There were no La Liga matches this weekend as the league was on it’s traditional due to the Copa del Rey.
While global fans of Spanish football weill bemoan the absence of big teams like Real Madird and Barcelona from the regular football calendar, in Spain the Copa is a very big deal. For the Spanish it is the equivalent of England’s exciting and romanticized FA Cup, producing upsets and giving smaller clubs a shot at glory that they don’t get in the top-heavy La Liga.
Going into the game with Mallorca, Athletic Club were the favourites, had won 23 Copas in their history, had not won it in forty years, and also had been defeated in the last five finals they had participated in. Gulp.
And so, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw and going to penalties, the pressure was great. However in the end Athletic’s Alex Berenguer was able to slam his penalty into the corner of the net and begin the celebrations at the Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla.
Said coach Ernesto Valverde of the long-awaited victory:
“There will be a big party. None compare to this. because of the way we have been chasing this, because of what the cup means, because of the finals we lost.” (The Guardian)