Inma Lidón
Updated Sunday, April 7, 2024-02:11
Chronicle Athletic finds its prize in penalties and wins its 24th Cup 40 years later
Hobbies Some whistles and "Goazen, Athletic!" during the Spanish anthem in the Copa del Rey final
When
Julen Agirrezabala
and
Nico Williams
were born, the barge had not carried a champion through the Bilbao estuary for 18 and 16 years. No one from their generation has seen
Athletic
lift the
Copa del Rey
, five times they have cried that it escaped them and both conspired and were key to lifting it 40 years later. It took them 120 minutes to try in every way possible to beat a combative
Mallorca
that led them to a penalty shootout in which they did not fail. The barge will finally return to the water next Thursday.
It was Iker Muniain who walked up the steps to the La Cartuja box to collect the title from
King Felipe
. At the end of the long line of authorities was Iribar, with tears in his eyes. Like the legendary goalkeeper, the Navarrese captain knows what it has cost to become champions again. "An atrocity, many defeats, many tears, many bitter moments.
Today we savor the good side of football
. 40 years have passed to take the Cup and never let it go," he ventured.
Iker looked for another veteran,
De Marcos
, to once again lift a Cup that soon reached the hands of
Ernesto Valverde
. He did not shy away from the limelight nor did he escape the mantle. Always a restrained technician, he grabbed the trophy, walked alone towards the red-and-white stands of La Cartuja and, without stopping smiling, left the Cup on the penalty spot from where they had just been proclaimed champions. . He has no comparison with anyone. You just have to see how the field was, what it means for this hobby. In the end it was on penalties, because we also suffered," admitted the coach, who looked askance at the shots but was happy with
Agirrezabala
's save . "He has played very committed games before this final, like against Atlético or Barça "said Valverde.
The one seen on the grass will not be his only celebration, which he will have to plan. "
I had refused to think about how to celebrate it
and now I will have to do it. When I was in Greece, after a final we would appear in a lost bar to eat a
gyros
(a sandwich with pita bread) and drink beer. We will do something like that," he confessed the coach while the party continued on the grass.
A fence gave way
Athletic celebrated with their fans so closely that a fence at the back gave way to the euphoric proximity of the players without any damage being reported and in unison with their team of champions embraced in the area they sang the
Txoria Txoi
before Asier Villalibre took his mythical trumpet and
Unai Simón and Yuri will spend a little while cutting the net
where the four penalties kicked by Athletic ended up.
Nico Williams
did not kick
, he was the danger, the best player of the match, the talent that the red and whites clung to. «
I can't wait to get on the barge
. We've been chasing this for a long time,
from the park to this stadium
. Last year I failed twice in the semi-finals and now this is a dream. For my family, my brother, De Marcos, I am happy to have achieved it in the club of my life.
That dream will come true next Thursday and will have a special role: "
I have always been the brother of, but now I am making my name
."
Julen Agirrezabala saves Morlanes' shot.J. REINAAFP
Julen Agirrezabala
, another twenty-something who has been told the story of when they were the best,
felt the same way .
In this match he grew until he stopped Mallorca's chances, which were not many but some were very clear, and the
Morlanes
penalty that sank Aguirre's team with a luck that often went in their face. This time
Dominik Greif
could not be the hero or win a birthday gift Cup that would erase three years of injury ordeal.
Mallorca had it close. Aguirre recognized his team more than Valverde for many minutes. La Cartuja was red and white and roared in Basque, but its players were gripped by responsibility throughout the first half. They had a hard time making the Williams run, as they fought with more heart than head. Iñaki against Copete and Lato while Nico managed to break Gio González and Valjent but could not find Greif's goal.
From anxiety it turned to tremor with
Dani Rodríguez's goal
. "As if you were playing in the square," his wife had told the Galician and that is why he did not hesitate to finish off a ball spit out by Prados that Gio González offered him so that he could become a hero. Neither Muriqi nor Larin nor Abdon. That boy raised in Deportivo who arrived from Albacete in the summer of 2018 to play in the Second Division brought Mallorca closer to the second Cup. That's what I thought in the box with a scarf around my neck,
Rafa Nadal
and his coach
Carlos Moyà
. A few rows down,
Iríbar
suffered , seeing his Athletic falter and Nico, in a one-on-one against Greif, crash the equalizer into the outside of the net before having his goal disallowed for offside.
Valverde and Unai Simón console Morlanes.JAIME REINAAFP
In the locker room, Valverde read to them everything he had written down in his notebook and there was an awakening. If Larin was able to score the second, nothing prevented his rival from keeping the ball and the little Williams from putting his shield on his back. He escaped down the left wing, lost the ball to Gio, fought the recovery with Samu Costa and assisted
Oihan Sancet
to beat the Mallorcan goal. This gift makes him the third player who offers the most goals to his teammates in all of Europe.
It all started again though, this time with an Athletic team that shook off the tension to boldly command, play and create chances, but without being able to avoid the extra time that made everyone nervous. Nico was able to close the game again, but the 40-year drought ended with a penalty, a punishment that Mallorca remembers they already suffered in 1998 in their first final at Mestalla. The match ended with a long hug between Valverde and Aguirre.