The team returns from Seville empty-handed and the feeling of having once again been a toy in the hands of the rival that once again sweeps them in the fight for the title
Lhe recent history of the Cup finals against Barça is a tale of lost battles. Bloody and without any opportunity. The four that have been disputed between 2009 and 2021 show a sad balance of four defeats, two goals scored and 14 conceded. There is no color.
Athletic has become a Barcelona toy when the Cup is in the middle. The azulgrana is the only team that exceeds 31 trophies in the tournament and four of the last have been achieved by devastating Athletic. Caparrós, Bielsa, Valverde and Marcelino have suffered in the finals. Marcelino and Valverde managed to beat him in the Super Cup – the Asturian in a direct final and the Txingurri in a double game – but when the Cup is in between, Barcelona does not take prisoners.
In the 360 minutes that meet the last four finals between the two teams Athletic has only been ahead on the scoreboard in 21 minutes. And all in the same party. It was in 2009, when Toquero put the lions ahead at the Mestalla. The high lasted until half an hour of play, which was when Touré’s draw came. Never again did Athletic open the scoring. It’s more, Toquero and Williams are the only ones who have scored, one goal each, in these four finals.
The The end of this Saturday in La Cartuja is the one that has been equalized the score for the longest. The 60 minutes it took for Barcelona to hit the mark far exceeded the 20 that in 2015 they kept a clean sheet at the Camp Nou. But the effect of Barcelona’s first goal in Seville was as forceful as that of Pedro’s goal in the minute 3 in 2012, with the clash just started. Griezmann, Messi (2) and De Jong they solved the win in 12 minutes of horror for lions, those ranging from 60 ‘to 72’. And it could have been worse if the fifth they scored was not thrown back by the VAR for offside.
