Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España or the Spanish Super Cup is a super cup tournament in Spanish football, contested since 2019–20 by the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the winners and runners-up of the Copa del Rey. Previously only two teams participated.
History
The current competition has only existed since 1982, but between 1940 and 1953, several other tournaments between the Spanish league champions and the cup winners were played.In September 1940, a match with this format had the name of Copa de Campeones. It was not repeated until December 1945 when, due to the good relations with the Spanish military government the ambassador of Argentina, offered a trophy called Copa de Oro Argentina. Both these trophies were unofficial and were only played once.
In 1941 the :es:Copa Presidente FEF de 1941-47|Copa Presidente FEF was established as an official tournament founded and organized by the RFEF; however, it was also only contested once, and though 11 of the 12 matches in its mini-league format were played between April and May 1941, its last, decisive fixture was delayed until eventually taking place in September 1947.
Also in 1947, the Copa Eva Duarte de Perón was established as an annual and official tournament founded and organized by the RFEF, as a tribute to Argentine president Juan Perón and his wife Eva Perón. It was played between September and December, usually as one-match finals. The trophy was the predecessor of the current Supercopa de España, first held in 1982.
In 2018, the Supercopa was played for the first time as a single match hosted at a neutral venue.
On 12 November 2019, it was announced that the Supercopa would expand to four teams, and would be held at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the next three years, in a deal valued at €120 million. The event was also moved to January in order to reduce the "congestion" on teams' schedules. The agreement has faced criticism: Jesus Alvarez, head of sport programming for state broadcaster RTVE, stated that it would not bid for the media rights to the Supercopa, in protest of Saudi Arabia's human and women's rights records—especially in women's sports. Liga de Fútbol Profesional president Javier Tebas also criticized the decision, citing the human rights violations and the country's "pirating" of European football. In the past, Tebas has been a major advocate to hold the competition outside of Spain, and especially the United States, as part of his efforts to expand La Liga globally. RSFF president Luis Rubiales stated that women would be able to attend the matches without restriction, and defended the agreement as the use of football to "transform society".
Predecessors of Supercopa
Year | Champion | Winner of | Runner-up | Winner of | Score | Trophy name |
1940 | Atlético Madrid | 1939–40 La Liga | Espanyol | 1940 Copa del Generalísimo | 3–3, 7–1 | Copa de los Campeones de España |
1941 | Atlético Madrid | 1940–41 La Liga | Valencia | 1941 Copa del Generalísimo | 4–0 | :es:Copa Presidente FEF de 1941-47|Copa Presidente FEF |
1945 | Barcelona | 1944–45 La Liga | Athletic Bilbao | 1944–45 Copa del Generalísimo | 5–4 | Copa de Oro Argentina |
Copa Eva Duarte
Finals by year
Two-team format
Except for the 1983, 1988 and 1992 tournaments, the first leg match was played at the cup winner's stadium.Four-team format
Titles by team in Supercopa
Titles by team in predecessors of Supercopa
All-time top goalscorers
Bold indicates active players in Spanish football.Player | Team | Goals | Apps | Ref |
Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 14 | 19 | |
Raúl | Real Madrid | 7 | 12 | |
Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | 6 | 10 | |
Txiki Begiristain | Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Deportivo La Coruña | 6 | 12 | |
Frédéric Kanouté | Sevilla | 5 | 2 | |
Aritz Aduriz | Athletic Bilbao | 4 | 2 | |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 4 | 7 | |
José Mari Bakero | Real Sociedad, Barcelona | 4 | 11 | |
Xavi | Barcelona | 4 | 14 |
Individual records
- All-time top scorer: Lionel Messi has scored the most goals in Supercopa de España history, a total of 14 goals.
- Most finals scored in: Lionel Messi has scored in 7 different final editions, more than any other player in Supercopa de España history.