The European 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 though it could be viewed as the ultimate European club championship decider, it is generally regarded as a minor event, with the Champions League and UEFA Cup winners not always fielding their best players and clearly not at top fitness levels.
History
It 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
Johann Cruyff. It was then proposed that the winner of the European Champions 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 because of a one-year ban applied to Cup Winners' Cup holders Rangers, due to misbehavior of their supporters.
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 disputed in one single match whether because of schedule dilemmas or political problems. In 1974, 1981 and 1985, the European Super Cup wasn't played at all.
Since 1998 the European Super Cup has always been disputed 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 Cup and Champions' League.
European Super Cup finals
Single match finals
All matches held at Stade Louis II, Monaco.
Two-legged finals
| Year
| Home Team
| Score
| Away Team
| Venue
|
| 1997
| Barcelona (C2) (ESP)
| 2 - 0
| Borussia Dortmund (C1) (GER)
| Camp Nou, Barcelona
|
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
| 1 - 1
| Barcelona (ESP)
| Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
|
| Barcelona won 3-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1996
| Paris Saint-Germain (C2) (FRA)
| 1 - 6
| Juventus (C1) (ITA)
| Parc des Princes, Paris
|
Juventus (ITA)
| 3 - 1
| Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
| Stadio La Favorita, Palermo
|
| Juventus won 9-2 on aggregate
|
|
| 1995
| Zaragoza (C2) (ESP)
| 1 - 1
| Ajax (C1) (NED)
| La Romareda, Zaragoza
|
Ajax (NED)
| 4 - 0
| Zaragoza (ESP)
| Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam
|
| Ajax won 5-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1994
| Arsenal (C2) (ENG)
| 0 - 0
| A.C. Milan (C1) (ITA)
| Highbury, London
|
A.C. Milan (ITA)
| 2 - 0
| Arsenal (ENG)
| San Siro, Milan
|
| A.C. Milan won 2-0 on aggregate
|
|
| 1993
| Parma (C2) (ITA)
| 0 - 1
| A.C. Milan (C1) (ITA)
| Ennio Tardini, Parma
|
A.C. Milan (ITA)
| 0 - 2 aet
| Parma (ITA)
| San Siro, Milan
|
Parma won 2-1 on aggregate Note: European champions Marseille were suspended due to a bribery scandal
|
|
| 1992
| Werder Bremen (C2) (GER)
| 1 - 1
| Barcelona (C1) (ESP)
| Weserstadion, Bremen
|
Barcelona (ESP)
| 2 - 1
| Werder Bremen (GER)
| Camp Nou, Barcelona
|
| Barcelona won 3-2 on aggregate
|
|
| 1991
| Manchester United (C2) (ENG)
| 1 - 0
| Red Star Belgrade (C1) (YUG)
| Old Trafford, Manchester
|
| Only the first leg was played in Manchester, due to political reasons in fomer Yugoslavia the game in Belgrade was not played.
|
| 1990
| Sampdoria (C2) (ITA)
| 1 - 1
| A.C. Milan (C1) (ITA)
| Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
|
A.C. Milan (ITA)
| 2 - 0
| Sampdoria (ITA)
| San Siro, Milan
|
| A.C. Milan won 3-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1989
| Barcelona (C2) (ESP)
| 1 - 1
| A.C. Milan (C1) (ITA)
| Camp Nou, Barcelona
|
A.C. Milan (ITA)
| 1 - 0
| Barcelona (ESP)
| San Siro, Milan
|
| A.C. Milan won 2-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1988
| KV Mechelen (C2) (BEL)
| 3 - 0
| PSV Eindhoven (C1) (NED)
| Achter de Kazerne, Mechelen
|
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
| 1 - 0
| KV Mechelen (BEL)
| Philips Stadion, Eindhoven
|
| KV Mechelen won 3-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1987
| Ajax (C2) (NED)
| 0 - 1
| FC Porto (C1) (POR)
| De Meer Stadium, Amsterdam
|
FC Porto (POR)
| 1 - 0
| Ajax (NED)
