The Spanish Supercup, the first clasico of the season, and the first of a new era for Barcelona, doesn't really matter. At least not according to the two men in the media spotlight. Both Jose Mourinho and Tito Vilanova have been busy the past few days painting the two-legged traditional season opener as little more than a glorified friendly, which it is, even if this year it is not the curtain raiser after the Liga authorities decided to get the ball rolling on August 18, when temperatures in many regions barely dip below 30 degrees at 3 a.m.

The searing heat in Madrid contributed to Real's lackluster performance against Valencia at the weekend, which ended 1-1, while the slightly cooler climes of Barcelona bore witness to a 5-1 thrashing of Real Sociedad by Vilanova's team.

Relations between the clubs since Pep Guardiola's former assistant took over have thawed considerably during the Spanish summer, despite the unsavory incident between the current coaches of both sides during last season's Supercup; Mourinho gouged Vilanova and the then-Barca number two responded with a restrained shove, drawing a grin from Mourinho, perhaps because had Vilanova knocked the Portuguese into the next Supercup, many would have turned an eye as temporarily blind as that with which the Real boss left Guardiola's number two.

In his first pair of seasons at Real, Mourinho delighted in provoking his Catalan counterpart, eventually extracting a foul-mouthed tirade from Guardiola in the bowels of the Bernabeu. Mourinho has always been a cool customer, content in his own belief in his abilities. The equally combative Alex Ferguson, who the Portuguese had been long-ordained to succeed both as Manchester United manager, would share a bottle of Portuguese red after a match between his side and Chelsea. But until he arrived in Madrid, Mourinho had never come across an opponent like Guardiola, who racked up 14 titles from 19 competitions contested in four years, including two Champions Leagues, the same number as Ferguson and the Portuguese over longer periods.

Furthermore, the Barca boss did it while being universally liked and lauded, equally for his persona and the football his team produced; a far cry from accusations of defensive, destructive tactics and arrogance aimed consistently at Mourinho.

But all that appears to have changed with the dawn of the Vilanova era. The latter has refused to be drawn into comment on last season's excesses, and Mourinho has claimed that Barca is Barca, whether Vilanova or Guardiola is in the dugout. "The same as always," he opined. "A great team with great players."

"It doesn't matter what the result is," Mourinho noted. "It doesn't have any bearing on the rest of the season, Last year we lost the Supercup but won the league while breaking records."

Vilanova, perhaps wary of a swift schooling from the more examined Mourinho, said it wouldn't be "the end of the world" if Barca loses. "I just want to try and enjoy this job, calmly."

Earlier this month, Mourinho also said he was a calmer person, more at ease with himself and with very little left to prove to a press pack ever-eager to feast on his every indiscretion.

However, a win over Barcelona, and one focused on on-field occurrences, would certainly keep the wolf from the door. In 12 attempts, Mourinho has only bettered the eternal rival twice. In a country where shouting more loudly than the person next to you is second only to football as the national sport, the Real coach will want to make his voice heard as early as possible, and if it is in the Nou Camp, so much the better. He said earlier this week that he had come to Madrid to break Barca's dominance, although he fell short of targeting hegemony, something he termed as signifying in his native tongue "winning the Champions League twice consecutively," a feat not achieved since Arrigo Sacchi's Milan did so in 1989 and 1990.

Neither side can match that feat this year, but the quest for the decima, Real's 10th European triumph, will be all-consuming. On the domestic front, Mourinho said he would happily swap the Supercup for another Liga victory, as was the case last year. Doubtless he would. Real's support is a superstitious collective, but the number 13 will lend them cheer for the upcoming clash. Leo Messi has been stumped on that number in terms of goals against Mourinho's team since the return leg of last season's Supercup, having failed to find the net in the four matches since.

It may not be important in its own right, but the Supercup gives Mourinho a golden chance to see how Vilanova's Barca compares to that of his erstwhile sparring partner, Guardiola. Hegemony in Europe means two straight titles to the Portuguese. Two Ligas would carry similar weight in La Liga. Another statistic the Bernabeu faithful may have noted; in 1978 Real signed exactly nobody, promoting two Castilla cadets to the first team, as it has so far this summer. Its league season also began against Valencia; It ended with Real atop the pile and Barcelona nine points adrift in fifth.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email