FC Barcelona - Real Madrid in the Cup Final: Eighth Clásico and Unfinished Business

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will face each other again in a Copa del Rey final eleven years later. After their victories against Real Sociedad (5-4 on aggregate) and Atlético de Madrid (5-4 on aggregate) respectively, the blaugranas and merengues will compete for the title at La Cartuja on April 26, in what will be the eighth Clásico held in the history of cup finals.

In the seven previous encounters, the balance slightly favors the Madrid team, who have emerged victorious in four of these matches, while the culés have done so on three occasions. The last time was in 2014, when the white team took the trophy with their victory at Mestalla thanks to a goal from Gareth Bale in extra time.

• 2014: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona
• 2011: Real Madrid 1-0 FC Barcelona
• 1990: FC Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid
• 1983: FC Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
• 1974: Real Madrid 4-0 FC Barcelona
• 1968: FC Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid
• 1936: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona

The 7 Barça-Madrid Finals in the History of the Copa del Rey

1. 1936 (Copa del Presidente de la República): Madrid FC 2 - 1 FC Barcelona: In this edition, held before the Spanish Civil War, Real Madrid (known as Madrid FC during the republican era) won with goals from Eugenio and Lecue, while Escolá scored for Barça.
2. 1968 (Copa del Generalísimo): FC Barcelona 1 - 0 Real Madrid: Played at the Santiago Bernabéu, Barcelona won with an own goal from Zunzunegui, achieving the title at the rival's home.
3. 1974 (Copa del Generalísimo): Real Madrid 4 - 0 FC Barcelona: At the Vicente Calderón, Real Madrid dominated with goals from Santillana, Rubiñán, Aguilar, and Pirri, in a final controlled by the whites.
4. 1983 (Copa del Rey): FC Barcelona 2 - 1 Real Madrid: In Zaragoza, Barça took victory with goals from Víctor Muñoz and Marcos Alonso, while Santillana scored for the 'merengue'.
5. 1990 (Copa del Rey): FC Barcelona 2 - 0 Real Madrid: In Valencia, Barcelona won with goals from Guillermo Amor and Julio Salinas, in a final that solidified their dominance during that era.
6. 2011 (Copa del Rey): Real Madrid 1 - 0 FC Barcelona: At Mestalla, a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo in extra time gave the title to Real Madrid after a very contested match.
7. 2014 (Copa del Rey): Real Madrid 2 - 1 FC Barcelona: Also at Mestalla, Real Madrid won with goals from Ángel Di María and Gareth Bale, the latter with a memorable run; Marc Bartra had temporarily equalized for Barça.

All the Copa del Rey Finals Played by Barça

Barça is the absolute dominant of the Copa del Rey. So far, the club has played 42 finals and this Wednesday secured qualification for number 43, being the team with the most participations in this stage in the history of the competition. Of these, they have won 31 titles, which also makes them the most decorated team in the tournament.

In total, the blaugrana team has won approximately 73.8% of the finals they have played (31 out of 42) and the teams they have faced the most are Athletic Club, with whom they have met 9 times, achieving 7 victories and 2 defeats, and Real Madrid, whom they have faced 7 times (3 victories and 4 defeats).

These 31 victories came in the years: 1909-10, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1941-42, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1962-63, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21.

Finally, the victory on April 2 at the Metropolitano could serve as a premonition of what may happen next Saturday the 26th at La Cartuja due to a curious precedent. Of the 6 times that FC Barcelona has eliminated Atlético in the semifinals, they have gone on to win the tournament 5 times, so the excitement in the City of Barcelona is at its peak.