FC Barcelona could collect its first trophy of the season in the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club. However, any excitement for that trophy wouldn’t erase the disappointment of the real trophy that was supposed to come this month – a new president. Instead, Ronald Koeman learned like the rest of us that the election is being pushed to March 7th and reinforcements aren’t expected in January. So if Koeman is able to win any trophies other than the Supercopa, if Barcelona do indeed win that one, it will be with the squad he has now.
That squad against Athletic Club for the final may or may have Lionel Messi in it; everything hinges on the Argentine’s availability. Messi is the all-time difference-maker in the competition with 14 goals, double that of Raúl in second. Just in the Spanish Super Cup, Messi has already put Athletic Club to the sword, back in 2009:
More recently, Athletic Club decimated the Blaugrana 4-0 in the first leg back in 2015 at the San Mamés. They captured their first trophy in 31 years with the 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou. The recently retired Aritz Aduriz scored four goals across the two legs as Ernesto Valverde outclassed Luis Enrique on the touchline. In Luis Enrique’s defense, this was a team coming off a treble, so some hangover was expected.
In 2021, only Óscar de Marcos, Mikel Balenziaga, back-up goalkeeper Iago Herrerín, and utility defender Iñigo Lekue are still around. For Barcelona, Marc-André ter Stegen and Sergio Busquets should be in the starting line-up like they were six year ago. They could be joined by Messi, with Sergi Roberto and Gerard Piqué missing out. Those five are the only holdovers for the Blaugrana.
In fact, the Athletic Club that Barcelona will face in the final is already a different side than the one they beat two weeks ago in Marcelino’s first game in charge. The only result since then for the Basque side was the 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the other semi-final, but it was a confidence-building win. They didn’t control the game at all, but defense and effort were off the charts and their game without the ball got the job done.
Culers may have enjoyed watching Raúl García bag a brace against Real Madrid, but he’ll be back to being one of the Blaugrana’s least favorites players to play against. His partnership will Iñaki Williams could get Athletic Club over the line, but the thankless job of the central midfielders is what got them past Madrid.
Unai Simón was poor against Barcelona in the 3-2 loss in La Liga, but he was much more assured in the Super Cup. Meanwhile, Dani García and Unai Vencedor, plus Mikel Vesga off the bench, were much more disciplined with that extra time to understand Marcelino’s instructions in the middle of the park.
With or without Messi, it would be no surprise if Athletic Club takes Barcelona to penalties, where anything can happen. With the uncertainty surrounding the club, a trophy would mean a lot of Culers and to Ronald Koeman’s job security.
Expected line-ups:
Barcelona (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Alba, Lenglet, Araújo, Dest; Busquets, de Jong, Pedri; Dembélé, Braithwaite, Griezmann
Athletic Club (4-4-2): Simón; Berchiche, Martínez, Núñez, Capa; Vencedor, García, Berenguer, Muniain; Williams, García
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
