Tuesday 10 January 2023 – 2.14 pm
RIYADH, January 10 / WAM / For the second consecutive and third overall, the activities of the Spanish Super Cup soccer tournament will start tomorrow (Wednesday) in the stadiums of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the “King Fahd” The International Stadium in the capital, Riyadh, will host the activities of the new version of the tournament in the coming days. .
Real Madrid, holders of the Spanish league and runners-up of Barcelona, and Real Betis, holders of the Copa del Rey and runners-up of Valencia will participate in the tournament.
Saudi stadiums hosted the tournament in the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 editions, and Real Madrid won the title in both editions.
Of course, Real Madrid are eager to repeat it in the new edition, which starts tomorrow, with the match against Valencia in the semi-finals, but this time they will face stiff competition from the rest of the tournament participants, especially from Barcelona, who will meet Real Betis in their second semi-final match on Thursday.
Barcelona, in turn, are eager to regain the title – which they have lost in the last 3 copies – knowing that the team holds the record for the number of title wins with 13 titles, one title ahead to Real Madrid, while Valencia won the championship title once in 1999 and flirts with the dream of the first title, Betis. .
Real Madrid are going through the Super Cup competitions in a difficult climate, as the team lost the match against Villarreal in the Spanish league, to withdraw from the competition with Barcelona at the top of the competition table, who are sole 3 points ahead .
Real Madrid are suffering from injuries to their players Aurelien Tchoamini and David Alaba, while Barcelona can benefit from their Polish striker Robert Lewandowski in league matches, as the veteran’s 3-match ban does not apply to Super Cup matches.
Valencia, for its part, is leading the championship business after two consecutive defeats in the Spanish championship, which froze their balance at 19 points, in 11th place in the standings.
On the other hand, Betis restored the tone of victories in the Spanish league before heading to Riyadh after defeating Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league to occupy fourth place in the competition table, which gives them a good morale boost before facing Barcelona, while Real Madrid’s match against Valencia tomorrow will be an opportunity for both teams to heal the wounds of the defeat in the local championship.
And after the activities of the Super Cup in the past were limited to a decisive clash between the champions of the League and the Spanish King’s Cup, the agreement and the contract concluded to hold the tournament in Saudi stadiums from the 2019-2020 season have arrived change the system of tournaments that will take place in two rounds (semi-finals and finals) with the participation of the league and cup champions and their runners-up.
The league fixtures come this time after the uproar surrounding the recent transfer of Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi outfit Al-Nasr, who years ago were one of the most visible stars of Real Madrid and the Spanish league.
Asim Al-Khouli / Ahmed Zahran
