Saturday's 2021 Copa del Rey final between Athletic Club and Barcelona sees the competition's two most successful clubs meet in Seville.
Athletic Club and Barcelona face off in the 2021 Copa del Rey final on Saturday (3:30 pm EDT/9:30 pm CEST), in a clash that pits the tournament’s two most decorated clubs against each other.
Barcelona the kings of the Copa del Rey
Since first winning the Copa in 1929, Barça have gone on to lift the trophy on a total of 30 occasions, making the Blaugrana the domestic cup competition’s most successful side.
Athletic out to end long wait for Copa number 24
Athletic sit second in the all-time standings with 23 Copa triumphs - but they haven’t won it since back in 1984, when they beat Barça in an infamous final dubbed the ‘Battle of the Bernabéu’, after an on-field brawl erupted between the two sides after the final whistle.
Los Leones have been losing finalists five times since then, most recently going down to Basque rivals Real Sociedad in the postponed 2020 trophy decider just two weeks ago.
Real Madrid have 19 Copas - but just two this century
Meanwhile, Real Madrid may have more Spanish league titles and more European Cups/Champions Leagues than any other club - 34 and 13, respectively - but they are only the third-most successful club in the Copa del Rey.
Madrid have won the competition 19 times - and have massively struggled to add to their tally of Copa wins in recent decades. Indeed, in the nearly 30 years that have passed since Los Blancos saw off Real Zaragoza in the 1993 final, they have won the trophy just twice more, in 2011 and 2014.
Barcelona dominant in Copa in recent years
By contrast, Barça have utterly dominated the tournament in recent years. The Catalans have won no fewer than six of the last 12 Copas del Rey, a run that brought a sequence of four straight cup victories between 2015 and 2018.
Including Saturday’s match-up with Athletic, Barça have reached 10 of the past 13 Copa finals.
Athletic Club vs Barcelona: live with AS English
You’ll be able to follow live-text coverage of the 2021 Copa del Rey final between Athletic Club and Barcelona, right here at AS English. We’ll be building up to the game from about an hour and a half before kick-off, before taking you through the action at Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja.