for this newspaper to have created a recognized competition at the international level, L´Equipe has the honor of having been a participant in the idea of the old European Champions Club Cup, then renamed as a European Cup and currently known as theUEFA Champions League. Everything happened in 1955, when UEFA approved the initiative of the French newspaper, more precisely from its director Gabriel Hanot and journalist Jacques Ferran.
conclusion
The project had nothing less than the support of the then president of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu and the UEFA Vice President, Hungarian Gusztav Sebes. The competition was inspired by the South American Champions Championship and its goal was to unite the best European teams in the same tournament. In the first regulation it was indicated that it was organized by the newspaper and that it would be called the European Cup of L´Equipe´.
The first championship was held in 1956 and 18 teams participated. The winner was Real Madrid, who beat the remis stade by 4 to 3. It is worth noting that the Spanish capital team is the top winner of this League, with 13 titles. L´Equipe is much more than a sports newspaper, it is one of the best -selling publications in France and more read in digital world. We must also thank you for creating two tournaments of such importance for the universe of sport.
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