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{{Infobox football tournament
| name                 = World Cup of Masters
| image                = 
| imagesize            = 
| caption              = 
| organiser            = IMFA
| title                = 
| founded              = 1987
| abolished            = {{end date and age|1997}}
| region               = International
| number of teams      = 8 (1995)
| qualifier for        = 
| related comps        = [[Legends Cup (Russia)|Legends Cup]]
| domestic cup         = 
| confed cup           = 
| current champions    = {{fb|BRA}} (1995)
| most successful team = {{fb|BRA}} (4 titles)
| most appearances     = 
| top goalscorer       = 
| broadcasters         = [[Rede Bandeirantes|Bandeirantes]]
| motto                = 
| website              = 
| current              = 
| American             = 
}}
{{Season sidebar
| title = Tournaments
| list  = 
* [[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]]
* [[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]]
* [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]]
* [[I World Cup of Masters|1991]]
* [[II World Cup of Masters|1993]]
* [[III World Cup of Masters|1995]]
}}

The '''World Cup of Masters''', also known as the '''[[Pelé]] World Cup''' and '''Mundial de Seniors''', was a Mini World Cup event that ran every two years from 1987 until 1995. The tournament was for senior (35+) players and it was under the rules of the IMFA (International Master Football Association), presided by [[Julio Mazzei]] at the time. In 1990 the term "seniors" was replaced by "masters". The editions until 1991 were organized by Brazilian TV station [[Rede Bandeirantes|Bandeirantes]], and the International Masters Football Association.<ref>[https://www.bitbol.la/historias/copa-pele-torneo-senior-bitbol/ Copa Pelé: El torneo senior de selecciones campeonas del mundo] by FEDERICO KONISZCZER on Bitbol, 19 Jan 2022</ref>

Most of the teams participated used to play masters games on a regular basis and kept the quality of football on a competitive level. Brazil Masters team, which won the 1989 event and finished second to Argentina in 1987.

There were two exceptions to FIFA rules: players must be 34-and-over, and teams were allowed five substitutions instead of two. Teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss in group play. Semifinal, third-place and championship matches would be decided by penalty kicks if tied at the end of regulation time.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/pele-wc.html Pelé World Cup] on the RSSSF</ref>

==International Master Football Association==
IMFA after consultation with [[FIFA]]'s general secretary [[Sepp Blatter]] took initiative to organise the tournaments for legendary veteran players in an attempt to bring back a glimpse of the previous glorious World Cups. [[Julio Mazzei]] as a president of IMFA played a major part, while assisted by vice-president and England representative Sandra Roberts and German Werner Treimetten.

==World Cup Legends==
Legends of the game participated in the tournaments reviving somehow the FIFA World Cups of the previous years. [[Pelé]] was a starter for Brazil in the opening game of the 1987 tournament, while [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]] played a key role in Brazil's winning performance in [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]]. Other players played in the World Cups of Masters were [[Mario Kempes]], [[Klaus Allofs]], [[Gerd Müller]], [[Karl-Heinz Rummenigge]] and [[Horst Hrubesch]] .

As [[Rivellino]] in 1989 and 1990 after [[1970 FIFA World Cup]] either three times, [[Paolo Rossi]] and [[Alessandro Altobelli]] were crowned World Champions for the second time in their career in  [[II World Cup of Masters|1993]] after having already won the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]]. This time it was not [[West Germany national football team|West Germany]] in the final but [[Austria national football team|Austria]] who co-hosted the tournament with [[Italy national football team|Italy]]. The latter presented some great players in the tournaments like [[Hans Krankl]], [[Herbert Prohaska]] and [[Walter Schachner]]. Other big names of the world football fielded in the tournament were [[Paul Breitner]], [[José Altafini]], [[Bruno Conti]], [[Harald Schumacher]], [[Hans-Peter Briegel]], [[Klaus Augenthaler]], [[Jairzinho]], [[Enrico Albertosi]], [[Sócrates]], [[Bobby Moore]], [[Frank Worthington]] and [[René van de Kerkhof]].

[[Luciano do Valle]] won 4 trophies with Brazil but [[Enzo Bearzot]] proved to be the only coach won a [[FIFA World Cup]] as well.

