The 2018 Hero Super Cup was the inaugural edition of the Super Cup and 39th season of the main club

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

competition in India. The competition is sponsored by

Hero MotoCorp Hero MotoCorp Limited (formerly Hero Honda) is an Indian multinational motorcycle and scooter manufacturer headquartered in New Delhi. The company is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world, as well as in India, where it h ...

and is officially known as the Hero Super Cup. The competition began with the qualifiers on 15 March 2018 and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018. The entire tournament took place in the

Kalinga Stadium The Kalinga Stadium is a multi-purpose International stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Its foundation stone was laid by former chief minister of Odisha Late Biju Patnaik in 1978. It is the home ground of the I League Club Indian Arrows ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar i ...

. The competition features teams from both the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the wi ...

and

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federa ...

. Both leagues containing 10 teams each, the top six teams from both qualified for the tournament automatically while the bottom four sides contested in the qualifiers. The Super Cup replaces the Federation Cup, which was considered the top knockout competition before this tournament.

Teams

A total of 16 teams are participating in the competition proper. The top six teams from both the

and

qualified for the Super Cup automatically while the bottom four sides have participated in the qualifiers.

Round dates

On 12 March 2018, the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

announced the schedule and full format of the tournament. Due to the participation of

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

and

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying ...

, the schedule for the quarter-finals shall be decided at a later date.

Bracket

Qualification round

After the conclusion of the

and

seasons, the

announced the draw for the qualification round of the Super Cup. ---- ---- ----

Round of 16

The

announced the draw for the round of 16 of the competition on 12 March 2018. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Quarter-finals

The dates for the quarter-final matches were scheduled to be announced at a later date to accommodate

commitments of

and

. After

and

advanced to the quarter-finals, the following fixtures were confirmed for the quarter-finals. During the game between

Jamshedpur FC Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian Football. Founded in 2017, the club debuted in Indian Super League during ...

and

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

, six players (three each from both the teams) were sent off at the half-time for violent conduct. In the games against

NEROCA F.C. NEROCA FC is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that competes in the I-League. The club made its I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division, 2015–16 season. The club w ...

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

scored the first hat-trick of the tournament. ---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played on 16 April and 17 April 2018 at the

. ----

Final

The final was played on 20 April 2018 at the

and Bengaluru won the inaugural Super Cup by defeating East Bengal in the final.

Goalscorers

;6 goals *

(

) ;5 goals * Miku (

) ;4 goals * Aser Pierrick Dipanda (

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regim ...

) ;3 goals *

Hugo Boumous Adnan Hugo Boumous (born 24 July 1995) is a French-Moroccan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG. He is known for his playmaking ability and link-up play. He had won golden ...

( Goa) ;2 goals * Andrei Ionescu (

) *

Abdoulaye Koffi Abdoulaye Koffi (born 30 December 1991) is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Al-Hudood SC in the Iraqi Premier League. Personal life Abdoulaye's elder brother, Mohamed Koffi is a former Burkinabé international footballer who plies his tra ...

(

Shillong Lajong Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining ...

) * Coro ( Goa) *

Brandon Fernandes Brandon Fernandes (born 20 September 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Indian Super League club Goa, which he captains, and the India national team. Club career Early career Born in Margao, ...

( Goa) ;1 goal *

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until his international retirement in August 2016. Keane ...

( ATK) *

Udanta Singh Udanta Singh Kumam (born 14 June 1996), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Club career Early career Born in Manipur, Singh started his youth career ...

(

) *

Rahul Bheke Rahul is a popular male name in India and has a variety of meanings. The earliest meaning found in the Upanishads is "conqueror of all miseries." Later use of the word is attributed to the Buddha, who named his son '' Rahula'' as he felt that fa ...

(

) *

Maílson Alves Maílson Alves Barreiro Veriato (born 5 February 1988) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defender. Career Brazil Alves started his career in Portugal with Portimonense in the Segunda Liga. He made his debut for the club ...

( Chennaiyin) * Dhanachandra Singh ( Chennaiyin) *

Willis Plaza Willis Deon Plaza (born 3 August 1987), is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian club Bhawanipore. Club career Early years In his early career, Plaza played club football in Trinidad and Vietnam for San Juan ...

(

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually parti ...

) *

Katsumi Yusa is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Fukushima United. Career Sanfrecce Hiroshima Yusa debuted for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in a 2-2 home draw against Gamba Osaka in the 2007 J1 League on 1 December. Yusa also ma ...

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