A sixth consecutive Copa del Rey final awaits Barcelona on Saturday and Omnisport have looked back on how they fared in the past five.
Barcelona are aiming for a record fifth successive Copa del Rey triumph on Saturday when they face Valencia, with the Catalans' recent dominance in the competition seeing them reach the final sixth times in a row.
If Ernesto Valverde's men complete the feat, they will certainly have done it the hard way, as they have had to get past Real Madrid and Sevilla en route to the final and will now face a Valencia side who finished fourth in LaLiga.
The pressure is on, however. Barca disappointed supporters by failing to reach the Champions League final, despite beating Liverpool 3-0 in the semi-final first leg, and some are calling for Valverde to lose his job.
Winning only LaLiga when a treble looked extremely likely just a few weeks ago could potentially spell doom for the head coach, but the omens are good for Barca, as their previous five finals have shown…
2013-14: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
Having seen LaLiga and the Champions League move out of reach in the build-up, Barca – and specifically coach Gerardo Martino – needed a victory in the 2013-14 final. Things got off to a bad start when Angel Di Maria opened the scoring after a good move in the 11th minute. Marc Bartra levelled with a powerful second-half header, but Gareth Bale clinched the first piece of silverware of his career with a spectacular late solo winner, consigning Barca to their first trophyless season since 2008, which cost Martino his job.
2014-15: Athletic Bilbao 1-3 Barcelona
If 2013-14 was a failure, the following season was the complete opposite. Having already wrapped up the league title, Barca cruised to victory in the Copa, giving club great Xavi the ideal final Camp Nou outing. The magnificent Lionel Messi starred, opening the scoring with a marvellous solo effort, before Neymar rounded off a flowing move for 2-0. Their Argentinian talisman ended Athletic's chances towards the end, with Inaki Williams' goal a mere consolation. Barca then went on to complete a treble with a 3-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final.
2015-16: Barcelona 2-0 Sevilla (AET)
Fresh from beating Liverpool in the Europa League final, Sevilla were eager to upset another European giant. Barca were not helped by Javier Mascherano's dismissal for hauling down Kevin Gameiro in the first half, but they ended up managing the rest of the regulation 90 minutes fairly well and the numbers were evened up late on when Ever Banega was sent off. Barca simply had too much for Sevilla in extra time, as Jordi Alba and then Neymar got the goals, while Daniel Carrico was shown the game's third red card.
2016-17: Barcelona 3-1 Deportivo Alaves
A first ever Copa final for Alaves promised little given who they were up against. A Theo Hernandez free-kick offered them a measure of hope just after Messi's 30th-minute opener, but Barca ultimately had things wrapped by half-time, with Neymar and Paco Alcacer putting the game beyond Mauricio Pellegrino's men. Having missed out on the league title, Copa success at least meant Barca did not end the campaign empty-handed, with Luis Enrique leaving his post shortly after.
2017-18: Sevilla 0-5 Barcelona
While Barca's Copa tussle with Sevilla in 2016 was a gripping encounter, last season's meeting showed an alarming gulf. Andres Iniesta starred in what proved to be his last final for the club, scoring the fourth goal, but victory was effectively secured by half-time given a Luis Suarez double and a solitary Messi effort had them 3-0 up at the interval. Philippe Coutinho's penalty finished things off, as Barca went on to seal a domestic double, while Sevilla sacked Montella a week later.
Longlife2000
58
If Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid had won La Liga this season it would have been a big achievement for them and it would have been talked about alot but since Barcelona won it it's not being talked about because of how many they've won in recent years. Was it easy for Fc Barcelona to win the league ? No, it's 38 matches and months of hard work, competing at a high level with teams like Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla etc. while also competing in UCL and CDR. How come Barca doesn't get the recognition they deserve for winning the league ? La Liga isn't a farmers league where one team dominates all the time, there is Real Madrid who have won the most league titles in history (33) and the most UCL (13), Sevilla who has won the most Europa league titles (5), Atletico Madrid who has 10 league titles and has been in 2 UCL final in the last 5 years. These are strong teams that dominate Europe. So, is winning the league title lost it's credibility ? No, it's hasn't because if Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid or any other team had won La Liga this season it would've been very much acknowledged. It's only towards Fc Barcelona. Even the Copa Del Rey, Fc Barcelona had to defeat Sevilla and Real Madrid to reach the final this season, there 6 consecutive final. The CDR is now labelled to be a "Micky mouse trophy" but the same big teams from La liga all take part, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia etc. But when Fc Barcelona wins the trophy it becomes irrelevant however just a few years ago Real Madrid did a bus parade for winning this same title. Now it has no value because Barcelona has been dominating the competition. 😏😏😏
citdkpsuy
27
In my opinion,Valverde is one of the best coaches in the world. By reviewing the la-liga, barca, real, atheletico were struggling in this season. But barca cut the second place about 11 points. So this is becsuse of valverde's good instruction. In champion league, barca has a good chance to reach final. But they didn't take a lesson from previous season.We were thinking about last season which losing roma in second leg. Unfortunately it happened as last season. Even one goal is enough for barca. But they wasted the all chances. So they are unlucky two successive years. If barca wins in copa del ray final, The coach should stay in here and let him try for next season. Champion league is coming for barca in next year!