== Results ==
=== Finals ===
{{small div|
;Keys
* aet: [[overtime (sports)|after extra time]]
* p: [[penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]]
}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: %; text-align:center; width:;"
|-
! "width:;" | {{abbr|Ed.|Edition}}
! "width:;" | Years
! "width:100px;" |Hosts
! width= 100px| Champions 
! width= |Score 
! width= 100px| Runners up
! Venues
! City
! "width:;" | {{abbr|Num.<br>teams|Number of teams}}
|-
| 1 || [[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]] || {{left|[[Brazil]]}} || '''{{fb-big|ARG}}''' || 1–0 || {{fb-big|BRA}} || [[Pacaembu Stadium|Pacaembu]] || [[São Paulo]] || 5
|-
| 2 || [[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]] || {{left|[[Brazil]]}} || '''{{fb-big|BRA}}''' || 4–2 || {{fb-big|URU}} || [[Estádio do Canindé|Canindé]] ||[[São Paulo]]||  6
|-
| 3 || [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]] || {{left|[[Brazil]]}} || '''{{fb-big|BRA}}''' || 5–0|| {{fb-big|NED}} ||[[Pacaembu Stadium|Pacaembu]] || [[São Paulo]] || 5
|-
| 4 || [[I World Cup of Masters|1991]] || {{left|[[United States]] || '''{{fb-big|BRA}}''' || 2–1 || {{fb-big|ARG}} || [[Hard Rock Stadium|Joe Robbie]] ||[[Miami]] ||  6
|-
| 5 || [[II World Cup of Masters|1993]] || {{left|[[Austria]]}}<br>{{left|[[Italy]]}} || '''{{fb-big|ITA}}''' ||2–0 || {{fb-big|AUT}} || [[Stadio Nereo Rocco|Nereo Rocco]] || [[Trieste]] || 8
|-
| 6 || [[III World Cup of Masters|1995]] || {{left|[[Austria]]}} || '''{{fb-big|BRA}}''' || 1–1
{{pso|3–2}}
| {{fb-big|ARG}} || [[Wörthersee Stadion|Wörthersee]] ||[[Klagenfurt]]|| 8
|}

=== Results by team ===
Most successful team was Brazil with 4 trophies, while Argentina won only 1 Cup and lost the [[III World Cup of Masters|1995]] one to Brazil in penalties. Italy's squad of 1982 repeated the [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]] in [[1993]] beating Austria by 2-0 in the final.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!width=|Teams
!width=|Winners
!width=|Runners-up
|-
| bgcolor=#FFD700 | {{fb|BRA}}
| bgcolor=#FFD700 | 4 
([[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]], [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]], 

[[I World Cup of Masters|1991]], [[III World Cup of Masters|1995]]) 
| bgcolor=#e0e0e0 | 1 
([[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]])
|-
| bgcolor="#FFD700" | {{fb|ITA}}
| bgcolor="#FFD700" | 1 
([[II World Cup of Masters|1993]])
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | 0
|-
| bgcolor="#FFD700" | {{fb|ARG}}
| bgcolor="#FFD700" | 1 
([[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]])
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | 2 
([[I World Cup of Masters|1991]], 

[[III World Cup of Masters|1995]])
|-
| {{fb|URU}}
| 0
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | 1 ([[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]])
|-
| {{fb|NED}}
| 0
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | 1 ([[II World Cup of Masters|1990]])
|-
| {{fb|AUT}}
| 0
| bgcolor=#e0e0e0| 1 ([[II World Cup of Masters|1993]])
|}

==Participating teams and results==
Brazil and Argentina participated in the 6 tournaments facing each other in the final twice, in [[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]] which was the inaugural year and in [[III World Cup of Masters|1995]], the very last year of the Masters tournaments. Italy also had 6 participations winning the trophy once in the 1993 edition.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=160|Team !![[File:Flag of Brazil.svg|20px]]<br />[[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]] !![[File:Flag of Brazil.svg|20px]]<br />[[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]] !![[File:Flag of Brazil.svg|20px]]<br />[[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]] !![[File:Flag of USA.svg|18px|border]]<br />[[I World Cup of Masters|1991]] !![[File:Flag of Austria.svg|18px|border]][[File:Flag of Italy.svg|18px|border]]<br />[[II World Cup of Masters|1993]] !![[File:Flag of Austria.svg|20px]]<br />[[III World Cup of Masters|1995]] !!Total
|-
| align="left" |{{fb|Brazil}}
| style="background:silver" |2nd|| style="background:gold" |W|| style="background:gold" |W|| style="background:gold" |W|| style="background:#9acdff" | 4th|| style="background:gold" |W||'''6'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Argentina}}
|style="background:gold"|W||style="background:silver"|2nd||style="background:#cc9966"| 3rd||style="background:silver"|2nd ||G||style="background:silver"|2nd||'''6'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Austria}}
|–||–||–||–||style="background:silver"|2nd||G||'''2'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|England}}
|–||–||–||G||G||–||'''2'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|France}}
|–||–||–||–||–||G||'''1'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Germany}}
|G||G||–||G||style="background:#cc9966"|3rd||style="background:#cc9966"|3rd||'''5'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Great Britain}}
|–||G||–||–||–||–||'''1'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Italy}}
|G||G||G||style="background:#cc9966"|3rd ||style="background:gold"|W||style="background:#9acdff"|4th||'''6'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Netherlands}}
|–||–||style="background:silver"|2nd||–||G||G|||'''3'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Poland}}
|–||–||G||–||–||–||'''1'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Portugal}}
|–||–||–||–||–||G||'''1'''
|-
|align="left"|{{fb|Uruguay}}
|G||style="background:silver"|2nd||–||style="background:#9acdff"|4th||G||–||'''4'''
|-
|}

