Athletic Club ended their 40-year wait for a 25th Copa del Rey title on Saturday, as Ernesto Valverde’s side defeated Mallorca on penalties at La Cartuja. Full time scenes were wild in Seville, where 40,000 fans had travelled from the Basque country to cheer on their team during the showpiece event.
🏆¡¡¡El @AthleticClub es CAMPEÓN DE LA #CopaDelRey 40 años después!!!
🔙Berenguer no falla desde los once metros y la Copa vuelve a Bilbao
🙌Valverde se lleva las manos a la cabeza#LaCopaRTVE🖥️📱EN DIRECTO:https://t.co/qZtk0Ebkxb pic.twitter.com/fd894ZgQai
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) April 6, 2024
Locura. Sin palabras.#UniqueInTheWorld 🏆 #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/BtgWfZCCg0
— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) April 6, 2024
Back at home, it was even crazier. Over 50,000 packed out Athletic’s home stadium of San Mames to watch the final on big screens, 800km away from where their heroes were playing. Relevo captured the moment when Alex Berenguer scored that decisive penalty in the shoot-out, which ended Los Leones’ wait for a Copa del Rey success.
📍 San Mamés, Bilbao
Así se celebró la Copa de Rey en el hogar del Athletic.
𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥 ▶️ 𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚.
🎥 @JoniRamos pic.twitter.com/2kNRxRT3RH
— Relevo (@relevo) April 6, 2024
There’s no doubt that one of Spanish football’s sleeping giants has been awoken this season. Athletic Club have already had a memorable campaign because of this success in the Copa del Rey, but they still have the chance to make it even better, with Champions League qualification on the cards.
