Athletic want to live up to their tradition of a cup victory every 40 years

It all began with a final that was never played. It took place in the spring of 1904 in Madrid's Retiro Park when a misunderstanding between the dates of the big match handed the title to Athletic Club when their rivals, Español Foot-Ball Club, failed to turn up.

A curious fact that would start the ball rolling on a tradition that continues to this very day. 120 years later, the lions continue with the tradition of winning the Copa del Rey every four decades, as they did in 1944 and 1984. Currently, they are in a great position to repeat the feat on 6 April 2024 at La Cartuja in Seville.

The centenary Basque club is the club with the second most cup successes to their name and the team who won it most times in the last century. That being said, their winless drought is now in its 40th year.

A goal by Endika Guarrotxena at the Santiago Bernabéu against FC Barcelona brought about the last red and white cup success on 5 May 1984. Since then, five consecutive finals have been lost (1985, 2009, 2012, 2020 and 2021, the last two behind closed doors only 14 days apart due to the restrictions and subsequent changes imposed by the pandemic. Now, the Lions want to roar again in 2024. 

ATHLETIC CLUB FINALS IN THE COPA DEL REY SINCE 1904