Cardiff plays hosts the European football season’s traditional curtain-raiser for the first time as Champions League winners Real Madrid take on Europa League champions Sevilla in an all-Spanish UEFA Super Cup, live on ITV4 and Sky Sports 5.
The Spanish rivals meet at the Cardiff City Stadium to contest the annual clash between the winners of the two major UEFA club competitions which is being held earlier this year, in mid-August, the first time the fixture has not been held in the last week of August since its move to Monaco at the end of the 1990’s.
After 15 editions at Monaco’s Stade Louis II between 1998 and 2012, the venue for the annual meeting of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League winners now changes every year, with Prague’s Eden Stadium having the honour last season.
Now it is the Welsh capital’s turn to host their first UEFA showpiece match as the La Liga rivals each aim to win the Super Cup trophy for the second time in their history and add another coveted European trophy to their collection of silverware.
Real Madrid ended their long wait to win a 10th European Cup when they beat city neighbours Atletico Madrid in a thrilling Champions League final back in May.
Since then, Real have wasted little time adding to their already star-studded squad with the signings of Toni Kroos and Colombian World Cup star James Rodriguez joining a team packed with star names across the pitch.
The Super Cup in Wales will give an opportunity for Real star and proud Welshman Gareth Bale, the world’s most expensive footballer, to add another medal to his list of honours and all on home soil.
In his debut season with the Spanish club and under the gaze of all the hype and attention following his big money summer move a year ago, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was part of the team which won the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, scoring in both finals and helping Carlo Ancelotti’s men win two valuable pieces of silverware.
Bale would be looking for another success with Real on Tuesday, particularly on home soil. Despite never representing his local side Cardiff City, having started his professional career with Southampton before moving to Tottenham, Bale has scored four goals in ten appearances for Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Sevilla beat Benfica on penalties to win the Europa League and are aiming to cause another upset in the Super Cup having defeated Real’s arch rivals Barcelona in the same fixture back in 2006.
Unai Emery’s side will be hoping to register what would be a significant victory over the La Liga giants going into their league campaign which starts in just under two weeks time.
ITV Sport will screen live free-to-air coverage of the 2014 UEFA Super Cup from the Cardiff City Stadium on ITV4 and ITV4 HD on Tuesday, August 12.
Matt Smith presents the channel’s coverage from the stadium with analysis and expert comment from Wales manager Chris Colemand and Scotland boss Gordon Strachan, while match commentary comes from Sam Matterface and Andy Townsend.
Live streaming of ITV4’s coverage can be accessed via ITV Player – itv.com/itvplayer/itv4 – available on laptops and tablet devices and on the ITV Player app.
Alongside live TV coverage and online streaming, viewers can also follow the action live on itv.com/football and on Twitter via @itvfootball, which has in-match video clips of all the goals and major incidents, live text commentary, social media updates and live stats.
ITV4’s coverage of the fixture will also be made available on-demand via ITV Player for up to 30 days after transmission.
Sky Sports will also be screening the 2014 UEFA Super Cup from Cardiff in what will be the first live game on its new European football channel – Sky Sports 5.
Launching at 6.00pm on the night of the Super Cup fixture, the first ever UK television channel dedicated solely to European football kicks off with the all-Spanish affair at the Cardiff City Stadium, the first of 600 live matches throughout the season.
Sky Sports are also host broadcasters for the fixture and Jeff Stelling will introduce coverage from Cardiff, featuring a near two-hour build-up, alongside special guests including former Dutch ace Ronald De Boer, who lifted the 1995 Super Cup with Ajax.
He’ll be on hand to dissect the action alongside regular Sky Sports expert Graeme Souness and newly-appointed QPR coach Glenn Hoddle for the showpiece contest, with match commentary coming from Martin Tyler and Alan Smith.
Showcasing some of the continent’s best players, teams and competitions, Sky Sports 5 will be the home of the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Dutch Eredivisie and UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers featuring the Home Nations (except England).
Sky Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Super Cup will be available to watch online to subscribers via Sky Go and on the newly enhanced Sky Sports for iPad app.
The 2014 UEFA Super Cup will be the last to simulcast by ITV and Sky Sports, under their current three-year UEFA deal which expires at the end of this season, as BT Sport takes over exclusive live rights to all UEFA club competitions from the 2015/16 season onwards.
Live coverage of the 2015 UEFA Super Cup will be broadcast by BT Sport, while terrestrial highlights of the fixture will still air on ITV from 2015 to 2017.
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Tuesday 12th August
UEFA SUPER CUP 2014: REAL MADRID v SEVILLA
Kick-off: 19:45 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
LIVE: 7.30pm-10.05pm ITV4 6.00pm-10.30pm Sky Sports 5
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