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.