Spanish Super Cup; records of some participating teams

Ever since its inception, the Spanish Super Cup has been an essential component of Spanish football. The La Liga and Copa del Rey champions square off in this event. This marks the beginning of the soccer season (today it takes place in the midst of the season). The Spanish Super Cup, which has a multi-decade history, has seen some of the most iconic events. Also, the fiercest rivalries in Spanish football, most notably the one that has recently developed between Barça and Real Madrid.

The Dominant Team

Barcelona actually has a dominant record in the Spanish Super Cup. And Real Madrid, the other legendary team in Spanish football, who was their direct rival. Only twelve national teams have participated in this competition since it began in 1982. The two winners of the previous season’s Copa del Rey and the top two finishers in the First Division League are eligible to compete.

Ten of those twelve have previously taken home the crown. Both Betis (in 2005) and Espanyol (twice, in 2000 and 2006) advanced to the final but lost the pivotal games.

With 14 goals in 20 games while wearing the Barcelona shirt, Lionel Messi leads all Super Cup scorers. Real Madrid’s Raúl and Benzema are next with 7 goals apiece. Additionally, the Argentine has the most championship victories (8). Two of Barça’s coaches, Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola, have each won three titles, making them the most decorated.

The Spanish Super Cup, which will take place in 2024, is in its 40th year. Prior to 1995, rules stipulated that the team that won both the League and Copa del Rey would be the automatic winner of the competition’s trophy. Prior to the 2020 changes, it also had a different competition structure. This consists of a knockout format with semifinals and a final between the two Copa del Rey finalist clubs. It also involved the two best classed teams in the League championship.

We go over the contest’s full set of honors below.

Barcelona (1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023)

Lionel Messi comes to mind when considering a great protagonist from Barcelona’s victorious Spanish Super Cup history. He participated in thirteen competitions and took home eight victories. Another Argentinean played a part in the club’s first Super Cup victory: coach César Luis Menotti guided the side that defeated Athletic Club in the two-leg final, which was captained by Javier Clemente at the time.

Real Madrid: (1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2020, 2022)

Real Madrid trails Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and Super Cup, but dominates the Spanish league and Champions League in terms of record. Two of the twelve titles he won have been particularly well-received in recent years: the one from 2017, in which Zinedine Zidane’s team defeated Messi’s Barça in both of the final games (3 to 1 at Camp Nou and 2 to 0 at the Bernabéu); and the one from 2020, in which the match that defined the champion took place in Saudi Arabia and concluded with a meringues victory over Cholo Simeone’s team in a penalty shootout following a score of 0 to 0 in the first ninety minutes thereof.

Atlético de Madrid (1985, 2014)

In the Super Cup final, Atlético de Madrid had the satisfaction of defeating the two most powerful teams in Spanish football. Despite losing at Camp Nou (0-1) in 1985, Barcelona advanced to the first final at the Vicente Calderón (3-1) by virtue of their earlier victory. And finally, in 2014, Real Madrid emerged victorious (1-0) at the Calderón following a 1-1 draw at the Bernabéu, already with Cholo Simeone on the bench.