Features
WED 14.01.2015
31 years have passed since ex-player 'Dani' lifted the most recent Copa del Rey to take pride of place in the Athletic Club trophy cabinet. The oldest supporters, the object of envy for younger generations, remember with nostalgia the day when a million fans lined the Estuary of Bilbao to receive the Copa winners as they carried the trophy on a barge that today sits in the city's maritime museum.
It's a barge that wants to set sail once again to recall those 23 trophy triumphs in the competition, a record which sees the Bilbao outfit remain one of the most successful teams in its history. For this reason, San Mamés has been pleading for that longed-for Copa for years. It's a tournament of which they were the undisputed kings for many decades, and in which they are currently in second place on the all-time winners list. They are only surpassed by their eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, with 26 triumphs, and are followed in third by Real Madrid, with 19.
Runners-up in 2009 and 2012
It's certainly true that los leones have not enjoyed much fortune in the most recent finals that they have played. In 2009, Gaizka Toquero, the club's last player to score a goal in a final, prompted dreams of glory among the Athletic family, but they were dashed as FC Barcelona were crowned winners after triumphing 4-1 at the Estadio de Mestalla. The azulgranas repeated the trick in 2012, but on a different stage: the Vicente Calderón witnessed the 0-3 victory that again saw Athletic, under Marcelo Bielsa, go empty-handed.
Piru Gainza was the highest appearance-maker in the Copa (99) and became the man with the most winner's medals (7)
The club's 23 Copa del Rey triumphs In 1903, Athletic won the Copa for the first time against Real Madrid (2-3) and, a year later, retained the trophy when their opponents, Club Español de Madrid, failed to turn up. In the second and third decades of the 20th century, they lifted the cup as many as seven times, and in the 1930s put together their best ever run, winning the competition four years in a row.
Then came the Athletic of Piru Gainza, a forward with a prodigious left foot that was so feared by the goalkeepers of the time and broke every record. He became the player with the highest amount of appearances in the competition (99) and the most tournament wins (7). And they would not be his only triumphs in the Copa del Rey. During his coaching career, he again tasted success by clinching the trophy in 1969.
Two other Copa wins reign in the memory of the club: that of 1973, and Athletic's most recent victory in 1984, when Endika’s goal in the 13th minute earned glory for Javier Clemente's men, who also won the La Liga championship that same year.
Athletic go into the second leg of their last-16 clash against RC Celta with a 2-4 advantage earned at Balaídos
Out to end the wait Now Ernesto Valverde's men, who charmed Spanish football with their play last season, have another opportunity to give their faithful support plenty to shout about and win their 24th Copa del Rey. In their bid to do so, they go into their last-16 return against RC Celta with a first-leg lead (2-4).
If they make it through to the next round, they will face Málaga CF in the quarter-finals, while waiting for them in the semis would be the winners of the last-eight clash between RCD Espanyol and Granada CF or Sevilla FC.
© LALIGA - 2015