UEFA Super Cup

The UEFA Super Cup (previously the European Super Cup) is an annual football match organized by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. It takes place at the start of the domestic season, in August, normally on a Friday.

From 1972 to 1999, the UEFA Super Cup was contested between the winners of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and the winners of the European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. After the discontinuation of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, it has been contested by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the winners of the UEFA Cup, which was renamed the UEFA Europa League in 2009.

The current holders are Spanish club Atlético Madrid, after they beat Chelsea 4–1 in 2012. The most successful team in the competition is Italian side Milan, who have won the trophy five times.

History
The European Super Cup was created in 1971 by Anton Witkamp, a reporter and later sports editor of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The idea came to him in a time when 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.

The 1972 final between Dutch team Ajax and Scotland's Rangers is considered unofficial by UEFA, as Rangers were banned from European competition due to the behaviour of their fans during the 1972 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final. As a result, UEFA refused to endorse the competition until the following season. It was played in two legs and was financially supported by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Ajax defeated Rangers 6–3 on aggregate and won the first (albeit unofficial) European Super Cup.

The 1973 final, which Ajax defeated Milan 6–1 on aggregate, was the first Super Cup officially recognised and supported by UEFA.

Although the two-legged format was kept until 1997, the Super Cup was decided in one single match because of schedule issues or political problems in 1984, 1986, and 1991. In 1974, 1981 and 1985, the Super Cup was not played at all.

In the 1992–1993 season, the European Cup was renamed the UEFA Champions League and the winners of this competition would face the winners of the European Cup Winners' Cup in the UEFA Super Cup.

In the 1994–1995 season, the European Cup Winners' Cup was renamed the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

After the 1998–1999 season, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued by UEFA. The 1999 UEFA Super Cup was the last Super Cup contested by the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup. Lazio, winners of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, defeated Manchester United, winners of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, 1–0.

Since then, the UEFA Super Cup was contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the winners of the UEFA Cup. The 2000 UEFA Super Cup was the first Super Cup contested by the winners of the UEFA Cup. Galatasaray, winners of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, defeated Real Madrid, winners of the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, 2–1.

In the 2009–2010 season, the UEFA Cup was renamed the UEFA Europa League and the winners of this competition would face the winners of the UEFA Champions League in the UEFA Super Cup.

After 15 consecutive Super Cups being played at Stade Louis II in Monaco between 1998 and 2012, from 2013 onwards, the Super Cup will be played at various stadiums (similar to the finals of the Champions League and the Europa League), starting with the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, which is scheduled to be played at Eden Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic.

No German club has ever won the UEFA Super Cup. One reason for this is in 1975, West Germany's Bayern Munich and East Germany's FC Magdeburg did not contest the trophy. The official reason for not doing so was fixture congestion, though there is speculation that the decision was politically influenced.

Venue
The competition was originally played over two legs, one at each participating club's stadium, except in exceptional circumstances; for instance in 1991 when Red Star Belgrade were not permitted to play a second leg in their native Yugoslavia due to the war which was taking place at the time. Since 1998, the Super Cup was played as a single match at a neutral venue. Between 1998 and 2012, the Super Cup was played at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. From 2013 onwards, various stadiums will be used.

List of venues since 1998

 * 1998–2012: Stade Louis II, Monaco
 * 2013: Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
 * 2014: Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
 * 2015: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia

Trophy
The UEFA Super Cup trophy is retained by UEFA at all times. A full-size replica trophy is awarded to the winning club. Thirty gold medals are presented to the winning club and thirty silver medals to the runners-up.

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; in fact, was bigger than the European cup. This was replaced by a plaque with a gold UEFA Emblem. The next trophy was the smallest and lightest of all the European club trophies, weighing 5 kg and measuring 42.5 cm in height (the UEFA Champions League trophy weighs 8 kg and the UEFA Europa League trophy 15 kg). The new model weighs 12.2 kg and measures 58 cm in height.

A team which wins 3 times in a row or 5 in total, receives an original copy of the trophy and a special mark of recognition. Only Milan has achieved this honour so far, winning the trophy a total of 5 times, on each of those occasions, Milan participated as Champions League Winner.

Rules
Currently, the rules of the UEFA Super Cup are the same as any other UEFA club competition. It is a single match final, contested in a neutral venue. The match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. If the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes, two additional 15-minute periods of extra time are played. If there is no winner at the end of the second period of extra time, a penalty shoot-out determines the winner (to date, no Super Cup tie has been settled on a penalty shoot-out). Each team names 18 players, 11 of which start the match. Of the 7 remaining players, a total of 3 may be substituted throughout the match. Each team may wear its first choice kit; however, if these clash the previous year's Europa League winning team must wear an alternative colour. If a club refuses to play or is ineligible to play then they are replaced by the second finalist from the competition they qualified through. If the field is unfit for play due to bad weather the match must be played the next day.

Sponsorship
Carlsberg have been the presenting sponsor for the UEFA Super Cup since 2006. As part of this they also present the "Carlsberg Man of the Match Award" Other current official sponsors include Intersport, Vodafone, Gazprom and Canon Europe.

Prize money
As of 2012, UEFA awards €2.2 million to the runners-up and €3 million to the winners of the Super Cup.

Tickets
60% of the AS Monaco stadium capacity is reserved for the visiting clubs. Seats are also reserved for VIP guests. The remaining seats are sold by UEFA through an online auction. There are an unlimited number of applications for tickets given out. The 5 euro administration fee is deducted from each applicant and there is no limit to the number of applications each individual can make.