Copa Del Rey - Sevilla Champions

[Pat Murphy]

Getafe meet Barca in cup Semi Final

Getafe will meet Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, while Sevilla will take on Deportivo La Coruna.

Unfashionable Getafe have already beaten last season's UEFA Champions League qualifiers Valencia and Osasuna en route to the last four and will now face Barcelona.

For coach Bernd Schuster it marks a return to one of his former clubs and Getafe president Angel Torres is looking forward to the tie.

"It's a very difficult tie, especially as Barcelona are now out of the Champions League and they will be more focused on the cup now," Torres told reporters.

"But we are really enjoying this run in the cup and we've got the second leg at home which is an advantage.

"The Nou Camp is a very big ground for us and 90 minutes pass very slowly there, but the Coliseo is a difficult place for them to play and we drew with them there this season."

Sevilla, who are also fighting with Barca for the Primera Liga title, as well as aiming to retain their Uefa Cup crown, will come up against Deportivo.

It means a meeting with former coach Joaquin Caparros and his presence on the Depor bench is a worry for Sevilla.

Vice-president Jose Castro told Radio Marca: "He is a coach with a winning character and they will be a very difficult side to beat."

The first leg of the semi-final ties will be staged on 18th April, with the return matches scheduled for 9th May

from Sky Sports

This may sound stupid but I really want Barca to win this trophy, maybe more than La Liga. Getafe was a decent catch although they'll be tough to beat. I think a Barca/Getafe vs Sevilla final will happen.

These games aren't until mid-April.

[Trim]

Not bad, we can see a Barca vs Sevilla final.

[Pat Murphy]

Last time there was a Barca vs Sevilla final Barca got battered 3-0

That was less than a year ago too.

[Trim]

^ I remember it very well

[Super Pibe #7]

Originally Posted by Pat Murphy

This may sound stupid but I really want Barca to win this trophy, maybe more than La Liga..

Yes it sounds stupid

Getafe are a solid team and they have already knocked out valencia. Hopefully we win this tie.

[Pat Murphy]

First Legs of the Semi's will be played next Wednesday.

[Pat Murphy]

Semi 1st Leg Results:

Barca 5-2 Getafe
Deportivo 0-3 Sevilla

Which means we will almost definately have a Barca - Sevilla final again.

Barca can do the double with the Liga and Copa but Sevilla can do the treble with the UEFA Cup, Copa del Rey and Liga. I think full credit for this has to come down to the Sevilla coach Juande Ramos who got won Sevilla the UEFA Cup last season and with a strong squad fitness and rotation policy they have managed to last all season at the top of every competition. If they didn't have that bad patch of form at the start of 2007 then they would have been comfortably top of La Liga now.

[Trim]

Yeah, the final will be Barca v Sevilla obviously. I hope Sevilla puts their best performance, Barca wouldn't be available to do anything. Just mark tight that Young Maradona

[Pat Murphy]

Sevilla won 2-0 last night so won 5-0 on aggregate over Depor.

Tonight is Barca vs Gefate second leg. Only a disaster will fail to see Barca through as they're 5-2 up from the first leg (2 away goals against tho).

[Trim]

Sevilla 2-0 Deportivo. (Agg. 5-0)
Getafe 4-0 Barcelona. (Agg. 6-5)

Final: Sevilla v Getafe.

It's gonna be a good match, I have no doubts.
A clash of the two best managers of the league, Bernd Schuster and Juande Ramos. Let's see who wins the battle. Ramos knows very well he won't have it easy at all.

[Pat Murphy]

Getafe are an unfashionable side but have pulled out the huge results at home this season as they've beaten Valencia, Barca, Osasuna and Villarreal at home by 3 goals or more this season. Possibly can be put down to the crowd being fantastic and like a 12th player for them.

Here's a nice little section from an article on fcbarcelona.com before the match:

Message board

After the victory over Real Betis at the weekend, Getafe moved upto eighth in the league and Schuster and club president, Ángel Torres, gave the team some surprising support. According to the coach, the 5-2 reverse in Camp Nou was an accident and to show the players that the fans still believe they can reach the final, a number of letters of support were hung up on the walls of the dressing room to lift morale within the squad. "We thought that it would cheer everyone up before the game", Schuster explained. "In football there are many ways to create a good atmosphere."

Fans and players all believed that they could overturn the first leg, fantastic achievment by Getafe and should be an example for all, especially Barca. Juande Ramos vs Bernd Schuster should be a fantastic final.

[Pat Murphy]

Abbondanzieri Given Final No By Argentina

Argentina have told Getafe that they will not allow goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri to return to Spain to appear in the Copa del Rey final.

The Albiceleste are due to travel to Venezuela on Friday for final preparations before the Copa América begins on June 26 and they want all their players present.

Getafe take on Sevilla in the cup final on Saturday evening and were hoping to be able to persuade the Argentinian Football Association to allow Abbondanzieri to travel on Sunday.

With the keeper also asking to be allowed to play in the crucial encounter, there was some hope that his national team would relent.

"To win the Copa del Rey with Getafe would have been incredible for me and the team," the keeper, nicknamed 'El Pato', explained.

"It would have been something historical.

"People do have to understand though, that the Copa América is also very important for me.

"Also, I think that Argentina will have a great tournament and I want to be part of it and to see what we can achieve."

Getafe coach Bernd Schuster will name Abbondanzieri's understudy, Luís García, in goal for the game in the Bernabéu at the weekend.

from Goal.com

Goal.com - Spain - Abbondanzieri Given Final No By Argentina

Will be a real pain in the arse for Getafe. They lose out on Pato for the final who finished the season as Zamora (best keeper) and have to play Luis G who conceded 5 against Barca as Messi rounded him for his Maradona goal. Could be decisive for the final.

[lionel]

as far as I know, it means nothing, coz there is tradition in spain that the first goalkeeper never plays in the copa-del-rey matches, even in the final match. pato didn't play in any of the cup matches so far and even if available he won't play against sevilla.
palop, sevillia's GK also won't play.

[Pennywise]

Madrid have always played the second goali in the Kings Cup.

[Pat Murphy]

I didn't realise this second goalie thing although thinking back on it Jorquera plays in the Copa for Barca, Luis Garcia played in both against Barca and Cobeno played for Sevilla although I think Palop may have played in some.