'''W''': winner.<br />
'''G''': eliminated in group stage.

==Top scorers==
[[File:Walter_Schachner_-_FC_Admira_Wacker_M%C3%B6dling_(1).jpg|thumb|150px|Walter Schachner (Austria) is the all-time leading scorer with 8 goals]]
Austrian [[Walter Schachner]] is the overall goalscorer with 8 goals, all scored in [[II World Cup of Masters|1993]]. Brazilian [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]] was the top scorer in [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]] and [[I World Cup of Masters|1991]] scoring a total of 6 goals in the Cups. 

[[Mario Kempes]] and [[Paolo Rossi]] scored 2 goals each with [[Rivellino]] having a total of 3 goals. Legendary [[Pelé]], at the age of 47, didn't manage to score though he played for 90 minutes in the opening 1987 match.

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
!width=50px |Edition
!width=| Golden Boot
!width=| Goals  
|-
| [[I Mundialito de Seniors|1987]]
| align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Rivellino]]
| 2
|-
| [[II Mundialito de Seniors|1989]] 
| align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Cláudio Adão]] 
| 7
|-
| rowspan=2| [[Copa do Craque de Masters|1990]] || align=left| {{flagicon|NED}} [[Johnny Rep]] || rowspan=2| 4
|-
| align=left| {{flagicon|POL}} [[Lesław Ćmikiewicz]]
|-
| [[I World Cup of Masters|1991]] 
| align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]]
| 3
|-
| [[II World Cup of Masters|1993]]
| align=left| {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Walter Schachner]] 
| 8
|}

==Players with most participations==
{|class="wikitable"
!Player
!Nationality
!Participations
!Editions
|-
| |[[Luís Pereira]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 5
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
|-
| |[[Amaral (footballer, born 1954)|Amaral]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 5
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
|-
| |[[Rivellino]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 5
| 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993
|-
| |[[Wladimir Rodrigues dos Santos|Wladimir]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 5
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
|-
| |[[Francesco Graziani]]
| | {{footyflag|Italy}}
| 4
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993
|-
| |[[Mario Kempes]]
| | {{footyflag|Argentina}}
| 4
| 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995
|-
| |[[Jonas Eduardo Américo|Edu]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 4
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993
|-
| |[[Zenon de Souza Farias]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 4
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995
|-
| |[[Cafuringa]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 4
| 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991
|-
| |[[Jayme de Almeida]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 3
| 1989, 1990, 1991
|-
| |[[Batista (footballer, born 1955)|Batista]]
| | {{footyflag|Brazil}}
| 3
| 1989, 1990, 1991
|-
| |[[Pablo Forlan]]
| | {{footyflag|Uruguay}}
| 3
| 1987, 1989, 1991 
|-
| |[[Fernando Morena]]
| | {{footyflag|Uruguay}}
| 3
| 1987, 1989, 1991 
|-
| |[[Oscar Mas]]
| | {{footyflag|Argentina}}
| 3
| 1987, 1990, 1991 
|-
| |[[Francesco Morini]]
| | {{footyflag|Italy}}
| 3
| 1987, 1989, 1990
|-
| |[[Claudio Gentile]]
| | {{footyflag|Italy}}
| 3
| 1990, 1991, 1993
|-
| |[[Franco Causio]]
| | {{footyflag|Italy}}
| 3
| 1990, 1991, 1993
|-
| |[[Wolfgang Kleff]]
| | {{footyflag|Germany}}
| 3
| 1987, 1989, 1991 
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Legends Cup (Russia)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{World Cup of Masters}}
[[Category:World Cup of Masters| ]]
[[Category:Defunct international association football competitions in South America]]
[[Category:Defunct international association football competitions]]
[[Category:International men's association football invitational tournaments]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1987]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1995]]