Barcelona’s victory at the Copa del Rey: an exercise in resilience for the club

‘’The thing with Jules is, if I tell him he has 30 minutes off, he’ll sprint off to Sitges’’.

That was what Hansi Flick had to say about Jules Koundé a little more than a week ago when explaining why he had to make him play so many games. These words came back to the mind of every Barcelona fan last Saturday. During the last minutes of the extra time of the Copa del Rey final, as if to prove his coach right, the Frenchman made one of the most extraordinary runs in Barcelona’s recent memory to recover a lost ball on the opposition side, shoot from outside the box, score the third and final goal for the culés and snatch away the trophy from Real Madrid’s hands during the last breaths of the game. But the hidden truth behind this quote is that it could be applied to all of F.C. Barcelona’ squad throughout the season. Not only because of the physicality of the players, but due to the ambitious and hard-boiled mentality that has taken root in everyone at the club.

In an exercise of resilience, Barcelona, having suffered from all sorts of obstacles (coming from a poor 23/24 season, problems to register new signings every window, refereeing accusations, serious injuries like Gavi’s…) during the last few years, seems to have finally reached a turning point with the achievement of the latest edition of the Copa del Rey. Hansi Flick’s first season at the club is currently a successful one as the club is on its way to achieving the much-longed-for treble. On its journey to the Copa del Rey final, the team accomplished overwhelming victories against U.D. Barbastro (0-4), Real Betis Balompié (5-1) and Valencia C.F. (0-5), proving their ability to play beautiful and effective football week in and week out. The semi-finals against Atlético de Madrid (4-4 at home and 0-1 away) would also show their capacity to compete and not despair when the rival is matching their goal output.

The lessons learned during these knockouts were once again put to the test in the final against Real Madrid. With los blancos putting pressure on the designated referees for the final, the R.F.E.F. and the refereeing committee the day prior to the game, the match was full of disagreements for both teams when it came to officiating decisions during the 120 minutes.

Barcelona was affected by two key injuries. Robert Lewandoski and Alejandro Baldé had to be replaced by Ferran Torres and Gerard Martin. The blaugranas would be the dominant team during the first half of the game. The relentless pressure that Flick coached into the team nullified Real Madrid’s attempts to play any dangerous balls. The first goal came from an incredible long pass from Pedri to Lamine Yamal, who attracted the entire merengue defense and returned the ball back to Pedri, as if playing a 40-metre one-two, to score with no opposition in front of him. While the 1-0 for the culés was positive at half-time, it seemed as if they wasted good chances to at least create more danger to Courtois’ goal.

The second half would see a change in the script with Real Madrid’s substitutions. Mbappé, Modrić and Güler would cause great trouble to Barcelona’s defense, resulting in two goals by Mbappé and Tchouaméni in 7 minutes. Things turned ugly, but the young prodigy, Lamine Yamal, would appear once again to give another assist, this time in the form of a long ball behind the defense to the tireless Ferran Torres, who got his sixth goal in the competition and confirming himself as the top scorer of this edition of the Copa del Rey. If Real Madrid knocked on the door twice, Barcelona was able to do so as well.

The extra time was marked by the physical exhaustion that the players were showing on the pitch. It was in the 116^th minute when Jules Koundé appeared out of nowhere to sentence the match. It was 3-2 and it was a reward to Barcelona for all the hardships that they had to face this year and these last few seasons. It is the club, the staff and the players’ work finally paying off. It is Hansi Flick’s second official title at the club, proving he was the right fit for the club. It is certainly a very deserved relief for everyone at the club.

Barcelona is now potentially eight matches away from completing a new treble (the first one since 2015). Whether they achieve it or not, a new hope has established itself within the club and the fans as another major title has been obtained. La Liga and the Champions League await.