| Estádio das Antas, Porto
|
| FC Porto won 2-0 on aggregate
|
|
| 1986
| Steaua Bucharest (C1) (ROM)
| 1 - 0
| Dinamo Kiev (C2) (URS)
| Stade Louis II, Monaco
|
| Single match played in neutral ground for political reasons
|
| 1985
| NOT HELD Juventus (ITA) (C1) vs Everton (ENG) (C2)
|
| Not held because of Heysel tragedy and consequent UEFA ban on English clubs
|
| 1984
| Juventus (C2) (ITA)
| 2 - 0
| Liverpool (C1) (ENG)
| Stadio Comunale, Turin
|
| Only one match played because Liverpool couldn't find another date to play Juventus
|
| 1983
| Hamburger SV (C1) (FRG)
| 0 - 0
| Aberdeen (C2) (SCO)
| Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
|
Aberdeen (SCO)
| 2 - 0
| Hamburger SV (FRG)
| Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
|
| Aberdeen won 2-0 on aggregate
|
|
| 1982
| Barcelona (C2) (ESP)
| 1 - 0
| Aston Villa (C1) (ENG)
| Camp Nou, Barcelona
|
Aston Villa (ENG)
| 3 - 0 aet
| Barcelona (ESP)
| Villa Park, Birmingham
|
| Aston Villa won 3-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1981
| NOT HELD Liverpool (ENG) (C1) vs Dinamo Tbilisi (URS) (C2)
|
| Not held because Liverpool couldn't find dates to meet Dinamo Tbilisi
|
| 1980
| Nottingham Forest (C1) (ENG)
| 2 - 1
| Valencia (C2) (ESP)
| City Ground, Nottingham
|
Valencia (ESP)
| 1 - 0
| Nottingham Forest (ENG)
| Luis Casanova Stadium, Valencia
|
Aggregate: 2-2 Valencia won on away goals
|
|
| 1979
| Nottingham Forest (C1) (ENG)
| 1 - 0
| Barcelona (C2) (ESP)
| City Ground, Nottingham
|
Barcelona (ESP)
| 1 - 1
| Nottingham Forest (ENG)
| Camp Nou, Barcelona
|
| Nottingham Forest won 2-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1978
| Anderlecht (C2) (BEL)
| 3 - 1
| Liverpool (C1) (ENG)
| Parc Astrid, Brussels
|
Liverpool (ENG)
| 2 - 1
| Anderlecht (BEL)
| Anfield, Liverpool
|
| Anderlecht won 4-3 on aggregate
|
|
| 1977
| Hamburger SV (C2) (FRG)
| 1 - 1
| Liverpool (C1) (ENG)
| Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
|
Liverpool (ENG)
| 6 - 0
| Hamburger SV (FRG)
| Anfield, Liverpool
|
| Liverpool won 7-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1976
| Bayern Munich (C1) (FRG)
| 2 - 1
| Anderlecht (C2) (BEL)
| Olympiastadion, Munich
|
Anderlecht (BEL)
| 4 - 1
| Bayern Munich (FRG)
| Parc Astride, Brussels
|
| Anderlecht won 5-3 on aggregate
|
|
| 1975
| Bayern Munich (C1) (FRG)
| 0 - 1
| FC Dynamo Kiev (C2) (URS)
| Olympiastadion, Munich
|
FC Dynamo Kiev (URS)
| 2 - 0
| Bayern Munich (FRG)
| Republican Stadium, Kiev
|
| FC Dynamo Kiev won 3-0 on aggregate
|
|
| 1974
| NOT HELD Bayern Munich (FRG) (C1) vs FC Magdeburg (GDR) (C2)
|
| Not held for political reasons
|
| 1973
| A.C. Milan (C2) (ITA)
| 1 - 0
| Ajax (C1) (NED)
| San Siro, Milan
|
Ajax (NED)
| 6 - 0
| A.C. Milan (ITA)
| Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam
|
| Ajax won 6-1 on aggregate
|
|
| 1972
| Rangers (C2) (SCO)
| 1 - 3
| Ajax (C1) (NED)
| Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
|
Ajax (NED)
| 3 - 2
| Rangers (SCO)
| De Meer Stadium, Amsterdam
|
| Ajax won 6-3 on aggregate
|
|
Performance by nation
| Nation |
Winners |
Losing finalists |
Winning clubs |
| 8 | 3 | A.C. Milan (4), Juventus (2), Parma (1), Lazio (1) |
| 7 | 5 | Liverpool (3), Chelsea (1), Manchester United (1), Aston Villa (1), Nottingham Forest (1) |
| 5 | 6 | Barcelona (2), Valencia (2), Real Madrid (1) |
| 3 | 3 | Ajax (3) |
| 3 | 0 | Anderlecht (2), KV Mechelen (1) |
| 1 | 2 | Porto (1) |
| 1 | 1 | Aberdeen (1) |
| 1 | 1 | Dinamo Kiev (1) |
| 1 | 0 | Steaua Bucharest (1) |
| 1 | 0 | Galatasaray (1) |
| 0 | 7 | - |
| 0 | 1 | - |
| 0 | 1 | - |
| 0 | 1 | - |
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