The All Spanish contest in Tblisi underlines the Strength of Spanish football at the moment.
Barcelona come to this cup competition as the Treble winners and the Champions of Europe.
Sevilla on the other hand, won the Europa League and solidified Spain’s stronghold in Europe last season.
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic believes they are good enough to win the Super Cup and start defending their European and domestic title and thinks that a win against Sevilla could be the first step in doing that.
Rakitic is a former Sevilla player who moved to Camp Nou in 2014 and has played a significant part in Luis Enrique’s team on their way to conquer all available trophies last season.
“Nobody wants to do that more than we do,” he said. “But we have to take things each step at a time. And the first chance is on Tuesday in Tbilisi. We are confident in ourselves and in our strengths. We’ll work even harder than we did last year. But we know that there will be hard times this season too.
“We’ve got a strong team and I just try to be myself. I like taking on responsibilities, as I have done at all the clubs I’ve played for. My role won’t change because Xavi has gone. I am Rakitic and I provide my own virtues.”
Whole Rakitic is bullish about Barça’s chances, Sevilla’s Michael Krohn-Dehli, downplays his team’s chances.
“Maybe yes, maybe no. We will find out after the game,” he said. “It’s true that with so many new players we need a bit of time to adapt and get to know each other. In any case, we are ready to go out and play well and we want to win.
“They [Barca] have won the league, the cup and the Champions League. However, last season as a Celta player I was able to win at Camp Nou. In a game you always have a chance.”
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