Translated material
Chronicle
The Spanish football club Barcelona won the match for the European Super Cup against the last UEFA Cup winner Shakhtar Donetsk - 1:0. The only goal on the poor-quality pitch at the Louis II Stadium in the Principality of Monaco was scored by Pedro, who did it five minutes before the end of extra time. The Spaniard, on the corner of the Pitmen's penalty area, played a two-play with the Argentinean Messi and accurately fired into the corner far from Shakhtar goalkeeper Pyatov. It is interesting that defender Dmitry Chigrinsky, who played for the Ukrainian team, will soon be in the ranks of Barcelona. An agreement was reached between the clubs on his transfer for 25 million euros.
Barcelona, under head coach Josep Guardiola, won their fifth trophy in a row, winning all the most important official tournaments in which they participate - the national championship, the Royal Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League and now the European Super Cup.
The history of the continental Super Cup dates back to 1972. Until the 1997 season inclusive, the owner of the trophy was determined in two matches (home and away), and then the winners of European tournaments sorted things out among themselves in Monaco. Italian Milan has the largest number of titles - five. Barcelona, after its success in Monaco, matched the achievements of the English Liverpool - three victories each. Let us remind you that last season the Super Cup was won for the first time by a Russian club - Zenit St. Petersburg.
Vuelta prologue won by Cancellara
Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara (Tim Saxo Bank) showed the best time in the prologue of the season's third Grand Tour stage race, the Vuelta.
The Spanish race started outside the country for the second time in history - the prologue took place in the Dutch city of Assen. At a distance of 4.5 km, Cancellara was nine seconds ahead of the second prize-winner, Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step), and third-place American Tyler Farrar (Slipstream) was 12 seconds behind the Swiss. Alexander Vinokurov from Kazakhstan's Astana, who returned to the peloton after a two-year absence, finished with the seventh time - 18 seconds deficit. There are three Russians in the Vuelta caravan. They didn’t win any laurels at the start of the Vuelta. Alexander Efimkin (AG2R) - 86th, Alexander Kolobnev (Tim Saxo Bank) - 157th, Eduard Vorganov (Galicia) - 160th.