The draw for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey held in Las Rozas this afternoon has paired Barça and Real Madrid, who will face each other for a place in the grand final on May 6. The other semifinal will be played by Osasuna and Athletic. Due to Real Madrid's scheduling problems due to the Club World Cup, the first leg of the qualifiers will be on February 28 or March 1 and the return on April 4, 5 or 6. In the case of the classic, the first leg will be at the Bernabeu and the return at the Camp Nou. In the other tie, Osasuna will play at home in the first game and Athletic in the second.
This means that in just over a month Barcelona and Real Madrid will face each other three times, since in addition to the cup duels we must add the classic on March 19 at the Camp Nou. The other tie, between Osasuna and Athletic, has never happened in the Copa del Rey. The final will be held on May 6 at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville for the fourth consecutive season. This venue will remain for the decisive match for the title, at least until 2025.
“It is a great match worldwide. In the end, to win the Cup you have to win everything, but a special tie is coming up. The players have already forgotten what happened in the Super Cup. It is a historical rival. We start from scratch. It will be a beautiful battle," said Jordi Cruyff, director of Barça's international soccer area.
Of the four survivors in the 'KO' competition, Barcelona (31), Athletic Club (23) and Real Madrid (19) are the three with the most titles in the history of this tournament. Osasuna, for its part, has never won the title, but it did reach a final. It was in the 2004/05 season and they lost to Betis 2-1 after extra time.
Barça is the 'king of cups', with 31 titles. The last one they managed to win was in 2021, defeating Athletic Club 4-0 in the final. Real Madrid, meanwhile, have not won the title since 2014, when they beat the Blaugrana 2-1. We still have to go back to find the last time Athletic tasted glory in the Cup. It was in 1984 and they beat Barça 1-0 in the final. Since then, six finals and no title.
Of the four participants, Athletic Club is the only team that has reached the semifinals in the last four editions of the Cup. The 'lions' reached the final in 2020 and 2021, but lost in both: 1-0 against Real Society and 4-0 against Barça, respectively.
