In front of 100,000 jubilant spectators that provided a great atmosphere at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Sevilla claimed La Copa del Rey in Spain with an efficient win over Atletico Madrid, the newly crowned Europa League champion. The triumph capped Sevilla’s up and down season gloriously, having qualified three days earlier for the next year’s Champions League in the most dramatic fashion with a priceless goal in the third minute of injury time at Almeria.
Sevilla’s campaign thus ended with maximum success and an excellent platform to prepare for next year. Earlier in the season Sevilla demonstrated the ability to play with anyone and on their best day to challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona for La Liga. But after a stroll into the knock-out round of Champions League, the Andalusians lost their sharpness and their luster. In the end, they recovered just enough to succeed in the two remaining objectives. Sevilla is a worthy Copa del Rey winner that will contend strongly in Europe and La Liga next year.
Sevilla celebrated a great season finale with the Copa del Rey.
For their part, Atletico felt unlucky this time around and will have to be content with their first trophy in 25 years. Given the Colchoneros turbulent season, a Europa League title and a Copa del Rey final must be considered a great success. Atletico’s weaknesses were again exposed throughout the match and these will have to be redressed in the off-season. Sevilla took the lead bombastically through a Diego Capel super blast early into the match, establishing the game’s psychology the rest of the way. Atletico fought for an equalizer inconsistently, with a lack of clarity in their construction, while Sevilla was happy to withdraw and exploit any mistake. Predictably, Perea offered the opportunity, but it wasn’t until the very end that a Jesus Navas sealed the victory on a counter.
Forlan was Atletico’s greatest combatant once again, but the Madrid club must improve at virtually every position in order to elevate its expectations. Tiago and Perea have to go, Simao and Reyes are much too inconsistent, Raul Garcia and even Kun Aguero have to generate more for this club to rise. The good news is that Atletico has two excellent young goal-keepers in De Gea and Asenjo, as well as the strong presence of Diego Forlan and Kun Aguero, who are likely to shine at the World Cup and become subject to irresistible bids. For now though, Atletico is far behind Valencia and Sevilla in the Champions League mix.
On the front side of the Copa del Rey, the post season movement was kicked off by the notorious transfer of David Villa to Barcelona. With the fee agreed upon, the only open question was whether Villa would opt for Madrid or Barca. Barca prevailed and the Catalan club is that much stronger as a result. There is also speculation that since Villa’s Valencia team-mate David Silva is apparently headed for Real Madrid, Villa’s move to Barca made most sense. Having qualified for the Champions League, Valencia is cashing out on at least two stars in an attempt to reduce a strangling debt and still remain competitive. Barca will have to make decisions, since Villa’s arrival directly impacts Bojan, Pedro, Henry and even Ibrahimovic. Henry is most likely to be on the move, but Barca might be open to offers for Ibra, whose inaugural blau-grana season was well below potential.
Barca's 40 million euro man: David Villa will play with Leo Messi.
It has been a tremendous year of futbol in Spain, one that continues with tomorrow’s Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Internazionale Milano to be hosted in Madrid and one that will follow through the summer as the Spanish national team seeks to win the World Cup with the most exceptional generation of players the country has ever produced. Next year promises to be even more exciting, if that is even imaginable, when Mourinho takes over Real.