UEFA Super Cup
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 it is generally regarded as a minor event, with the Champions League and UEFA Cup winners not always fielding their strongest sides; 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 four 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 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 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. Everton are in talks with UEFA to have a legends game in August against Juventus, with the winners claiming the 1985 trophy. The two clubs in question would have contested for the cup in 1985; had the game gone ahead.
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.
European Super Cup finals
Single match finals
Real Madrid  | 0 - 1 |  Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Poyet 81' |
| Manchester United | 0 - 1 |  Lazio |
|---|---|---|
| Salas 35' |
| Real Madrid | 1 - 2 a.e.t. |  Galatasaray |
|---|---|---|
| Raúl (pen) 79' | Jardel (pen) 41', 103' |
Bayern Munich  | 2 - 3 | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Salihamidžić 57' Jancker 81' |
Riise 22' Heskey 45' Owen 46' |
| Real Madrid | 3 - 1 |  Feyenoord |
|---|---|---|
| Paauwe (o.g) 15' Roberto Carlos 21' Guti 60' |
van Hooijdonk 56' |
| Milan | 1 - 0 |  Porto |
|---|---|---|
| Shevchenko 10' |
| Liverpool | 3 - 1 a.e.t. |  CSKA Moscow |
|---|---|---|
| Cissé 82', 103' García 109' |
Carvalho 28' |
Two-legged finals
- aet - after extra time
- (C1) refers to entrants from the European Cup or Champions League
- (C2) refers to entrants from the Cup Winners' Cup
- (C3) refers to entrants from the UEFA or Fairs Cup
Performance by nation
| Nation | Winners | Losing finalists | Winning clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
 Italy
|
8 | 3 | A.C. Milan (4), Juventus (2), Parma (1), Lazio (1) |
 England
|
7 | 5 | Liverpool (3), Chelsea (1), Manchester United (1), Aston Villa (1), Nottingham Forest (1) |
 Spain
|
6 | 7 | Barcelona (2), Valencia (2), Real Madrid (1), Sevilla (1) |
 Netherlands
|
3 | 3 | Ajax (3) |
 Belgium
|
3 | 0 | Anderlecht (2), KV Mechelen (1) |
 Portugal
|
1 | 2 | Porto (1) |
 Scotland
|
1 | 1 | Aberdeen (1) |
 Ukraine
|
1 | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv (1) |
 Romania
|
1 | 0 | Steaua Bucharest (1) |
 Turkey
|
1 | 0 | Galatasaray (1) |
 Germany
|
0 | 7 | |
 France
|
0 | 1 | |
.svg){kind=small} Yugoslavia
|
0 | 1 | |
 Russia
|
0 | 1 |
By Club
| Team | Winners | Runners-Up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AC Milan |
4 | 2 |
| 2 | Liverpool F.C. |
3 | 2 |
| 3 | AFC Ajax |
3 | 1 |
| 4 | FC Barcelona |
2 | 4 |
| 5 | Valencia CF |
2 | 0 |
| Juventus |
2 | 0 | |
 Anderlecht |
2 | 0 | |
| 7 | FC Porto |
1 | 2 |
| Real Madrid |
1 | 2 | |
| 9 | Manchester United |
1 | 1 |
| Nottingham Forest |
1 | 1 | |
 Dynamo Kyiv |
1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Chelsea |
1 | 0 |
| Aston Villa |
1 | 0 | |
 Aberdeen |
1 | 0 | |
 Steaua Bucharest |
1 | 0 | |
| KV Mechelen |
1 | 0 | |
| AC Parma |
1 | 0 | |
| Lazio |
1 | 0 | |
| Galatasaray |
1 | 0 | |
| Sevilla FC |
1 | 0 | |
| 21 | Bayern Munich |
0 | 3 |
| 22 | HSV |
0 | 2 |
| 23 | Feyenoord |
0 | 1 |
| PSV |
0 | 1 | |
| Borussia Dortmund |
0 | 1 | |
| Rangers |
0 | 1 | |
| Real Zaragoza |
0 | 1 | |
| Werder Bremen |
0 | 1 | |
| Sampdoria |
0 | 1 | |
 Crvena Zvezda |
0 | 1 | |
 PSG |
0 | 1 | |
| CSKA Moscow |
0 | 1 |