We won’t have to wait until May to see El Clásico again. Barça and Real Madrid will face each other in another final this season, after the Spanish Super Cup, which the Barça team emerged victorious from.
On April 26th, in just over 20 days, the two teams will meet at the Cartuja on their way to the treble, looking for the first piece of the puzzle, the Copa del Rey.
FC Barcelona are now officially the second finalists of the Copa del Rey. After Real Madrid’s ‘in extremis’ qualification against Real Sociedad after a match full of goals and controversy that was decided in extra time, the Azulgrana team beat Atlético by the smallest of margins at the Metropolitano thanks to a great first half in which Lamine gifted a goal to Ferran Torres. They knew how to suffer and now they will experience El Clásico in the final.
It will be the 43rd final for Barça, who are the Kings of Cups, as they have won 31 titles, compared to 24 for Athletic Bilbao and 20 for Real Madrid, who have played in 40 finals.
Of the finals played by the Whites, seven have seen them face FC Barcelona. The balance is four victories for the Merengues to three for the Catalans. So the match on the 26th will be the eighth final in which the eternal rivals will fight for the title.
Barça will play at home
In this eighth confrontation between the two teams in a Cup final, Barça will be the home team at La Cartuja in Seville.
Precisely because it is a neutral ground, with equal distribution of tickets, it seems that being the home team has no incentive, but there are some advantages such as having the most comfortable changing room or wearing their home shirt.
The question, therefore, is how is it decided which team is the home team in the final of the Copa del Rey? Unlike in other competitions, it is not determined by the draw or decided by lot. In the case of the Copa del Rey, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) establishes that the oldest team is the one that plays the final as the home team.
Barcelona was founded in 1899, three years before Real Madrid (1902), so Hansi Flick’s team will be the home team in the final in 2025.