The German Football League holds its Supercup every year shortly before the start of the Bundesliga. The duel between champions and cup winners is not important in terms of sport, but it is a demanding dress rehearsal for the two teams and a nice warm-up for the new season for the fans.
It was the same in Spain until 2017. But it has been going since then Primera Division new ways. While the winner was previously always determined in a two-way leg with the respective finalists, there was only one final game in Tangier, Morocco, for the first time in 2018.
Artificially inflated tournament
After that, the Spaniards went one step further. the Supercopa de España 2019 went as Final fourTournament in January 2020 – in the Saudi Arabian Jeddah. To make the trip worthwhile, the Supercup was artificially inflated. In addition to cup winners and champions, there are also runners-up and cup finalists.
After the Spaniards had to stay at home last year due to the corona pandemic, they are now going to Saudi Arabia for the second time. This time to Riyadh. There, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the first semi-final on Wednesday (January 12th, 2022) in the König-Fahd-Stadion – Clásico in the desert. The second semifinals will take place on Thursday Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The final will then take place on Sunday, there will be no game for third place.
It’s all about the money
The Spanish Football Association had initially signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabia. However, it has now been extended to 2029. That brings the association 40 million euros per year. That the human rights situation in the authoritarian Gulf state is precarious and the human rights organization Amnesty International protested, the association does not care in the face of new markets and marketing opportunities. The clubs too, of course. Because the money is between the clubs and the RFEF divided up.
The fact that Europe’s top leagues are holding their Supercup finals abroad is nothing new. The Italian Serie A kicked off the game in the USA as early as 1993. In the years that followed, the Italians played abroad again and again – in Tripoli, Beijing, Doha, Shanghai and, since 2018, also in Saudi Arabia.
Real Madrid favorite
On the sporting side: Real Madrid around Toni Kroos is clearly favored against Barcelona, the team of the German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Only last weekend, the league leaders shot 4-1 against FC Valencia warm. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is sixth behind the music. In the end it was enough for Barca only to a 1: 1 in Granada. After all, the team has been unbeaten for six competitive games.
Athletic Bilbao arrives as defending champions. Last year the team prevailed 3-2 after extra time against FC Barcelona. Barca can still call themselves record winners with 13 successes.
Even now, Bilbao have a good chance of making it to the final. The Basques are only ninth in the table and only beat 0-0 at the dress rehearsal Alaves, but they are considered a cup team in Spain. Opponent Atlético put down a series of defeats before Christmas and received three bankruptcies in a row. In the new year things went up again, but in the end it was enough Villarreal for the fourth place in the table only to a 2: 2.
Alienation continues
By the way, almost everything passes the fans by. The geographical component of the increasing alienation of football and the clubs from the supporters means that they can hardly be found in the stadium. There were just 1,000 fans from Spain at the 2020 tournament. Parts of the media are boycotting the Supercup and finally turning the tournament into a farce. The fans will also face a completely rugged game day the following weekend, with four games postponed.
Bilbao’s striker Raul Garcia agrees. “It doesn’t make sense. Football has changed, we don’t think about the fans anymore”, he said: “We forget the essentials, the atmosphere that defines the games.”
As of: January 12th, 2022, 7:00 am