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Surprising Alaves sets up Barca Copa final
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THERE could hardly be more contrasting teams in the Copa del Rey final.
Alaves, the recently promoted club from Basque Country, will be playing in the final of a major tournament only for the second time in its 96-year history. Barcelona, on the other hand, will be making its 39th appearance in the domestic competition’s final.
Barcelona has won virtually every possible title in the competitions it has played. Alaves’ only winner’s trophy is for Spain’s second division.
In the final on May 27, Barcelona will field a team that includes Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar. Alaves’ top forward is Deyverson, a Brazilian barely known even in his native country.
“This was unthinkable at the beginning of the season,” Alaves coach Mauricio Pellegrino said after the team’s 1-0 home win over Celta Vigo in Wednesday’s second leg of the semifinals. “We’ll be mobilized for this final.”
The only other time Alaves enjoyed this kind of success was 16 years ago when it reached the final of the UEFA Cup, the competition now known as the Europa League. It got agonizingly close to the title at the time, losing 4-5 to Liverpool in extra time in a thriller in Dortmund.
It has mostly struggled since then, spending several years out of Spain’s top division. The club, founded in 1921, was promoted to La Liga this season after 10 years in the lower divisions, including four in the third tier.
“After 96 years, to reach the Copa final for the first time, there will be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ this achievement,” Alaves president Alfonso Fernandez de Troconiz said.
Barcelona, meanwhile, has been in the Copa del Rey final in seven of the last nine seasons, including the last four. It has won Spain’s second-most important club competition a record 28 times, including the last two.
But despite the lopsided matchup, there’s reason to believe in a historic result in the final. Alaves stunned Barcelona 2-1 in La Liga this season, handing the Catalan club its only home loss.
The teams will meet again in the league tomorrow in a preview of the Copa final. Barcelona is second in the league with 45 points, 18 more than 12th-place Alaves.
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