Athletic has been a fixture in the finals of national tournaments these last two years. Two from the Cup and another two from the Super Cup. Since the Cup between Valencia and Barça was played in 2019, and that was three years ago, there is no known dispute over the KO tournament in which the lions were not. Then came the two Super Cups, the one they won at La Cartuja and this year’s one they lost to Madrid in Riyadh.
Today the routine is broken, It’s time to watch Betis-Valencia on TV. Now the rojiblanco team, which enjoys a double rest day this weekend, is in other wars, especially institutional ones. Next month he has the thorny meeting to change the Statutes and then the relief in the presidency will come. In between, the difficult struggle to enter Europe. Hopes are pinned on Betis lifting the Cup tonight, to win the ticket for seventh place.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of April 23, 2022
If we extend the historical range to 2009 (after 25 years of drought), it indicates that in this time the red and white squad has played up to ten finals, five in the Cup, four in the Super Cup and one in the Europa League. Bielsa fell in two and Marcelino, in three. The Spaniard picked up a final inherited from Gaizka Garitano, that of 2020. This was postponed for a year, uselessly, to try to have an audience. The pandemic barely subsided and it was not possible.
The Careñes coach joined Athletic on January 3, 2021, with a preliminary agreement that became law the next day when he signed a contract after training in Lezama, and 378 days later he already had four finals in his bag. He aspired to become the coach with the most Super Cup wins at Athletic ahead of José Iraragorri, who won the Eva Duarte in 1950, Javier Clemente, League and Cup champion in 1984 and direct Super Cup winner, and Valverde, who beat Barcelona in a double match in 2015. But García Toral could not.