The short answer
The UEFA Super Cup began as a contest between Europe's leading club champions, but early winners received a plaque rather than a cup. After Aberdeen's 1983 victory, match delegate Jo van Marle proposed a proper trophy. Bertoni made the first cup presented in 1987. UEFA introduced a larger version in 2006: 58cm tall and 12.2kg, compared with the previous trophy's 42.5cm and 5kg. The basic twisted-base design remained.
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The match was invented before the prize
Dutch journalist Anton Witkamp proposed matching the European Cup winner against the Cup Winners’ Cup holder. Ajax and Rangers played an unofficial edition in 1972 before UEFA sanctioned the following contest.
Unlike UEFA’s established competitions, the new fixture had no winners’ cup. Champions received a plaque embossed with the UEFA emblem.
Aberdeen’s win prompted the proposal
After Aberdeen defeated Hamburg in the 1983 edition, second-leg delegate Jo van Marle suggested that the winners should receive a proper trophy. UEFA president Jacques Georges supported the idea.
Italian firm Bertoni produced the cup. It was first presented in 1987 to Steaua București captain Ștefan Iovan.
The original model was unusually small
The first trophy stood 42.5cm and weighed 5kg, making it the smallest and lightest of UEFA’s major club prizes.
Its design placed a classical bowl above a twisted base with two grasping arms. The form was retained even when UEFA later enlarged it.
The cup grew in 2006
Sevilla became the first club to lift the larger version in 2006. It measures 58cm and weighs 12.2kg—substantially more than the Champions League cup but less than the 15kg Europa League trophy.
The change adjusted scale, not competitive lineage.
The fixture also changed shape
The Super Cup was generally played over two legs until the late 1990s. It became a single match in Monaco in 1998 and later began rotating among European host cities.
After the Cup Winners’ Cup ended, the opponent of the Champions League holder became the UEFA Cup—and later Europa League—winner.
A trophy history is not the winners list
The competition began in the 1970s, the trophy arrived in 1987 and the present physical version arrived in 2006. Those are three separate dates.
Keeping them separate shows how an institution accumulates symbols. The Henri Delaunay Cup followed the reverse sequence: its first tournament already had a trophy, which UEFA later rebuilt at a larger scale.
Frequently asked questions
Did the first UEFA Super Cup winners receive a trophy?
No. Early winners received a UEFA plaque; the competition initially had no winners' cup.
When was a trophy first presented?
The Bertoni trophy was first presented in 1987 after Steaua București beat Dynamo Kyiv.
Who proposed creating the cup?
Dutch match delegate and future UEFA treasurer Jo van Marle proposed it after the 1983 edition.
When did the current larger version appear?
Sevilla first lifted the enlarged model in 2006.
How large is the current trophy?
UEFA lists it at 58 centimetres tall and 12.2 kilograms.
Who plays in the Super Cup now?
The UEFA Champions League winner plays the UEFA Europa League winner.