UEFA Super Cup

infobox football tournament
name = UEFA Super Cup

caption =
founded = 1972
region = UEFA
(Europe)
number of teams = 2
current champions = flagicon|RUS FC Zenit St. Petersburg
most successful club = flagicon|ITA A.C. Milan
(5 time champion)
broadcasters =
motto =
website = [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/supercup/index.html Official Website]
current =

The European Super Cup (UEFA Super Cup) is at stake in an annual football game between the reigning champions of the UEFA Cup and the Champions League. It takes place at the start of the domestic season, in August, and since the game happens after the Summer transfer window, the teams selected may be different from the ones who won the qualifying competitions.

The most successful team is Italian side AC Milan, who have won the trophy five times.

History

The European Super Cup was created in 1972 by Anton Witkamp, a reporter and later sports editor of Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf". The idea came to him in a time where Dutch total football was Europe's finest and Dutch football clubs were living their golden era (especially Ajax). Witkamp was looking for something new to definitely decide which was the best team in Europe and also to further test Ajax's legendary team, led by their star player Johan Cruyff. It was then proposed that the winner of the European Cup would face the winner of the Cup Winners' Cup.All was set for a new competition to be born. However, when Witkamp tried to get an official endorsement to his competition, the UEFA president turned it down.Still, the cup dispute went ahead despite the unofficial status. It was played in two legs and was financially supported by Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf". Ajax beat Rangers and won the very first European Super Cup. Since then, the competition has been officially recognised and supported by UEFA.

Although the two-legged format was kept, in some years, the European Super Cup was decided in one single match whether because of schedule dilemmas or political problems. In 1974, 1981 and 1985, the European Super Cup was not played at all. Since 1998 the European Super Cup has always been decided in one single match, in Monaco's Stade Louis II.

At the end of the 1998/99 season, the Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued by UEFA. Since the beginning of the 1999/2000 season, the European Super Cup has been contested between the respective winners of the UEFA Champions League (formerly the European Cup before the format was changed) and the UEFA Cup.

Trophy changes

The UEFA Super Cup trophy has undergone several changes in its history. The first trophy that was presented to Ajax in 1973 and 1974 was extremely large, bigger than the European cup, this was replaced by a plaque, that had a Gold UEFA Emblem on it with the continent inscribed within the Emblem. The next trophy was the smallest and lightest of all the European club trophies, weighing 5kg and measuring 42.5cm in height (the UEFA Champions League trophy weighs 8kg and the UEFA Cup 15kg). Now, the new model weighs 12.2kg.

As in other UEFA trophies, the team which wins 3 times in a row or 5 in total, keeps the trophy permanently; this was the case of AC Milan in 2007.

uper Cup finals

By Club

By Cup

Footnotes

ee also

*International club competition records
*UEFA competition records
*UEFA Champions League
*UEFA Cup
*Super Cup

External links

* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/supercup/index.html UEFA Super Cup]
* [http://www.the-sports.org/football-soccer-uefa-super-cup-presentation-medal-winners-s1-c0-b0-g8-t2038.html All time statistics with link to all results]