The draw for the first round of the Copa del Rey was made today, as noted by The Spanish Football Podcast. None of the clubs involved in the Supercopa de Espana – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Club – have been included as of yet.
The first round will be composed of 56 one-off games to be played from November 30th until December second. Perhaps the pick of the ties is a tasty Andalusian derby between Cordoba and Sevilla – two cities just a 40-minute train journey away – but the early rounds of the Copa are a unique opportunity for the minnows of the Spanish game to rub shoulders with the elite.
Last season was unique, of course, in that it saw two Copa finals in the same stadium within the space of a matter of weeks due to Coronavirus-enforced delays. Real Sociedad beat Athletic 1-0 in the long-delayed 2020 Copa final before Barcelona hammered Athletic 4-0 in the 2021 Copa final, both games taking place at La Cartuja in the beautiful southern city of Seville.
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) November 18, 2021
Barcelona, the holders, are the most successful club in the history of the competition with 31 to their name. Athletic are second in the historic ranking with 23, while Madrid are third with 19. Atletico, Valencia, Zaragoza, Sevilla, Espanyol, Real Union and La Real round out of the rest of the historical top ten.
