COLUMN: Unique in the world, Nico Williams and the new Lionel Messi finally lifts a major trophy
“ Unique in the world ,” it read. The Athleticzales at La Cartuja wanted the globe to know, on the day of their club’s most important game in a generation, that Athletic Club is an institution which has no exact analogue in football – a club that exclusively signs players of Basque origin or, more recently, honed their skills at another team in the Basque Country.
It took 120 grueling minutes against a well-drilled Mallorca, and a penalty shootout thereafter. Dani Rodriguez opened the scoring for the men from the island; Oihan Sancet equalised five minutes after halftime. But Athletic’s uniqueness triumphed on Saturday night’s exercise in endurance, and Los Leones lifted the Copa del Rey after spot kicks – their first major trophy since 1984, capping one of the single best Spanish cup finals in recent memory
Before we peel back a few layers to Athletic’s biggest win in four decades, let’s spare a thought for Mallorca. Javier Aguirre, unfancied and willing to put 10 players behind the ball if it helped his team win, nearly guided his men to a cup win for the ages. Mallorca survived Tenerife in the round of 16 and cut the wings of high-flying Girona a round later before denying Real Sociedad an all-Basque final by winning a shootout in Donostia-San Sebastian. But in the end, Athletic – superior over 120 minutes, the team that knocked out Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – had just a little bit more.
Read on football-espana.net
