Spanish Super Cup 2012: Barcelona Will Set Tone for Season with Win over Madrid

This year’s first edition of El Clásico will take place in the 2012 Spanish Super Cup and it will feature an impressive performance from Barcelona as they embark on their mission to regain dominance over their archrivals, Real Madrid.

The Super Cup pits the reigning La Liga champions against the winners of the Copa Del Rey. Winning Spain’s domestic tournament was not enough for Barça to consider their previous campaign a success after losing the league title to Madrid and being eliminated in the Champions League semifinal.

These disappointing results convinced the club’s management to move on from Pep Guardiola and hand control of the team over to Tito Vilanova.

Thursday’s already tense rivalry match will have another dimension as the last time these two clubs met in this fixture, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho poked Vilanova in the eye during a bench-clearing scuffle.

But the newly appointed Barcelona coach will have no shortage of talent to put on the pitch, and his incredibly talented and motivated side will be too much for Madrid.

Barça’s only discernable weakness on paper prior to this summer was at outside back, where they did not have a reliable player to put opposite Dani Alves. But the team signed former youth product Jordi Alba back from Valencia for €14 million, and this is no longer a worry. 

Seydou Keita’s exit caused the team minor concerns over depth in the center of the pitch, but those concerns were fixed when the club shelled out £15 million for Arsenal’s Alex Song. The Cameroonian will appear for the team in the Super Cup, according to ESPN. 

Both players are extremely effective in their respective roles and will add to the stacked Barça lineup.

Under Villanova, the signature tiki taka style will be just as prevalent as it has been in the past, and the Catalan club will be especially intent on passing their rivals to death in the Super Cup. 

Barcelona will not go a second season without winning La Liga or Champions League and they will look to start Vilanova’s tenure off on the right foot by convincingly dispatching with Real Madrid.

Lionel Messi is coming off a fantastic string of games for Argentina, while players like Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique will be full of confidence from Spain’s victory at Euro 2012.

Barcelona is supremely talented and their players are in excellent form. They will be motivated and thirsty for revenge against Madrid, and this will lead to an impressive victory at Camp Nou.