2015 Copa del Rey Final

2015 Copa del Rey Final
Event 2014–15 Copa del Rey
Date 30 May 2015
Venue Camp Nou, Barcelona

The 2015 Copa del Rey Final will be a football match on 30 May 2015 to decide the winner of the 2014–15 Copa del Rey, the 111th edition of the Copa del Rey, Spain's primary football cup.

It will be played between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.

The winner will play against the 2014–15 La Liga champions in the 2015 Supercopa de España.

Background

Aymeric Laporte of Athletic and Lionel Messi of Barcelona in the team's league meeting on 13 September 2014

Barcelona have previously played 36 Copa del Rey Finals, a record bettered only by Real Madrid with 39.[1] However, Barcelona have won the competition a record 26 times.[1] Their most recent appearance in the final was the previous year's edition, in which they lost 1–2 to Real Madrid at Mestalla in Valencia.[1] Their most recent win was in 2012, beating Athletic Bilbao 3–0 at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid.[1] Their only previous final at the Camp Nou was a victory in 1963.[2]

Athletic Bilbao have previously played in 35 finals, winning 23, with only Barcelona winning more.[1] Their most recent final was in 2012, and their most recent victory in the tournament was in 1984, beating Barcelona 1–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.[1]

Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao have played each other in seven previous finals of the tournament. Barcelona won in 1920, 1942, 1953, 2009 and 2012, and Athletic Bilbao won in 1932 and 1984.[1]

The two teams played each other twice during the 2014–15 La Liga season. In the first instance, at Camp Nou on 13 September 2014, Barcelona won 2–0 with two goals from Neymar in the last 11 minutes of the game.[3] On 8 February 2015 at Athletic Bilbao's San Mamés Stadium, Barcelona won 5–2. Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez gave them a 2–0 half-time lead. Four goals came between the 59th and 66th minutes: Mikel Rico scored for Athletic, his teammate Óscar de Marcos caused an own goal, Neymar achieved a fourth for Barcelona and Aritz Aduriz a second for Athletic. Later on in the game, Xabier Etxeita was sent off for the hosts and Pedro netted a fifth for the visitors.[4]

Route to the final

For more details on this topic, see 2014–15 Copa del Rey.
Athletic Bilbao Round Barcelona
Opponent Result Legs Opponent Result Legs
Alcoyano 2–1 1–1 away; 1–0 home Round of 32 Huesca 12–1 4–0 away; 8–1 home
Celta Vigo 4–4 4–2 away; 0–2 home Round of 16 Elche 9–0 5–0 home; 4–0 away
Málaga 1–0 0–0 away; 1–0 home Quarterfinals Atlético Madrid 4–2 1–0 home; 3–2 away
Espanyol 3–1 1–1 home; 2–0 away Semifinals Villarreal 6–2 3–1 home; 3–1 away

Athletic Bilbao

Aritz Aduriz scored five goals in Athletic's progression through to the final

Athletic Bilbao, of La Liga, entered in the Last 32 against a Segunda División B team, CD Alcoyano. In the first leg away at the Estadio El Collao on 2 December 2014, they drew 1–1; Francis opened the scoring for the hosts while Borja Viguera equalised in added time.[5] Sixteen days later at the San Mamés Stadium, Viguera's first-half strike was enough to win the match.[6]

In the Last 16, the club faced top-flight club Celta Vigo, and began with a 4–2 away win at the Galician club's Balaídos on 6 January 2015. Defender Mikel San José headed Athletic into an early lead, only for Álex López to equalise for the hosts six minutes later, and Aritz Aduriz to restore the visitors' lead four minutes after that. In the second half, Charles made it level again, but a Markel Susaeta goal and a late penalty from Aduriz gave Athletic the win.[7] Celta won the second leg 2–0 via a Xabier Etxeita own goal and a Fabián Orellana contribution, but Athletic advanced on the away goals rule.[8]

Athletic's quarter-final began on 21 January with a goalless draw at the La Rosaleda Stadium against Málaga CF, but eight days later in the second leg Aduriz scored three minutes into the second half to send them into the semi-finals.[9] The semi-final against RCD Espanyol began with a 1–1 home draw, Aduriz putting Bilbao ahead on his 34th birthday and Víctor Sánchez equalising ten minutes before half time.[10] On 4 March, Athletic travelled for the second leg at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat and won 2–0 to reach the final, with first-half goals from Aduriz and Etxeita.[11]

