Skip to main content

The Most Memorable El Classico Duel in Copa del Rey Final

 


The El Clásico duel has been contested a number of times in the Copa del Rey final, but some are more memorable than the others.

El Clásico is set to be held again in the Copa del Rey final this weekend. It is the first one since 2014. This upcoming duel marks the new era of El Clásico. Blaugrana, as usual, counts on their own academy product with Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandre Balde, Fermin Lopez, Ronald Araujo, plus several experienced global stars such as Raphinha, Frankie de Jong and the two-time Ballon D’Or winner, Robert Lewandowski. Their counterparts, Los Blancos, rely more on A-list global stars, from Kylian Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Federico Valverde to the veteran Luka Modric.

This classic clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona has always been filled with stars from both sides. From the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano and Co against Ladislav Kubala and Co in the 1950s and 1960s to Cristiano Ronaldo and his Galacticos band versus La Masia heroes with Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets in the 2010s.

In Copa del Rey history, the capital side and the Catalans have met seven times in the final. Surprisingly, Los Merengues have clinched more victories in the summit than their archrival with four wins. Thanks to their last two triumphs in 2011 and 2014, with the latter under their current boss, Carlo Ancelotti.

Here are the four memorable El Clásico encounters in the Spanish domestic cup. Each and every one of them delivers the tale of its own.

1936 Final, The First Encounter

The first encounter took place in 1936, only a month before the Spanish Civil War broke out. Los Blancos was still known as Madrid FC at that time due to the temporary abolishment of the Spanish monarchy. They had just won La Liga twice and failed to clinch it consecutively in the last three seasons.

On the contrary, the Catalan giant who won the first La Liga edition only lifted the trophy once. They had yet to clinch another league title in hand. However, when it comes to the Spanish Cup, both sides had shared the same titles, as both had managed to win seven times each prior to the first encounter in the 1936 final.

The match was held in Mestalla, Valencia. Real Madrid were already on a two-goal lead before 15 minutes as Eugenio and Simon Lecue found the back of the net. Joseph Ecola was able to score to cut the deficit in the 29th minute. He was even given a chance to bag a brace in the final minutes, but the legendary Ricardo Zamora denied the shot to equalise. His save was unbelievably crucial and deemed one of the best in history.

1968 Final, The Catalan’s Retaliation

The second El Clásico final was just contested 32 years later. In the 1968 edition, Madrid were at the peak of their performance after winning La Liga seven times since the beginning of the decade. The Catalan side, on the other hand, was nowhere near their success. Carles Rexach and Co did finish second in the league in the 1967/68 season but never won a league in the 1960s and snatched one Copa del Rey title in the same era.

The final was contested in Santiago Bernabeu, which was made to be the coronation of Los Blancos’ domestic double title glory. However, the result did not turn out as it was supposed to be. Despite being dominant almost throughout the match, they conceded to an early own goal from their defender, Fernando Zunzunegui, who failed to make a clearance to Barcelona’s cross. It deflected off his feet and went into his own team's back of the net instead.

Real Madrid went on knocking on the door to find the equaliser, but Blaugrana’s defence, Salvador Sadurni’s in-form performance between the sticks, kept them at bay. The native Catalan shot stopper even made at least two clinical saves. It was a memorable victory for Salvador Artigas’s men in the lion’s den, in front of Madrid’s own great supporter, General Francisco Franco. The revenge from the 1936 loss was complete.

1983 Final, The Clash of Argentines

The 1983 final saw the clash of two Argentine bosses, the World Cup winner, Cesar Menotti, on the Blaugrana bench and Madrid’s legend, Alfredo Di Stefano, on the other side. There were also two German internationals in both teams, Bernd Schuster with the Catalan side and Uli Stielke in the white shirt.

The 1982/83 season was a rather disappointing one for both teams as they finished fourth and second in the standings. Copa del Rey would provide a decisive consolation for either team’s campaign. The final took place in La Romareda, Zaragoza.

The match was tight as both traded attacks, but it was Barcelona who dominated the game more with Schuster and young Diego Maradona as the protagonists. Both collaborated in the process of the first goal, with Schuster making the key pass and Maradona providing an assist for Victor. In the second half, the defensive error led to Los Blancos’s equaliser. Carlos Santillana scored the goal at his mercy in the empty goal in front of him.

