Valencia V Getafe

Valencia and Getafe play tonight at Vicente Calderón (Atlético Madrid’s Stadium), in the grand final of the Copa del Rey.

The Copa del Rey is a very prestigous trophy in Spain. It is the equivalent of the FA Cup in England, the winners are handed the trophy by the King of Spain, which is where the name comes in, Cup of Kings. The full name of the trophy is Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Don Juan Carlos I (His Majesty King Juan Carlos I’s Cup).

Like in England with the FA Cup, this cup hasn’t been given the value it deserves by the big clubs in Spain, but come the big day and every player wishes they were involved.

Getafe

One of this years finalists is Getafe, a club from a “pueblo” (village) on the outskirts of the Spanish capital Madrid. Getafe unlike most clubs in Spain and Europe is a very young team, that is they climbed the entire league system to the Primera Liga in the last twenty years. They are coached by Danish legend Michael Laudrup.

Valencia

Getafe will be playing agaisnt Valencia considered one of the bigger clubs in Spain. Copa del Rey apart, they have not looked one of the bigger clubs this season, they were knocked out in the early stages of the Champions League and are currently 16th in the league. The Valencian supporters have not taken kindly to their form, booing the team countless times during home games.

Ultimately both teams see this final as an opportunity to save their season.