CA Osasuna is the clear underdog in the Copa del Rey final. The team from Pamplona showed strong nerves in the cup and has the top scorer in its ranks.
If the greatest success of a football club is getting into a cup final, which was then also lost, then that says a lot about the history of this club. In 2005 he made it Club Atlético Osasuna to the final of the Spanish Cup, the Copa del Reyand lost 2-1 after extra time against Betis Seville.
The fact that the club is now in the final again is therefore also a surprise. Winning the title for the first time would be even more surprising. Because on Saturday (May 6th, 2023) the opponent is called im La Cartuja Stadium in Sevilla Real Madrid.
Recently lost against Barcelona by a narrow margin
Osasuna could at least make it very difficult for the “Royals”. FC Barcelona had to find out about that last weekend. In the Primera Division, the front runner struggled to a meager 1-0 win against the table tenth.
A late goal by Jordi Alba (85′) redeemed the Catalans, who played more than an hour after a red card against Jorge Herrando (27′) but struggled against the brave defending guests.
Osasuna’s memories of 1990
Osasuna needs another miracle like that of December 30, 1990. At that time the club beat im Santiago Bernabeu Stadium the Real Madrid team 4-0. Polish striker Jan Urban scored three goals and became a legend.
They talk about that too Pamplona even today. The club comes from this city in the north of Spain, where bullfighting is a popular sport alongside soccer. Osasuna is not a place, but means “health” or “strength” in Spanish.
A new hero is needed against Real. Hopes rest on Enrique “Kike” Garcia. With five goals in the current cup season, he is the top scorer in the Copa del Rey and has scored more times than Real superstar Karim Benzema.
Kike Garcia is Osasuna’s hope against Real
International three times against German clubs
The club is from the provinces for many German fans Navarra quite a term. He played three times on the international stage against opponents from the Bundesliga. In the 1991/92 season, Osasuna eliminated VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Cup.
In the 2006/07 season CA failed in the Champions-League-Qualification at Hamburger SV and started again in the UEFA Cup. There were two wins against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals and only in the semi-finals against eventual winners FC Sevilla.
The fact that Osasuna has now made it into the Copa del Rey final is something that the team of coach Jagoba Arrasate owes to Real. The Madrilenians cleared their city rivals in the competition Atlético and also FC Barcelona.
Four times in a row at least in overtime
Osasuna prevailed against Athletic Bilbao (1:0/1:1 aet) in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals was FC Sevilla (2:1 aet), in the round of 16 Betis Sevilla (4:2 aet) and in the third round Tarragona (2:1 nV) the opponent.
Curious: CA has already written history with it. Never in the history of the competition has a team made it to the final that has needed at least extra time four times in a row to advance.
Nothing to lose
The fact is that Osasuna has absolutely nothing to lose. For Real, which has to leave the championship to FC Barcelona, the drop is high. And it wouldn’t be the first time that Real have played against a “Underdog” fails. In 2002 they lost “Blancos” against La Coruna sports and 2004 vs Real Zaragoza.