Maradona had at least three chances to find the back of the net, but he squandered them plus had one goal disallowed. As the game was heading to the final minutes before the extra time, Marcos Alonso Sr, the father of former Barcelona, Chelsea and Fiorentina key man Marcos Alonso, bagged a winning goal through a diving header in the 90th minute.

The silverware was clinched with Menotti as the victor ahead of Di Stefano. Unfortunately, neither was fondly remembered in the team as a gaffer. The former only won two titles; neither was a major one, whereas the latter was even trophyless as a manager despite reaching the finals in several competitions, including the 1983 European Cup Winners Cup, in which Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen humiliated them at the summit.

2011 Final, The Meddling Mourinho

Last but not least, there was Jose Mourinho in El Clasico. The Portuguese gaffer was involved in El Clásico six times in his first season. He aimed to disrupt Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona domination, and as usual, he did it.

The 2010/11 season did not end as expected for Los Blancos. They suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat against their archrival in La Liga, failed to progress to the UCL final as they were humiliated in a 2-0 loss at Bernabeu from Lionel Messi’s wondrous brace in the semifinal and only finished second in the league. Copa del Rey became the only way for Mou to save his future and reputation as Guardiola’s antithesis.

The game was cagey and tight as usual. Madrid dominated the first half and saw Cristiano Ronaldo waste several opportunities to open the scoring. Pepe’s header also rattled the goalframe. In the second half, the Catalan giant responded as they became the dominant side in the second half. Pedro managed to find the back of the net, but his goal was disallowed.

The game went to extra time, and this time CR7 squandered the chance no more. He bagged the only goal of the game after taking advantage of Angel Di Maria’s cross. His bullet header was nowhere to be saved by Blaugrana’s goalie, Pinto, who deputised Victor Valdes. Sadly, Messi and Barcelona failed to get back on level terms. Madrid fans in Mestalla erupted; Mou stood tall in front of his contender. He eventually beat Guardiola to win La Liga in the following season.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Football Films based on true Football Stories

  Football films based on true events are not as common as we might hope, but the few that exist certainly stand out as some of the best. Unlike American football or basketball films, football (or soccer, as it's called in the U.S.) hasn't gained the same level of popularity or production in Hollywood. That’s understandable, given the sport’s limited appeal in the U.S. historically. However, with the country set to co-host the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup next year, more football films should be produced to build the hype and capture the spirit of the world’s biggest sporting event. Football movies have the unique ability to explore stories on and off the pitch — from a fan's perspective to tales centred around players, managers, or even lesser-known supporting characters. The following list focuses solely on those based on true events, highlighting the personal conflicts, dressing room dynamics, and emotional journeys that define real football legends. As we enjoy...

The Most Daring Journeyman Managers in History

  Not many gaffers opt to roam around the world to become journeyman managers in their careers and gain fair success.  Being a football manager, just like any other profession, needs a challenge to push the limit in their career, be it for the silverware, more noble missions like developing football in the remote countries, or simply for an adventure. It is quite rare to find one recently and thrive, especially at the top level.  One of the few such figures is probably Jorge Jesus. The Portuguese boss has currently signed for the post in Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. It would be a challenge as well as an honour for him to lead Cristiano Ronaldo, something that he never had during his stints in Europe. Jesus mainly spent his career in his home soil and Turkey before venturing to South America and winning the prestigious title, Copa Libertadores 2019, with Flamengo. He is one of the few European gaffers who managed to do so. However, his experience in three contine...

Top Barcelona Stars signed from Espanyol

  More than 40 players were snatched by Barcelona from their city rival, Espanyol, for their first team, but only a few eventually thrived. Barcelona and RC Espanyol have been rivals for years, but it does not stop both sides from swapping players. Blaugrana did release more of their stars to their fellow Catalan side, but not exactly the opposite. Former Danish international Martin Braithwaite was the last one to play regularly for Espanyol in the 2022/23 season. This season, however, Hans Flick’s side does the opposite by signing Espanyol’s brightest talent last season, Joan Garcia. He was La Liga’s best shot stopper last season despite only helping his team finish at the lower table. In fact, Garcia is seemingly prepared to take up the number one spot from the club’s captain, Marc Ter Stegen. The German goalie has fallen out of favour under Hans Flick since his attitude ahead of the second leg of the UCL semifinal against Inter Milan last season. Should Garcia be able to p...