BARCELONA notched up their fifth Supercup title with a 6-5 aggregate win despite a 3-1 loss to league champions Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the final.
Under new English coach Bobby Robson, Barcelona entered the second leg with a 5-2 advantage from Sunday's game in Barcelona and opted for a defensive strategy.
The Catalan club, playing without their four foreign aces - Brazilian strikers Ronaldo and Giovanni and Portuguese goalkeeper Vitor Baia and defender Fernando Couto - saw their significant lead wane during the course of the game and ended up hanging on.
After a barrage of shots on goal, Atletico found the target in the 32nd minute when Jose Manuel Lopez tapped in from close range.
In the 58th minute, Barcelona defender Sergi Barjuan crossed to Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov who slipped it past Atletico goalkeeper Francisco Molina to make it 1-1 on the night.
But seven minutes later Atletico regained the lead when Argentine centre-forward Juan Esnaider, signed from Real Madrid, slid in to steer the ball home.
In the 75th minute, Atletico midfielder Yugoslav Milenko Pantic, who launched numerous attacks throughout the game, lifted a free kick over the defensive wall to give Atletico a 3-1 lead and leaving Barcelona with a one-goal overall advantage.