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NEWS | Copa del Rey
17 October 2023

Nerves, excitement, and dreams: spectacular Copa draw

Live connections with historic towns, numerous eager participants, and a celebration of the modest football's enthusiasm: the first round of the Copa de Rey for all was decided in a spectacular event.

The Copa is cool, and the Copa unites; and this was evident on Tuesday in the draw for the first round of the most prestigious tournament in Spanish football. 110 teams were seeking their first opponent in the Copa dream, and facing an event that ignites so much emotion and hope, the RFEF wanted to create an event befitting the occasion.

Many of the voices involved in the draw wanted to acknowledge the merits of a format that allows the smaller teams to experience the Copa's excitement from the very beginning.

 

The celebration event for this draw connected with three towns that, in some way, make history in this 2023-2024 edition of the Copa del Rey: Hernán Cortés in Badajoz; Talavera de la Reina in Toledo; and Astorga in León. From there, places where this draw was experienced with special intensity, several individuals were part of the preamble to the pairing definition.

Alberto Galeano, goalkeeper of CD Hernán Cortés, showed his excitement and that of the whole town for their participation in this Copa. Once their pairing with Real Betis Balompié was revealed, he expressed his joy: "I think 80% of us wanted Betis."

 

CF Talavera de la Reina is present in the Copa del Rey as a finalist of the Copa Federación. Daniel Ramos, their captain, expressed no fear of any possible opponents from La Liga that they might face in the draw.

On the other hand, the captain of Atlético Astorga, Diego Herrador, pointed out that their presence in the draw was "the reward for the entire last season."

 

As the innocent hands for the draw, the following individuals were present at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas: Juan Núñez, player of Turégano CF; Rubén De la Red, former player of Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF; Iván Robles, captain of CD San Roque de Lepe; Antonio Montiel, captain of Real Jaén CF; Fernando Pumar, player of Racing de Ferrol; Álvaro Clausí, captain of CP Cacereño; and Fernando San Cristóbal, physiotherapist of Sestao River Club.

 

 

It was a day of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the modest teams that want to enjoy the Copa de Rey. Now, all that's left is to wait for kick off on October 31st.

 

Relive the entire draw