Tito passes with honors his first test against Mou

The Super Cup, contested by the previous year's league and Spanish Cup champions – in this case, Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively – is the first major trophy up for grabs in the Spanish football season.

What's more, both this year and last the cup has taken on additional importance as the first instalment in the series of 'Superclásico' matches between the two biggest rivals in Spanish football. Winning thus offers a significant psychological advantage and gives the winner a major morale boost ahead of subsequent Real Madrid-Barcelona clashes throughout the season.

These fixtures are often decisive in the league, where each point is vital and the two teams necessarily meet every season, and potentially in the Spanish Cup and the Champions League, depending on the luck of the draw.

This year's Super Cup also represents Tito Vilanova's first chance to get his hands on some domestic silverware as Barça manager and, perhaps even more significantly, his first ever match in charge against Real Madrid. This makes it an important baptism for him in the eyes of fans and the board that has entrusted him to lead the team. So far, he has passed the test with honors.

While Mourinho is respected across the planet and has earned the right to the odd slip-up – his Madrid team was thrashed 5-0 by Barça in 2010 – Vilanova has just made his Superclásico debut in the managerial hotseat, meaning he had double the pressure on his shoulders.

Both Mourinho and Vilanova have tried to play down the importance of this competition, as they'll have to face much bigger challenges during the season. But the truth remains that a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona will always be a crucial duel, and even more when there's a trophy at stake.

By any token, both coaches will be forced to face this same pressure again in the decisive return leg at the Bernabéu, set to take place on 29th August. Then all the off-the-pitch talking will pale into the background as the action on the pitch crowns the first champion of a season that promises to be as hotly contested as ever.