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 striking, a ...

football 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 has ...

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 States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

. 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 win ...

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 Federat ...

. 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 association football, football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nickname ...

, six players (three each from both the teams) were

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

at the half-time for violent conduct. In the games against NEROCA F.C.,

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 __NOTOC__ Miku may refer to: People *Miku (みく), the vocalist for the Japanese rock band An Cafe *, member of the Japanese rock band Band-Maid * Miku Ishida (未来), Japanese teen idol *Miku Itō (美来), Japanese voice actress *Miku Kanem ...

(

) ;4 goals *

Aser Pierrick Dipanda Aser Pierrick Dipanda Dicka (born 18 February 1989) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Career Born in Douala, Dipanda has spent the majority of his career playing in Spain with Valencia B, La Roda, Olímpic de X� ...

(

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 Regiment ...

) ;3 goals * Hugo Boumous (

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

) ;2 goals *

Andrei Ionescu Andrei Ionescu (born 29 March 1988 in Craiova) is a Romanian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Club career Universitatea Craiova Ionescu is a product of Universitatea Craiova's youth system and has been a regular player for t ...

(

) *

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 tr ...

( Shillong Lajong) * Coro (

) * Brandon Fernandes (

) ;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 (

) * Rahul Bheke (

) *

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 o ...

( Chennaiyin) * Dhanachandra Singh ( Chennaiyin) * Willis Plaza (

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 p ...

) * Katsumi Yusa (