On Saturday, the Copa del Rey final will be decided in quite a clash as the tournament has produced an El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Two of Spain’s powerhouses are also competing for the league title, while Barcelona is also in the running for a treble but that’s where the similarities end this season. Real Madrid has crashed out of the Champions League and trails Barcelona by four points in the league while Barcelona control their own destiny in all competitions. Even manager-wise, Carlo Ancelotti could be ending his Real Madrid tenure, while Barcelona couldn’t be happier with season one under Flick.
But in rivalry matches, that all goes out the window, even more so when a trophy is on the line. This is only the eighth time that Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet for the Copa del Rey final, and despite them being standard participants in Champions League play, they’ve never met for that crown in their history. The duo have played in numerous Spanish Super Cup finals, but with that not being a true knockout tournament, it doesn’t carry the same weight as making their way to the Copa del Rey final does.
How to watch El Clasico, odds
- Date: Sunday, April 26 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio de La Cartuja — Seville, Spain
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Barcelona +105; Draw +280; Real Madrid +200
Let’s take a look back at their history in the competition:
History in this tournament
Athletic Club are the current holder of the tournament, and that will change at the end of Saturday. The Copa del Rey has been running for 122 years since 1903, and even with it being such a historic tournament, Barcelona and Real Madrid have only met seven times in the final before Saturday. Barcelona have won the most titles in cup history with 31, while Real Madrid have won this tournament 20 times. Eighteen times the winners of this tournament have also gone on to win La Liga, doing a domestic double. Barcelona have won three of the finals, losing four to Los Blancos.
Here’s their past meetings:
1936: Real Madrid 2, Barcelona 1
Taking place in Valencia, Real Madrid would take the first final meeting between the duo. Going ahead 2-0 only 12 minutes into the match via Eugenio Hilario and Simon Lecue would be enough to see Real Madrid through. Josep Escola pulled a goal back for Barcelona, but it wouldn’t be enough for them to overcome Madrid for the win.
1968: Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 0
Taking place at the Santiago Bernabeu, this time, Barcelona would get their revenge. It just took more than 30 years for them to meet in another final. It was yet another early goal to decide this one, this time an own goal from Fernando Zunzunegui that gave Barcelona the lead six minutes in to win at Real Madrid’s home.
1974: Real Madrid 4, Barcelona 0
The duo wouldn’t have to wait very long for their next meeting with it coming only six years later at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon stadium. The early scoring reared its head again via Santillana scoring five minutes into the match, but Real Madrid would add three goals in the second half of play to get to the final crooked scoreline.
1983: Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 1
The two rivals continued trading blows in the Copa del Rey, with this one taking place in Zaragoza. It was level for most of the match, but Marcos Alonso scored a diving header in the 90th minute to secure the trophy for Barcelona. An iconic finish in this rivalry.
1990: Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 0
Heading back to Mestalla in Valencia, Barcelona were able to go back-to-back in the competition with another defensive victory. With not much to separate the two sides, Guillermo Amor opened the scoring in the 68th minute before Julio Salinas added an insurance goal in the 90th to ensure victory.
2011: Real Madrid 1, Barcelona 0 after extra time
We would have to wait 21 years for the next installment in this, and for the first time in a the cup final, it would go to extra time. After a scoreless 90 minutes of soccer at the Mestalla, the Cristiano Ronaldo show took over. All it took was a header assisted by Angel Di Maria for Jose Mourinho’s Galacticos to lift the trophy.
2014: Real Madrid 2, Barcelona 1
In a continuing theme, were in Valencia again three years later for one of the most iconic cup goals scored in matches between these two. Angel Di Maria had the opening goal this time, but it was Gareth Bale’s run down the wing in the 85th minute that would be remembered. Marc Bartra also got a goal for Barcelona, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome that. Bale actually ran past Bartra on his amazing solo effort, when it was impressive how much stamina he had left at that stage of the match.