They have not won any of the three Super Cups that have been played with the new format
He is still the king of the competition with thirteen titles, but Real Madrid is already only one away
The Spanish Super Cup begins tomorrow in Riyadh. Real Madrid and Valencia will play the first semifinal, while Barça, which travels to Saudi Arabia today, and Betis will face each other on Thursday in the second. Xavi Hernández’s men will try to change the trend of the tournament and win it for the first time since the format change.
It was in the year 2020 when the Spanish Federation decided to change the format of the tournament and signed a contract with the government of Saudi Arabia so that the Super Cup would be played in that country for three years, which could be six if they so wish. Saudi Arabia. The company Kosmos, owned by Gerard Piqué, participated in said contract and was taken to court by one of its participants, Valencia, a dispute that has not yet been resolved.
The Mestalla club did not agree with the distribution of the money paid by the Saudis or with the change in format. The competition began to be played by four teams, playing two semifinals and one final, instead of the League champion facing the Cup champion in a single match. And the change in format has not gone well for the team that is the king of the competition. Barça is the club with the most titles (13), but it has not been able to win any of the three editions that have been played with the current format.
In 2020, Ernesto Valverde’s Barça fell in the semifinal that was played in Jeddah against Atlético de Madrid (2-3). The Blaugrana played a great game, one of the best with the coach from Extremadura on their bench, but they allowed themselves to come back in the final minutes with goals from Morata and Correa after wasting endless scoring chances. That defeat cost Valverde his job.
A year later, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament had to be held in Spanish territory and behind closed doors. Barça won their semi-final, played in Córdoba, beating Real Sociedad in the shoot-off from the penalty spot, but fell in the final against Athletic, who had eliminated Real Madrid. Ronald Koeman’s men saw the Basques equalize at the last minute thanks to a goal from Villalibre. Iñaki Williams gave Athletic the victory in extra time (2-3), who celebrated with Villalibre’s famous trumpet. And in last year’s edition, played in Riyadh, Barça fell again in the semifinal against Real Madrid. Xavi’s men, who left very good feelings, lost again in extra time (2-3) after a goal from Fede Valverde.
THE REAL MADRID IS APPROACHING
Barça, leaders of the League with three points ahead of Real Madrid, hope to change the trend this week. The whites, who have won two of the last three editions played with this new format, have come very close to the blaugrana in the list of winners. They already add twelve titles.