Mallorca and Athletic Club will play the final of the Copa del Rey on April 6 in La Cartuja (Seville). In the 118 editions of this tournament, Vermilion and Bilbao have never faced each other in the match that decides the title, making it an unprecedented final.
Athletic Club, which starts as favorite, will play its 40th final. Precisely, those are the years it has not won this competition, since it was proclaimed champion in 1984 against FC Barcelona in that final that became a battlefield. Despite not playing metal for four decades, Ernesto Valverde’s team remains the second team with the most titles (23), only behind the Barça team.
Mallorca, for its part, is a much more inexperienced club than the Bilbao team. The vermillions have only played three Copa del Rey finals. The balance is negative, since they lost two, in 1991 and 1998, and won once, in 2003, against Recreativo de Huelva.
Although Athletic Club has not won since 1984, it has played in several finals recently, unlike the team led by Javier Aguirre. The Bilbao team will play its sixth Copa del Rey final in the last 15 years. However, the vermillions have not reached the title game for 21 seasons.
To reach the grand final, Athletic Club has eliminated Rubí, Cayón, Eibar, Alavés, Barça and Atlético de Madrid, while Mallorca has left Boiro, Valle Egüés, Burgos, Tenerife, Girona and Real Sociedad on the canvas .
In addition to the final on April 6, Mallorca and Athletic Club have already assured their presence in the Spanish Super Cup, which will be played in January 2025 in Saudi Arabia. Even so, the prize will be greater for one of these two teams, which will end the winning drought that has been dragging on for decades in an unprecedented final.
