Athletic Bilbao, the second most successful club in the Spanish Cup in football, is relieved of having lost 6 final matches in a row when it meets Real Mallorca on Saturday at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville.
Coach Ernesto Valverde’s team, which is fifth in the league, led by the two strikers Iñaki and Nico Williams, appears to be a strong candidate given the struggle of Real Mallorca and its Mexican coach Javier Aguirre to remain in La Liga, where it occupies fifteenth place.
Athletic Bilbao’s last title in the cup competition dates back to 1984, when it achieved the local double, before any of its current team players were born.
The 23-time champions will play the 40th cup final in their history against a hard-working Mallorca team led by Aguirre, who lifted the cup for the only time in 2003 and will play only their fourth final (they lost the 1991 and 1998 editions).
What is most painful for Athletic is that in 2021 they lost the final twice in the same month, as the final of the 2020 edition against their Basque rival Real Sociedad was postponed to April 3, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bilbao suffered a painful loss to its fiercest rival Sociedad 0-1, before Barcelona crushed it 4-0 two weeks later in the final of the 2021 edition, where the Catalan club strengthened its record for the number of titles in the competition with 31 titles (in 42 final matches).
What made matters worse was that fans were not allowed to enter the stadium in those two matches, and Iñaki Williams said that playing in front of the club’s fans could be decisive for them.
The striker, who defends the colors of the Ghana national team, the country of his parents, unlike his brother, who plays for La Roja, said: “Given the good season we are presenting, we have made the fans excited again and we know that we have a great responsibility ahead of us, but we will try to achieve victory for them.”
He added, “Thousands will go to Seville to support us, and we will do everything there and hope that the balance will be in our favor.”
Although the club lost the last six final matches in 1985, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2020 and 2021, Williams said that Athletic should not fear losing again.
The striker, who scored against Barcelona and Atletico on his team’s way to the final, continued: “We are calm, and we have confidence that we are able to perform well, because very few teams have been able to beat us this season.”
He added, “We know that Athletic is going through a very good period, with many players at a very good level. This is what we will try to achieve in the final, to be ourselves, and play bravely, as we do, and without fear of defeat.”
Iñaki will regain the services of his brother Nico, who missed the match that Athletic Bilbao lost to host Real Madrid 0-2 last weekend in the league due to a thigh injury.
The two brothers will form a striking force in the attack, alongside Alex Berenguer, who has excelled remarkably this season against the Dekoa team, conceding four goals last February in the league.
Real Mallorca’s Kosovar international striker, Widad Murici, said in a statement to Radio Cadena Ser this week: “Athletic are the favourites. Everyone knows that.”
Morici and Canadian Kyle Larin will be Real Mallorca’s weapons to create problems for the second strongest defense line in Spain (conceding 28 goals compared to 20 for Real Madrid), through counterattacks.
“They have more experience in this competition, but they have not won for 40 years and they are the favourites. They have a lot of pressure on them, more than us,” Morici added.
He continued, “We can use this to our advantage, and if we start the match well, we will get our chances.”
Real Mallorca also relies on the experience of its 65-year-old coach, Aguirre, who previously played in the final match of the King’s Cup in 2005 when he was coaching Osasuna.
At that time, Osasuna narrowly lost to Real Betis 1-2 after extra time.