We meet again... in the Copa del Rey
The draw for the Copa del Rey quarter-finals has concluded. All the “big” teams have managed to avoid each other and are probably happy with their pairings, but we know that this competition can always bring a surprise or two. Especially with the current format, where it all comes down to a single knockout match.
The first duel to be held will be Atlético vs Getafe on Tuesday, 4th February at 18.30 UK time. Valencia vs Barça will follow on Wednesday at 20.30, while the other two games will be played on Thursday: Real Sociedad vs Osasuna at 18.30 and Leganés - Real Madrid at 20.00.
Interestingly, all four match-ups have a history in the Copa del Rey, some more frequent than others. Let’s take a look at how they fared in their previous encounters.
Atlético - Getafe
This is, in fact, the only match-up that has just one previous Copa del Rey showdown. It was in the round of 16, back in the 2012/2013 campaign, when Atlético de Madrid boasted an extraordinary attacking trio made up of Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa and Arda Turan. In the first leg, despite the Colombian’s absence, Atleti sealed the deal with a 3-0 win, including two Diego Costa goals and another from Filipe Luis.
Now, Atlético are probably in one of their best moments of the season, despite the recent slip against Leganés, but they can never underestimate Javier Bordalás and his sneaky tactics, which bore fruit in LaLiga against Barça.
Valencia - FC Barcelona
Out of the four quarter-final games, this is by far the most frequently played match-up in the Copa del Rey. Barça and Valencia have coincided up to 16 times, including four finals. In fact, their last duel was in the 18/19 final, when Valencia, under Marcelino García Toral, shocked the Catalan team by winning 1-2. Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo’s first-half goals were enough to take the trophy back to Valencia.
Two of the other finals date back to the 50’s, with each team snatching the title once, whereas the other was in the 70’s, and favoured Barça. Overall, culers have a better record, emerging victorious in 10 of the 16 match-ups, with the most shocking result being a 7-0 first-leg semi-final win for Barça back when Gary Neville was managing Los Che.
Real Sociedad - Osasuna
This northern clash has now become a Copa del Rey classic in recent years. In fact, their paths crossed last year in the round of 16, with Real Sociedad winning 2-0—the same outcome as in 2020, when they also met in the same stage of the competition, only that time la Real won 3-1.
This has actually been a recurrent pattern between both teams in the Copa del Rey, with the Basque club having a clear advantage, qualifying to the next round against ‘los rojillos’ in seven of their eight encounters. Only in the 1996/1997 season did Osasuna knock out La Real, with a 1-2 aggregate score in their favour. Now, after unexpectedly defeating Athletic Club, they’ll be looking to keep up their good momentum in this competition.
Leganés - Real Madrid
This particular Madrilenian derby has ocurred four times in the Copa del Rey, with two of those being single-match ties that saw Real Madrid prevail. However, in 2018 Leganés stunned ‘los blancos’, overturning a 0-1 first-leg home defeat by winning 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu to qualify for the semi-finals.
Just one out of four for Leganés, who this season have earned their title as the ‘giant killers’ in LaLiga after defeating two of the favourite teams to win the league: Barça and Atlético de Madrid. They’ll look to solidify this new nickname at Butrarque, hoping to secure a ticket to the semi-finals.