Seville (AFP)
The final match of the Spanish Cup in football brings together Real Betis, aspiring to crown his successes in the league, and Valencia, seeking to save his season, at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville, on Saturday.
Betis reached the final of the Cup by defeating Rayo Vallecano on aggregate 3-2 in the semi-finals, while Valencia defeated Athletic Bilbao by a total of 2-1.
It is only the second time in the last 12 final matches that Real Madrid or Barcelona are not a party, while the first was the 2020 final postponed to the following year due to the repercussions of the Corona virus, and it ended with Real Sociedad’s victory over Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the “Basque Derby”.
Betis, who is supervised by Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini, 66, hopes to lift the cup for the third time in its history after 1977 and 2005.
Betis occupies fifth place in the league with 57 points, 4 points behind Atletico Madrid, the defending champion, who is in the last fourth place, qualifying for the Champions League next season.
However, Betis’ hopes of returning to the continental competition for the first time since 2005 collided with a surprising loss at home against Elche 0-1 on Tuesday, before which he scored 11 points from his previous five matches.
Betis will miss Victor Camaras and Martin Montoya with an injury, and Ivorian Paul Akoyoko in his midst for a red card against Elche in the league, while the brilliant midfield trio Juanmi, French Nabil Fekir and Sergio Canales are likely to be the most prominent weapon to keep up with Brazilian striker Willian Jose.
“It is without a doubt the most important game of my career because I have never played a final,” Borja Iglesias, who has 9 goals in the league this season with Betis, and who missed the last game, told Marca newspaper.
“I’m very happy with what’s happening, it was a great run in the cup for Betis and we want to celebrate it with a win, we are lucky to be able to experience this moment.”
And he added: “The fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time and we must appreciate this opportunity, we know what we have to do, we are calm and we can’t wait to play a good game.”
The icon of the veteran club, Joaquin, «40 years», who is now on the bench, hopes to lift the cup for the second time in his career with Betis after 17 years of his first title when he participated mainly in the victory over Osasuna 2-1 at the “Vicente Calderon” stadium (Atletico stadium). Ex) in Madrid.
Unlike Betis, Valencia appeared this season in a modest way to occupy the tenth place in the league, but the men of coach Jose Bordolas, “57 years,” have the opportunity to make up for what they missed and win the cup for the ninth time in the club’s history.
The “bats” team is playing the cup match and is experiencing disappointment with two consecutive losses in the league against Osasuna 1-2 and Villarreal 2-0. It also did not taste the taste of victory in its last four matches, as it drew negatively against Cadiz and Rayo Vallecano 1-1. His last victory over Elche 1-0 in the twenty-ninth stage is also back.
Valencia hopes to win the cup for the first time since 2019 and beat Barcelona 2-1, in order to return to the title track and compensate for its confusion in the league that won its title six times, where last season it could not occupy better than thirteenth place.
Los Che got an extra dose of morale with the return of Guadeloupe’s centre-half Dimitri Volquier to his ranks after the suspension, while doubts swirl about the possibility of Maxi Gomes, who suffers from a toe injury.
The two teams met once in the league this season, and Betis prevailed 4-1 (they meet again in the 36th stage), but the numbers are in favor of Valencia in the cup, as they won three of their last four matches.
The league competitions are absent this week in preparation for the cup final, while one match will be held, where Barcelona will receive its second guest, Rayo Vallecano, in a postponed meeting from the 21st stage on Sunday, seeking to break its connection with the points with Seville, the third.