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The revamped competition has begun in the Middle East this week, but the Blaugrana coach isn’t happy about its motivations
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is yet to be convinced by financially motivated changes made to the Supercopa, conceding he prefers the previous format.
The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term’s one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.
Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa – meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.
Many have criticised RFEF’s decision to take the competition to Saudi Arabia and Valverde suggested he favours the old format with the new version created only to make money.
“The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income,” Valverde said ahead of Barca’s semi-final against Atletico on Thursday.
“That’s the reason we are all here.
“It’s a completely different format to what we’re used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me that seemed fine.
“It’s been changed and let’s see, it will be judged once it has happened. It’s interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I’m not sure.
“We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year.”
Barca’s preparations for Thursday’s match have not gone particularly well, however, as Wednesday’s news conference was delayed significantly after their team bus got lost in Jeddah.
Valverde was due to speak at Al-Ittihad Sport City, but their driver set off for the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, where the two semi-finals – the first of which is set for Wednesday – will take place.
Their bus then became lost in traffic between the two venues, which are approximately 40 miles apart.
The winner of Barca and Atletico will play Real Madrid in the final on Sunday.