Copa Del Ray 2024 Final: They say they pray for miracles and miracles do arrive. A similar instance was a subject to spectacle on Sunday, April 7, as Athletic Club de Bilbao ended their 40-year wait for a major silverware by defeating RCD Mallorca in the Copa Del Ray 2024 Final at the Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla in Sevilla. The match ended 1-1 in regular time and after a gruesome extra time that saw no goals, the match was eventually settled via a penalty shootout, where Athletic Club emerged victorious.
The victory is indeed iconic and special because the Spanish club hails themselves as "Unique in the club" as the club only allows and buys players from the Basque region (meaning that if a player, who is not born and brought up in the Basque region, is not eligible to play for the club and that, no foreigner plays for the club unless the individual has a connection with the Basque region). With such strict discipline and unique model, many experts and fans from decades hail the spirit of the club and the owners.
Also, what makes this feat even more special and iconic is the fact that in the modern era of football, where huge money is invested into transfer fees and lack of emergence of academy product into the main XI of the same team, clubs still end up either going trophyless, or even get relegated from top tier.
However, Athletic Club, inspite of such hardships and strict discipline, have never been relegated from the Spanish top tier alongside two of the greatest clubs in football's history, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and that in itself, is greatness personified.
The Basque region-based club has a huge fanbase and the "Unique" club sent its fans berserk once Alex Berenguer scored the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out.
The Legend Of Ernesto Valverde: The Ultimate Underdog Coach
Ernesto Valverde is a true owner of the phrase, "Put some respect in my name" as the current Athletic Club coach has faced immense criticism for his managerial tactics and gameplay throughout his career. Inspite of such adversities, the 60-year old has delivered at the highest level and even made FC Barcelona extremely invincible in La Liga.
Now that he has gone, the Blaugrana have learnt the fact and realisation that the former coach indeed did a great job with the club, as he led them to 8 trophies during his short stint at the club.
The Spaniard, who started his managerial career with the Basque-region club in 2003, has spanned out for 20+ years as a manager and it is time that football fans and faithful start respecting the work of the ultimate underdog manager of Spanish football, the maestro, Ernesto Valverde.