UEFA Super Cup

The UEFA Super Cup is an annual football match organized by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. It takes place at the start of the domestic season, in mid-August, normally on a Tuesday.

From 1972 to 1999, the UEFA Super Cup was contested between the winners of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and the winners of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. After the discontinuation of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, it has been contested by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the winners of the UEFA Cup, which was renamed the UEFA Europa League in 2009.

The current holders are Spanish club Barcelona, who won 5–4 against Sevilla in 2015. The most successful teams in the competition are Barcelona and Italian side Milan, who have each won the trophy five times.

History

The European Super Cup was created in 1971 by Anton Witkamp, a reporter and later sports editor of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The idea came to him in a time when 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.

Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo ˈramoz ɣarˈθi.a]; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Spain national football team. He serves as captain for Real Madrid. A central defender, he can also play as a right back, a position he primarily fulfilled earlier in his career.

After emerging through Sevilla's youth academy, Ramos went on to be a mainstay for Real Madrid. He won ten major honours for the latter, also being one of La Liga's top scorers from a defensive position.

Internationally Ramos played with the Spanish national team in three World Cups and two European Championships, winning the former tournament in 2010 and the latter in 2008 and 2012. He made his first appearance at the age of 18 and, in 2013, he became the youngest player to ever reach 100 caps.

Club career

Sevilla

Born in Camas, Seville, Andalusia, Ramos began his career at local side Sevilla FC, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Francisco Gallardo in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña.

Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or five times, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden Shoes. With Barcelona he has won seven La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, as well as three Copa del Rey titles. A prolific goalscorer, Messi holds the records for most goals scored in La Liga (299), a La Liga season (50), a calendar year (91), a Champions League match (five), and most Champions League seasons (five).

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a feat he repeated the following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins.