Spanish Super Cup
Pedri keen to extend Barcelona’s Super Cup record
The midfielder spoke ahead of this year’s tournament which kicks off in Jeddah on Wednesday.
While it’s reasonable to say that the Spanish Super Cup is quite low on the list of priorities for most of the teams taking part in this year’s edition (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca and Athletic Club), winning any trophy breeds confidence - that’s how Barça’s Pedri sees it.
The midfielder admitted on Monday that the Spanish Super Cup, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia “is a super nice title” that “is very good for building confidence within the team” and winning it “could shape how the rest of the season pans out”.
Confidence builder
“Winning the Super Cup, I think, is a great title. It’s halfway through the season and I think it’s a title that, when it comes to giving confidence to the team, is very good, halfway through the season and that’s key to facing the next matches,” the midfielder, who lifted the trophy in 2023 - his only Super Cup triumph, explained.
Pedri added that he remembers the 2023 final “very well” - he scored the team’s third goal in the 1-3 victory against Real Madrid, bringing up the blaugrana’s 14th title. “I also remember the great game that Gavi played, I think it was tremendous. I had a great time, I enjoyed the celebration on the field too,” he recalled.
Spanish Super Cup titles
- 14 Barcelona
- 13 Real Madrid
- 3 Athletic Club
- 3 Deportivo
- 2 Atlético Madrid
- 1 Real Sociedad
- 1 Valencia
- 1 Sevilla
- 1 Zaragoza
- 1 Mallorca
As for this year’s tournament, Barcelona will face the current Copa del Rey champions Athletic Club in the semi-final on Wednesday.
The two clubs have met four times in the Super Cup final - the most recent in 2021 which the Basque side won in extra-time.
“Athletic has a great team, it has differential players and it will be a difficult match. It is true that we have already beaten them this season (2-1 in LaLiga in August) and we want to repeat it, but it will be quite different to what we have already experienced,” he concluded.