The day when in the final of the Spanish Cup "Real" fought against its reserve team

2024-01-19 23:20 © realmadrid.com

"Copa del Rey" is an annual Spanish cup competition, whose winner qualifies for the prestigious European league. The tournament was founded in 1903, and in recent seasons, it has featured over 126 teams from various leagues in the country. In last season's cup final, Madrid's "Real" defeated "Osasuna" 2-1 and claimed the club's 20th King's Cup title in history.

"Copa del Rey" is the oldest Spanish football tournament. The media often talks about the "Copa magic" and how lower division teams sensationally eliminate the strongest Spanish teams. In the King's Cup, teams from lower divisions have the opportunity to progress through all stages and test their strength against teams like "Barcelona," Madrid's "Real," and Madrid's "Atletico."

In the Spanish football pyramid, it is not forbidden for clubs to have reserve teams. However, they cannot compete in the same league, and these teams are not allowed to participate in the "Copa del Rey" tournament.

Nevertheless, in the past, such rules did not exist, and therefore a unique case in Spanish football history was recorded, which many fans are unaware of today.

Real Madrid's reserve team, currently known as "Real Madrid Castilla," faced their big brothers in the "Copa del Rey" final.

Until 1991, Spain treated B teams of clubs equally. They were not allowed to play in the same league as the main team, but these teams had the right to compete in cup competitions ("Copa del Rey" or "Copa del Generalismo").

The Spanish Football Federation did not pay attention to reserve teams, as they usually found it difficult to overcome even the first round of matches. During the draw, these teams were separated from the main teams, and then the only chance they had to compete with each other was in the tournament final. It was something the federation never imagined. However, such a sensation was recorded only once in the 1979-1980 season.

The end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s were called the Golden "Castilla" era. Legendary players like Agustin, Ricardo Gallego, and Francisco Pineda played for the team. In the 1979-1980 season, 17 different youth teams competed in the cup competition, alongside "Castilla," and only one of them made it into the football history books.

The "Castilla" team consisted of very talented young players aged 20 to 23. Even their coach, Juanjo Garcia Santos, was only 34 years old.

There was a high level of trust in the team camp, and later R. Gallego spoke about the team's mood at the time:

"We had many young players who went on the field to play football without any scruples. When the team smoothly passed the ball, when the players ran forward as we did, when the team used its youthfulness, the opponents were not ready for it."

In the first round of the tournament, "Castilla" defeated "Extremadura" in a two-match series 10-2 and started their incredible journey.

In the second stage of the competition, the "Real" reserves faced "Alcorcon," who also did not resist the youngsters and had to admit their superiority with a joint result of 5-1. Things did not go better for "Racing Santander," who had recently dropped out of "La Liga" and could not stop the young players in the third round (1-3).

Now the Castilla team awaited a formidable opponent - "Hercules."

The team from Alicante was defeated 4-1 at home by "Castilla" and had a three-goal advantage before the return leg. However, the "Real" reserves did not give up - in the second match, Paco scored two goals in just thirty minutes, bringing "Castilla" ahead 2-0. With a minute left in regular time, the hosts managed to score a third goal, taking the match to extra time. Cidon scored in the 103rd minute, securing a ticket to the quarterfinals of the tournament - the same stage where Madrid's "Real" team was competing.

In the quarterfinals, "Castilla" faced the 23-time tournament champions, Bilbao's "Athletic."

The Bilbao club was a strong contender in "Copa del Rey" and often fought for top positions. Interestingly, since the 1980s, "Athletic" has not won this prestigious tournament even once.

The first match between the teams in Madrid was fiercely contested, but the visitors focused on defense and managed to keep a clean sheet (0-0). However, at home, "Athletic" lost 2-1 and had to wave goodbye to promising talents. Moreover, the match was anything but balanced - the hosts only scored a consolation goal in the final minutes.

In the quarterfinals, "Castilla" battled "Real Sociedad." After losing the first match 1-2, the "Real" reserve team did the unthinkable - they triumphed in the series 3-2. This victory sounded more impressive, considering that in that "La Liga" season, the main "Real" team had been defeated by "Sociedad" with a humiliating score of 0-4.

"Castilla" continued their remarkable journey and faced a challenge against the "Sporting Gijon" in the semifinals. After a 0-2 defeat in Asturias, many thought it was the end of the fantastic run in the tournament for the Madrid club.

However, the youngsters managed to provide another sensation and crushed their opponents 4-0 in front of their own fans.

Thus, the talents achieved the impossible and made it to the "Copa del Rey" final, where they faced Madrid's "Real" team.

The decisive match took place at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, with 65,000 spectators in attendance. However, the miracles of "Castilla" came to an end - "Real" crushed them 6-1 and won the prestigious trophy.

Later, R. Gallego added: "Reaching the final meant that 'Real' really took us very seriously. We had to admit that the five-goal difference showed the true distance between those two teams."

However, "Castilla" did not leave empty-handed.

Since "Real" won the "La Liga" championship, the reserve team was allowed to play in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. There, the young talents defeated London's "West Ham United" 3-1 at home, but after extra time, they lost 1-5 away and did not advance beyond the first stage of the tournament.