There has been so much drama going on in the Copa del Rey this season. One team that killed the two LaLiga giants was eliminated in the semifinals and the final brought together two teams who rarely won the title.
The Copa del Rey final on April 23, 2022 will pit Valencia, a LaLiga team that has been plagued by financial difficulties, against Real Betis who have not won the Spanish domestic cup competition for 17 years.
Valencia’s journey to the final looks dramatic as they managed to stop this competition specialist, Athletic Bilbao, with a 2-1 aggregate score. Marcelino Garcia’s men looked as if they would easily clinch their 24th title after eliminating two other champions, Barcelona and Real Madrid, en route to the final.
Bilbao knocked out Barca 3-2 in extra time in the last 16 of the Copa on 20 January when Iker Muniain’s second minute goal and his 106th-minute penalty, in addition to another goal from Inigo Martinez, were denied by Ferran Torres’ goals. and Pedri.
One half later, in the quarter-finals, it was Carlo Ancelotti’s side who felt the sting of Bilbao with a late goal from Alex Berengues after 88 minutes both teams failed to find the net.
This will be the 17th final for Pepe Bordalas’ side with Los Che having won it eight times in the past, with the last time being 2019. But the number of eight-time champions Valencia pales in comparison to Barcelona (31 times champions), Bilbao (23) and Real Madrid (19). Even Atletico with 10 times still won more often than Los Che.
Meanwhile, this is the first time Beticos have advanced to the Copa del Rey final after the last time they won this competition in 2005, aka 17 years ago! At that time they eliminated Osasuna with a score of 2-1 in the final which was held at Atletico’s home, Vicente Calderon.
The player who is most often mentioned in Beticos’ success in reaching the final is Joaquin, a Spanish midfielder who is now 40 years old. He was the creator of the injury time goal from Borja Iglesias which equalized the score 1-1 in the semifinal second leg match against Rayo Vallecano.
His through ball failed to be anticipated by defender Vallecano and as a result Iglesias found the ball into the corner of Luca Zidane’s net for the decisive goal for Real Betis, with the score 3-2 on aggregate.
With only four times advancing to the final of this tournament in history, it is clear that Manuel Pellegrini’s children will not be favorites to become champions. However, the way they defended and fought hard to find goals until injury time, as they showed in the second leg of the semi-final, would be a good asset in the final on 23 April.
