Are Europe’s best about to get better?

With Euro 2024 glory followed by further triumphs at the European Under-19 Championship and the Olympics, it has been a sizzling summer of success for Spanish football.

The trophy run was kickstarted in June at club level by Real Madrid, who completed a league and European double by downing Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.

Prior to a new season featuring expanded formats for both the Champions League and Club World Cup, Real clearly remain the team to beat, both domestically and abroad.

And Wednesday’s Super Cup match with Atalanta is the first chance for Carlo Ancelotti’s men to not only claim another piece of Spanish summer silverware, but also show the world they could be about to get even better.

The transfer story of the summer was settled very early, with Real finally bringing their on-off-on-off pursuit of French superstar Kylian Mbappe to a successful conclusion.

Both club and player believe Mbappe has always been destined to play for Real Madrid, and his arrival gives Los Blancos arguably the three best attackers in the world alongside Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.

The question is where the new man will fit in. Mbappe is not a genuine centre-forward, in the same way that Vinicius and Rodrygo are not genuine wingers, and a significant degree of positional flexibility will be required to ensure the star-studded forward line complement each other – rather than get in each other’s way.

Ancelotti, however, is the perfect coach to achieve this delicate balance, always preferring to adapt to the qualities of his players instead of laying down rigid tactical structures.

So we can expect to see plenty of interchange between Mbappe and Vinicius in particular, as they roam and combine between the left flank and penalty area.

Mbappe is not the only exciting addition to the forward line. This summer has also seen the long-awaited arrival of Brazilian boy wonder Endrick, who has already won 10 senior international caps despite only turning 18 last month.

Endrick will be eased gradually into action, and his arrival adds further squad depth heading into the longest club season in history, featuring two additional Champions League group-stage games and an overhauled Club World Cup – scheduled to end in mid-July.

Ancelotti has always been adept at sharing the playing time evenly, demonstrating more than most coaches that football is now truly a squad game rather than just a ‘starting XI’.

Only one player (Federico Valverde, 33 games) started more than 30 league games for Real last season, and that rotation policy will be further strengthened in the gruelling coming campaign.

So, can Vinicius Jr and Mbappe be accommodated within the same squad? Ancelotti should be able to answer that luxurious question without too many problems.

To level out those summer arrivals, Real waved goodbye to three veterans with defender Nacho and frontman Joselu moving to the Middle East, while midfield maestro Toni Kroos has retired.

Ancelotti boasts plenty of resources to keep the midfield smoothly ticking over despite the unplanned loss of Kroos, perhaps including a deeper role for Bellingham following the addition of Mbappe to the forward line.

But one specific question arising from Kroos’ departure is who will now take on set-piece duties?

The veteran’s deadball delivery excellence was a consistent strength for Real over the last decade, and it was fitting that his last significant act in the famous white shirt was planting a perfectly placed corner on to the head of Dani Carvajal for the opener in June’s Champions League final.

The German pass master’s departure could accelerate the development of Turkish teenager Arda Guler, who followed a fine finish to last season by shining for his national team during the Euros.

Guler is an outstanding set-piece taker and that attribute is likely to enhance his playing time – often in rotation with the guiding hand of Luka Modric (more than twice Guler’s age), who has remained for another season but is unlikely to start too often.

Away from the reigning champions, it has been a summer of change at La Liga’s other two heavyweights.

Barcelona have a new coach, with former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick replacing the axed Xavi and last week welcoming his first signing with the 55m euros (£47m) arrival of Spain’s Euros-winning star Dani Olmo.

But Barca’s cupboards are bare, partly because of soaring costs of the ongoing Camp Nou renovation project, which will force them to spend at least the first half of the season playing ‘home’ games at the city’s less than atmospheric Olympic Stadium.

That means there won’t be many more squad reinforcements, so it is just as well Flick can count on a core of spectacular youngsters including Lamine Yamal and a pair of Olympic gold winners, Fermin Lopez and Pau Cubarsi.

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has reacted to last season’s disappointing fourth-placed finish by undertaking a big overhaul of his squad.

Several veterans including Alvaro Morata, Stefan Savic and Mario Hermoso have departed, with Spain centre-back Robin le Normand, Norway striker Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez from Manchester City all arriving.

England international Conor Gallagher could still follow.

Whether Barca or Atletico will have enough to challenge Real’s dominance remains to be seen, but it is a very tall order.