"Everyone dreams of getting to this final"

Under a radiant sun and at the gates of the Palacio de San Telmo, headquarters of the presidency of the Junta de Andalucía, the Mapfre Copa del Rey trophy arrived this Thursday as part of the build up to the grand final to be played at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville.

The president of the RFEF, Rafael Louzán, and the head of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, received the Cup from the hands of two Andalusian champions of the tournament and legends of the Spanish national team, Jesús Navas and Joaquín Sánchez.

In a colourful journey that began on Thursday afternoon on the banks of the river in the Triana neighbourhood, the silver trophy was transported while decorated with the symbols of the tournament, crossing the waters of the Guadalquivir to the Pantalán de San Telmo, where Joaquín and Navas carried it on foot to the seat of the Andalusian government.

In front of the gate of the San Telmo Palace, Rafael Louzán and Juan Manuel Moreno accompanied the trophy to the Copa del Rey exhibition, which, focused on the history of the centenary competition, has been inaugurated and opened to the public with the trophy on display until next Saturday, the date of the final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

At the opening ceremony, the president of the RFEF expressed that "we experience the Cup in a very special way, putting the trophy at the service of all Andalusians. This competition, as this exhibition shows, is part of the history of Spain itself".

Rafael Louzán has especially thanked "the president of the Junta de Andalucía, the mayor of Seville and the provincial council, all of them members of the board of trustees of the La Cartuja stadium. Everyone dreams of getting to this final, and it could have been reached by any of the 124 teams from all over Spain that have taken part in this season’s tournament. We are going to enjoy a beautiful celebration of Spanish football that will reach tens of millions of people all over the world. For this reason, we want the final not to be limited to 90 minutes, but for the whole city to be involved in the match for the whole week".

For his part, the President of Andalusia, who received a replica of the trophy from the head of the RFEF, also expressed his "gratitude and congratulations to Rafael Louzán and the entire RFEF for making the Cup shine and generating this great expectation both nationally and internationally. The replica of the Copa del Rey will also sit in the Palacio de San Telmo, because it is very pleasing that the RFEF and its president have made this tournament look to the south of Spain".

The gratitude was also extended by Juan Manuel Moreno and Rafael Louzán to Jesús Navas and Joaquín Sánchez two days before the ball starts rolling on the pitch of a renovated La Cartuja stadium in Seville in a great celebration of Spanish football, to which the president of the RFEF has conveyed his best wishes: ‘May you enjoy the final’, he wished on Thursday next to the trophy decorated with the colours of the two teams in contention for success.