Last Updated: 31/05/17 7:12am
Manchester United’s Europa League victory not only means Champions League football next season for Jose Mourinho’s men but it’s also landed them a spot in the UEFA Super Cup final – here’s all you need to know.
What’s the Super Cup?
The UEFA Super Cup is the trophy contested each year by the winners of the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United have already booked their place in the showpiece and are awaiting their opponents with Juventus playing Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Cardiff on June 3.
Defender Dani Carvajal scored right at the end of extra-time as Real Madrid beat Spanish rivals Sevilla in a dramatic Super Cup last season.
When?
The fixture is due to take place on Tuesday, August 8, just a few days before the start of the new Premier League season.
Where?
Mourinho and his Europa League winners will need to travel 1,237 miles to Skopje’s National Arena (Philip II Arena) in Macedonia, as the country host their first European club final. Just over a three-hour flight away, Macedonia shares land borders with four countries, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia. With pre-season firmly on the agenda at that time of year, players can expect a tough workout in heat that normally averages around 32° for mid-August.
The stadium is the home ground of FK Vardar and FK Rabotnički and has a capacity of just over 33,000.
Previous form?
United have won the UEFA Super Cup just once before, overcoming then European champions Red Star Belgrade courtesy of a Brian McClair goal in 1991. In a spooky parallel with the modern day, that was Sir Alex Ferguson’s third trophy as United manager as it would be Mourinho’s were United to triumph in Macedonia.
The Red Devils also made the Super Cup finals in 1999 and 2008 but lost to Lazio and Zenit respectively.
