The Spanish Super Cup Trophy Signals the Beginning of Barcelona's Glory Days

JEDDAH, MONDAY - No matter how hard Real Madrid tried, they ultimately could not thwart Barcelona's path to victory. After equalizing twice, Real had to concede to Barca's superiority, losing 3-2 in the Supercopa de España final. The Supercopa trophy is nothing less than an early signal of Barca's dominance in Spain this season.

Real is the only toughest rival most likely to thwart Barca's progress. In La Liga, Real continues to shadow Barca, who currently leads the standings. Both teams possess nearly equal player quality. Defeating Real in the Super Cup serves as a reaffirmation that Barca is the best team in Spain, at least until the halfway point of the season.

The initial signals of Barca's glory this season are also supported by historical records. Since the four-team format has been implemented, there has been a tendency in the Spanish Super Cup. The team that emerges as the champion has more than a 90 percent chance of also winning La Liga. The four-team format of the Super Cup has been held six times.

Of those six occasions, only once has the Super Cup winner failed to win the Spanish league. That occurred when Athletic Bilbao won the title in 2021. The rest of the time, Real Madrid and Barcelona have alternated winning the league after also winning the Super Cup. This is understandable, as winning a trophy mid-season is a powerful catalyst for a team to secure a league title or a double. A Super Cup victory would certainly boost Barca's morale and motivate them to keep pace with Real Madrid.

"Hopefully, this will not be the last title of the season. We are in extraordinary form. Winning the Super Cup provides great motivation for us," said Barca midfielder, Pedri, after the final at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso failed to replicate his impressive debut in El Clasico earlier this season. Real Madrid narrowly defeated Barca 2-1. However, that victory came without Hansi Flick on the sidelines due to a suspension. This time, Flick took charge and gave direct instructions to his players.

The German coach will be remembered as a final specialist. Throughout his coaching career, Flick has led teams in finals eight times, all of which ended in victory. With this, Flick has successfully retained the Super Cup title. The last Barca coach to win the Super Cup two consecutive times was Pep Guardiola.

The defeat to Barca undoubtedly puts Alonso's position at Real under increasing threat. Ahead of the match, widespread rumors suggested that the outcome of the Super Cup would serve as the "final exam" for Alonso. Winning the Super Cup trophy would certainly bolster the confidence of the club's top officials in the coach from the Basque region. On the other hand, failure would undoubtedly raise further doubts about Alonso's capabilities.

The attractive attacking style of play, as demonstrated when handling Bayer Leverkusen, could not be applied by Alonso at Real. In this final match, Real instead defended quite deeply to counter the aggressive play of Barca. Playing in this manner clearly deviates significantly from the character of Real, which is synonymous with attacking football.

From the start of the match, Barca took the initiative to attack using a high defensive line that has become their hallmark during Flick's coaching era. The Barca players attempted to limit the movement of Real players. They hardly allowed Real players to think freely about directing their attacks. The attacking efforts constructed by Real were often thwarted in their own playing area. As a result, Raphinha successfully opened the scoring with a close-range shot.

"The team worked hard. We knew we would suffer without ball possession. We had dangerous counterattacks. When the score was 3-2, I was very confident we had a chance to equalize. We did it, but it was less accurate," said Alonso.

The climax of the El Clasico drama emerged during the added time of the first half. During this period, three goals were scored. Vinicius Junior successfully netted a response goal thanks to Gonzalo Garcia's skill in escaping from the opponent's pressure. After Garcia passed the ball, Vinicius's goal relied entirely on individual ability. The Brazilian national team player maneuvered past Jules Kounde's defense. Despite being surrounded by three players inside the penalty area, Vinicius was still able to take a close-range shot that Joan Garcia could not block.

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski halted the euphoria of the Real players with his goal just a few minutes later. Lewy, as Lewandowski is affectionately called, calmly chipped the ball after receiving a well-placed pass from Pedri from the midfield. Lewy's goal was then answered by Real through a shot from Garcia, who capitalized on the chaos from a corner kick situation.

After a draw in the first half, Barca finally managed to regain the lead in the second half through a shot from Raphinha that deflected off Raul Asencio. Thibaut Courtois had already taken a wrong step due to the change in the ball's direction.