Barcelona

Pedro scored a hat-trick in Barcelona's 8–1 win over Huesca in the last 32

Barcelona, also of La Liga, entered the tournament in the last 32 against a Segunda División B club, this time SD Huesca. The first leg was in Aragon at the Estadio El Alcoraz on 3 December 2014, and Barcelona won 4–0 with goals from Ivan Rakitić, Andrés Iniesta, Pedro and Rafinha.[12] Due to the large advantage, Barcelona rested key players for the second leg but nonetheless won 8–1 for a 12–1 aggregate. Pedro scored a hat-trick among further goals from Sergi Roberto and Iniesta for a 5–0 half-time lead, while Adriano and substitutes Adama Traoré and Sandro Ramírez added more goals in the second half; Carlos David scored a late consolation for the visitors.[13]

In the last 16, Barcelona met top-flight opposition in the shape of Elche CF, but won 9–0 on aggregate. They hosted the first leg at the Nou Camp on 8 January 2015 and won 5–0, with two goals from Neymar, a Lionel Messi penalty and contributions from Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba.[14] A week later at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Barcelona defeated the Valencian club 4–0, starting with a free kick from defender Jérémy Mathieu followed by a long-range strike by Roberto, a penalty by Pedro and an added-time goal by Adriano.[15]

On 21 January, Barcelona hosted the first leg of the quarter-finals, and defeated Atlético Madrid 1–0. Sergio Busquets had been fouled for a late penalty, which Messi shot into Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but nonetheless scored the rebound.[16] A week later at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, the hosts equalised the aggregate in the first minute through Fernando Torres; in the ninth minute, Neymar put Barcelona back into the lead. When Javier Mascherano fouled Juanfran, Raúl García's penalty gave the advantage back to Atlético, but Barcelona scored two more goals in the first half from a Miranda own goal and Neymar to win 4–2 on aggregate. Atlético captain Gabi was sent off at half time for arguing with the referee, and his midfield partner Mario Suárez was also dismissed later on.[17]

Barcelona hosted the first leg of their semi-final on 11 February, and defeated Villarreal 3–1, with a half-time lead from Messi. Within the first five minutes of the second half, Manu Trigueros equalised with a long-range strike but Iniesta gave the advantage back to Barcelona, which was extended by Gerard Piqué later on despite Neymar missing a penalty.[18] They won by the same scoreline again in the second leg at the Estadio El Madrigal on 4 March with a brace from Neymar and a goal by Suárez, despite former Barcelona player Jonathan dos Santos equalising at one point.[19]

Venue

Before the semi-final second leg, Barcelona's board requested the final be held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of their fierce rivals Real Madrid, as it is the largest stadium in Spain apart from their own Camp Nou.[20] At the same time, according to Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Ángel María Villar, wants the final at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.[20] That decision would give Athletic Bilbao home advantage, but could have been challenged by potential finalist Espanyol, whose team bus was vandalised on their last visit there.[20]

On 25 March, the RFEF confirmed that it would be held at Barcelona's Camp Nou.[2]

Details

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Spain - List of Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fisher, Alex (25 March 2015). "Camp Nou to host Copa del Rey final". beIN Sports. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Barcelona 2 Athletic Bilbao 0". Sky Sports News. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Jurejko, Jonathan (8 February 2015). "Ath Bilbao 2-5 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Malagón, Manuel (2 December 2014). "Viguera acaba con el sofoco". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "De nuevo Viguera" [Viguera again]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 December 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Campos, Tomás (6 January 2015). "Carbón para el Celta y oro para el Athletic" [Coal for Celta and gold for Athletic]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Ramos, Antonio S. (16 January 2015). "Con más pena que gloria" [With more pain than glory]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Egea, Pablo (28 January 2015). "El Athletic, como en los viejos tiempos" [Athletic, like they were in the olden days]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Melero, Delfín (11 February 2015). "El Espanyol deja escapar al león" [Espanyol let the lion out]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Melero, Delfín (4 March 2015). "Como manda la tradición" [As tradition commands]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Huesca 0-4 Barcelona: Iniesta and Rakitic inspire emphatic first-leg win". Goal.com. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Barcelona 8-1 Huesca". BBC Sport. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Barcelona 5-0 Elche". BBC Sport. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Elche 0-4 Barcelona (0-9 on agg.): Mathieu stunner seals emphatic Copa del Rey triumph". Goal.com. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Hall, Pete (21 January 2015). "Copa del Rey: Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid as Lionel Messi scores late on at Nou Camp". Sky Sports News. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Atletico Madrid 2-3 Barcelona (agg 2-4): Neymar shoots down nine-man Rojiblancos in Copa cracker". Goal.com. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal: Messi and Iniesta seal first-leg advantage". Goal.com. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "Villarreal 1-3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Barcelona want Copa del Rey final to be played at Santiago Bernabeu". Sport. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.

{{2014–15 in Spanish football}}