The Copa del Rey final is coming. Save the date – Sunday 23 April. Most of the city will be glued to TV screens, hoping that Valencia CF can bring the trophy back to the Mestalla. Rival fans will be watching too – but they won’t want the same result. Mark Pulley reports…
Just reaching the Copa del Rey final is a real achievement for a team like Valencia. Sharing a league with two giants of the game isn’t easy. Winning La Liga is nigh on impossible. Mainly because it’s unlikely that both Barca and Real Madrid will have a bad season, and on the off-chance that they do, Diego Simeone’s Atlético are usually ready, like a pack of hungry hyenas to take advantage. Therefore, for Valencia, the Copa del Rey is their only real hope of silverware each season.
It’s a hope that’s fuelled by past successes. They’ve claimed glory three times since 1999. Only Barca have won it more often in that time. Real Madrid, strangely, have only won it twice in the last 19 years. Los Che can also take encouragement from the fact that, usually, when they get to the final, they win. Their last three finals are proof of that. This time, in theory, it should be easier too. Neither Barca, Real nor the band of hyenas are waiting for them in Seville. They’ve all fallen by the wayside en route to the final. Not by Valencia’s hand, mind. They’ve had a relatively easy road to Seville. Athletic Bilbao, in the semi-final, are the only team they’ve faced who were above them in the league. But, as the cliché has it, you can only beat what’s in front of you.
Betis are waiting
Waiting for Valencia in the Copa del Rey final will be Real Betis. Who will have the benefit of playing in their home city. In theory that shouldn’t matter, since ticket allocations are 50-50, but in reality that is never how it turns out. Expect to see three quarters of the stadium draped in green and white stripes. It’s not only the extra support that makes Betis slight favourites. Put simply, they’re playing better than Valencia this season. If we’re allowed another cliché, the table doesn’t lie. Betis are sitting in 5th place, Valencia are 7th.
There’s really not much between them. Betis do score more and concede less though. With luck, we’re in for an entertaining game. It’s fair to say that if Valencia can keep Juanmi, Betis’ top scorer and main threat, starved of service, they’ll have a real chance of lifting that weirdly large Copa del Rey trophy once again. I mean, seriously, why is it so big? It looks like the design came from the winner of a kindergarten ‘draw a trophy’ competition. I guess I’m a purist, but I do think that the FA Cup is as big as you need. And just look at the World Cup, small but magnificent. Jules Rimet still gleaming. I guess all that silver on the Copa del Rey trophy just adds to the glory of lifting it.
If you fancy a mid-spring trip down to Andalusia, tickets, surprisingly, still seem to be available at footballticketnet. Well, it was surprising until I saw the prices. They range from €295.00 to €475.00 each. Kinda makes the decision for all but the minted. Sometimes a well-placed chair in a well-stocked bar is the best option. See you there. Mine’s a Guinness.
Save the date, Sunday 23 April. the whole city will be watching.
• As well as covering football and helping edit ‘Valencia Life’, Mark Pulley also writes especially about travel – with a focus on Valencia – at thesketchytraveller.com
For more on sports news in Valencia take a look here.
