UEFA Super Cup | Pearcey's Blog

So it’s the third game of the season, a season where I’m trying to get around Welsh football as much as possible, so why would I go to a game between the winners of the best club competition in the World versus the winner of the second best cup competition in Europe, both of which happen to be Spanish sides? Well, because it’s in Cardiff!

The 39th UEFA Super Cup was announced to be played at Cardiff City Stadium, rather than the Millennium Stadium for reasons I don’t entirely understand, in June 1012, becoming only the 3rd stadium to host the match since it became a one-off game at a neutral venue in 1998 (Monaco had hosted it ever year before Prague last year). Ever since that announcement I decided I wanted to go, and was lucky enough to get two tickets for myself and my Dad through the UEFA ballot, single-handedly dispelling the myth that you needed a MasterCard to get tickets. £40 to watch Real Madrid, probably the biggest and best club side in the World, with currently one of the best teams they’ve ever assembled. Oh, and Sevilla.

So, with an entire day off from work and other civic duties, I was convinced by my mate Lewis to go with him and other gullible man Ellis, to the Vale Hotel just outside Cardiff, where the Real Madrid team were staying. Fortunately we weren’t the only freaks stood outside for a glimpse of Ronaldo applying his fake tan, or Bale putting his alice band on. Unfortunately, we didn’t even see Karim Benzema tucking into his Coco Pops, all we were blessed with was former defender and now coach Fernando Hierro walking around and Carlo Ancelotti having a cigarette in the distance. We spent the rest of the morning watching Cardiff City train while sheltering under a tree, while a few of the Cardiff Blues players who went on tour with Wales over the summer did shuttle runs.

Mr Ancelotti looking like a sad hamster

A carvery lunch later it was into Cardiff Centre to look for some Spanish people, and we weren’t disappointed! There were a fair few Real and Seville fans on Queen Street, and more outside St. David’s Hall where there was a kind of Spanish band playing Bamboleo and La Bamba on a loop. But that was nothing compared to St. Mary’s Street, where Sevilla had taken over The Cottage pub in their hundreds, and Real Madrid had camped outside the Goat Major. Singing songs and taken pictures wearing policeman’s helmets, something Spanish people seem to be obsessed with, giving the Centre a real good atmosphere, especially when we sat outside The Yard just up St. Mary’s Street, via Wetherspoons. Anyway, after meeting my Dad for a ‘cheeky Nandos’ we got on the free bus very generously provided by Cardiff Bus and headed out to Leckwith.

Sevilla fans enjoy Cardiff

Predictably, the Cardiff Bus started running late so we ditched it outside the Ninian Pub and walked the rest of the way to the Stadium, aka LegoLand. I have to say, from the outside UEFA had done a great job making CCS look presentable, with some mahoosive signs, and also a non-UEFA alteration is the addition of a new tier on top of the Ninian Stand, a change made since I stopped going to Cardiff games last year, and my home for the night. Having walked a bit of the way around to the front of the stadium we noticed the massive queues outside two of the gates going into the Canton Stand so decided to get around to our gate quickly to make sure we made it in on time, here’s the contrast in what we found…

The queue for a gate looping round the back of the buses and all the way back….

…meanwhile, at our gate…..

So we were in the stadium a bit earlier than anticipated, and just as well as we climbed the steps up to the new top tier, bringing back bad memories of the Amsterdam ArenA. Too many steps and some heavy breathing later, we were at the new top tier, which brought with it a great view of Cardiff, no beer, and some seriously overpriced food. Welcome to a UEFA special occasion! Anyway, we took our seats in row B, and admired a pretty decent view of a UEFA Final.

Wahay it’s me!

So onto the small matter of the game, Real Madrid v Sevilla. Los Merengues, as they’re known on Football Manager, got to Cardiff via Lisbon where they completed La Decima, their 10th European Cup, cementing their place as the greatest club side in World football. Although many thought it was impossible, they even managed to strengthen their squad over the summer, signing Costa Rican World Cup keeper, Kaylor Navas, World Cup top scorer, James Rodriguez, and World Cup winner, Toni Kroos. Sir Alex Ferguson once wrote ‘You should never sign a player on the back of a World Cup performance’, I think these three break that rule. Meanwhile, I realised after the team announcement that I’d never really heard of any of the Sevilla players, except Jose Antonio Reyes, who I once saw play for Arsenal in 2006, back in the Cardiff days. They came to Cardiff after beating Benfica in Turin to win their third Europa League in eight years, and condemning the Portugese side to their third Europa League Final loss.

After an almost impressive opening ceremony featuring some weird dance moves and one of the ‘D’s in Real Madrid being the wrong way round, the teams finally made it onto the pitch and the game got underway. Real dominated early on, new signings Kroos and Rodriguez joining Modric to create the world’s most technically gifted midfield, which attempted to feed the world’s most exciting strikeforce of Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema. A number of early crosses and attempted killer passes were cut out by the Sevilla defence though, who looked to try and launch counter attacks, hinging all their hopes on front man Carlos Bacca running past all the Real defence and beating Casillas. Madrid’s best chances early on came from hometown boy Bale, first of all a deflected shot going just wide, and then drawing a good save from Beto with an outside of the foot half volley. We started with Ronaldo cutting in from the left and attempting shots or winning free-kicks, but it was on the half hour mark when Ronaldo and Bale switched wings that the break through came. The Welshman put over an inch-perfect cross to the far post for Cristiano to poke home, as the most expensive wing attack in the World combined to break the deadlock. Sevilla did have their chance to equalise not long before half-time though, as Rodriguez found himself in the left-back position on his own deadball line, panicked a fair bit and ended up slicing his clearance straight into the box, for Daniel Carrico to outmuscle Sergio Ramos and draw a good save from Casillas, keeping his starting spot for this game probably due to the fact he played in the Champions League for Real last season. 1-0 at half-time, with Madrid largely in the driving seat, but anything could happen in a Final!

Ronaldo celebrates his first-half strike…

…leaving Real to go in 1-0 up at HT

The second half had hardly begun when Real were already 2-0 up, through that man Ronaldo again. Benzema picked the ball in the middle of Seville’s half and played a perfect revers ball to the World Player of the Year to fire past Beto, who may have been slightly disappointed he didn’t save the shot considering he got two hands to it. He does kick the ball hard though. Beto did redeem himself however, making a smart stop from Benzema before an even better one denied Rodriguez a debut goal. Meanwhile at the other end, moments after my Dad and questioned whether Casillas had made a save in the second half, he was called into action to deny Krychowiak. There was just time left very late in the game for keepers to influence the game as Casillas cleared a number of successive Sevilla corners with punches, one launched a Real counter attack with Bale nearly capping off a perfect night for him and his club, but for Beto again with a fine save. That was the last play of the game as English referee Mark Clattenburg, who had an excellent night, blew the final whistle, and Madrid lifted the Super Cup for number one of what they hope could be six trophies this season.

A deserved win on the night, but it could’ve been a terrible game and I would’ve enjoyed it. In years to come I can say ‘I was there’ when they talk about the Real Madrid team coming to Cardiff, and also my favourite UEFA bald guy from the draws! Hopefully Cardiff’s hosting abilities were viewed favourably by UEFA and Wales reach the ultimate goal of becoming a UEFA 2020 host city. Until then, I return to CCS for Wales games in October, in the hope we might qualify for Euro 2016, ‘hope’ being the key word.