Seven Spanish Super Cup debutants
The first title of the season is here. Between Wednesday 7 and Sunday 11 January, Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona will contest this year’s Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. With the aim of lifting the first trophy of the campaign, Hansi Flick has named a 24-man squad to travel east. Among them are seven players who will be experiencing this tournament for the first time.
Joan Garcia debuts
One of Barça’s main talking points ahead of the trip is in goal. Joan Garcia never featured in the tournament during his time at Espanyol and will be contesting it for the first time. Now firmly established in the side, Garcia travels to Jeddah in strong form after a run of assured performances, including the one against his former club at the weekend, and Barça will look to him as they begin their Super Cup campaign.
Bernal available
Marc Bernal could also make his first appearance in the tournament. The midfielder travelled with the squad last season, when Barça went on to lift the trophy, but was unavailable after failing to receive medical clearance following a serious knee injury. A year on, the Berga native is fully fit and available, with the chance at last to feature in the competition.
Rashford: from Community Shield to Super Cup
In attack, two players are set for their debuts: Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji. For Rashford, it marks another step in his first season outside England. The forward does arrive with experience of similar occasions, having won the Community Shield (the English equivalent) with Manchester United in 2016/17, beating Leicester City 2–1.
Roony's first
Bardghji is in a similar position, playing outside Denmark for the first time after beginning his career at Copenhagen. Unlike Rashford, he has no Super Cup experience to draw on, with the competition no longer held in Denmark since 2004.
Youth players
Three Barça Atlètic players (Dro Fernández, Tommy Marqués and Jofre Torrents) also feature in the travelling squad. All three have trained regularly with the first team in recent weeks and will remain involved as Barça chase the season’s first trophy.
Barça's Jeddah adventure begins against Athletic Club in Wednesday’s semi-final (8pm CET).