UEFA Super Cup: history of creation, interesting facts and winners of the tournament

The UEFA Super Cup is an official football tournament, which usually opens the European season. It is held in August. The tournament consists of just one match - and there are teams that won the previous season in the Champions League and the European League.

Base

The UEFA Super Cup was founded in 1972. The initiator of the idea was Anton Vitkamp - reporter for the popular Dutch newspaper called "De Telegraaf". A little later he became editor of the sports department of the publication. At that time, Dutch football was very good. Because Vitkamp wanted to find the most original way to demonstrate the strength of the Dutch teams in the European football arena. Then FC "Ajax" and "Feyenoord" four times reached the final of the European Cup. Three times they managed to win the main trophy.

And at that time the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup were played out. Naturally, every tournament had its own winning team. Vitkampu came up with a brilliant idea - and what if to arrange a match between them? The struggle between the two strongest clubs could find out which one is really the strongest, and deserves to occupy the podium. So the reporter shared an idea with Yap van Prah (the president of "Ajax"), whom she liked very much. And they began to prepare the first tournament.

The first match

When Witkamp and his elder brother (with Yap's father) went to a meeting with Artemio Franchi, then president of UEFA, they planned to talk about the idea of the tournament and get some kind of support. However, he refused. Allegedly, fans of the "Rangers", which was supposed to play "Ajax", behave inappropriately, and the refusal was to serve as punishment. But the president, on the occasion of the centennial of the "Rangers", allowed to play the game - in an informal confrontation.

Total financed the tournament that same newspaper Vitkampa. According to the results of two matches, "Ajax" won with a score of 6: 3. It was the first UEFA Super Cup, and he initiated the further development of the idea of the tournament.

What happened next

The following year, UEFA agreed to supervise the tournament. He had to pass between "Ajax" and "Milan". Then the Dutch team won again the UEFA Super Cup.

In 1974, the tournament was not held. And all because the Munich "Bavaria" and "Magdeburg" could not agree on the date of the meeting. In general, the tournament was stable only in 1975. But in 1981 again it was canceled - now the "Dynamo" from Tbilisi could not agree on a date with "Liverpool".

In 1985, on the Super Bowl, the famous tragedy of the Eisel descended today. Then on the match, passing between the "Juventus" and "Liverpool", there was a real battle between the fans. People died. And both teams were punished for their inadequate fans - they were excluded from all UEFA tournaments for five years.

Many fell in love with such a vivid football. The UEFA Super Cup has become one of the most anticipated tournaments. Everyone wanted to see the battle of the strongest clubs. At the end of the 1998/99 season, it was decided to hold a tournament between the teams that won the UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

Winners

Who most often won the UEFA Super Cup? "Barcelona" - on her account five wins and four defeats. The last win was in the past, 2015. Next comes "Milan" (also 5 wins, but only 2 losses). Liverpool and Ajax have 3 wins. Then goes Madrid "Real" and "Anderlecht", then "Valencia", "Juventus" and "Atletico" - they have two wins and zero defeats. Most often, the tournament was not lucky, "Bavaria" and "Seville" - these teams have only one win and three losses. But such clubs as Milan "Inter", Donetsk "Shakhtar", Moscow "CSKA", "Feyenoord", Dortmund "Borussia", "PSG", "Arsenal", "Werder", "Sampdoria" And some more FC. They participated in the tournament only once and lost.