Athletic Bilbao -Copa Fighters

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

from http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=322826&cc=5901



Bilbao out to revive former Cup glories
Simon Baskett
MADRID, Jan 24 (Reuters)


- Athletic Bilbao, riding the crest of a wave after an incredible 4-3 comeback win over Osasuna, go into this week's King's Cup quarter-finals eying the end of a 21-year trophy drought. Bilbao entertain second division Valladolid in the first leg on Tuesday. Primera Liga basement side Numancia host out-of-sorts Atletico Madrid and high-flying Sevilla play Osasuna on Wednesday before third division Gramenet face Real Betis on Thursday.

Bilbao were 3-0 down 10 minutes into the second half at home to Osasuna before two quick-fire strikes by midfielder Fran Yeste sparked a fightback crowned by substitute Julen Guerrero's 89th-minute goal.

'This team has got great faith in its own ability and if you want to win something the first thing you have to do is believe in yourselves,' Guerrero said.

'We've taken the first steps to winning something and I just hope we can go on to achieve something really big this season,' the midfielder added.

The victory was particularly sweet for the club captain, who had not scored since last March and has spent much of the last three seasons on the sidelines.

The 31-year-old, who won the last of his 40 Spanish caps in 2000, is hoping his dramatic intervention can spark a return to form.

'When you play so little you have to make the most of very minute you're on the pitch and that is sometimes very difficult, but scoring a last-minute goal was fantastic and I'm going to make the most of it,' he said.

Athletic crushed third division Lanzarote 7-2 in the last round but face a potential banana skin against Valladolid, who upset Real Madrid on away goals to reach the last eight.

Athletic are taking nothing for granted as they continue their bid to win the trophy a record-equalling 24th time.

'There are no favourites in the Cup and seeing what they did to Real Madrid is a warning to us too,' Guerrero said.

Gramenet will be looking to add Betis to a list of victims in the competition which includes Primera Liga leaders Barcelona and Levante.

Betis are in good form, however, thumping Numancia 4-0 at the weekend to climb to sixth in the table with Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira scoring twice to take his season's tally to 11 goals.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

Copa Del Rey: Valladolid scare Bilbaofrom http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=322958&cc=5901



MADRID, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Athletic Bilbao came from a goal down to earn a 3-2 win at home to second division Valladolid in the first leg of their King's Cup quarter-final on Tuesday. The Basque side fell behind to an early goal from Valladolid midfielder Inaki but fought back to take a 3-1 lead with 11 minutes to go only to see Valladolid keep their chances alive when they converted a late penalty.

Wednesday's ties see Primera Liga basement side Numancia host out-of-sorts Atletico Madrid and high-flying Sevilla play Osasuna.

Third division giant-killers Gramenet, who knocked out Barcelona and Levante on their way to the last eight, face Real Betis in the remaining quarter-final tie on Thursday.

Valladolid, who upset favourites Real Madrid on away goals in the last round, made a confident start at a rain-sodden San Mames as they put together some quick-breaking attacks in the opening minutes.

They received a reward for their efforts when Inaki slid an angled shot past keeper Inaki Lafuente in the ninth minute after a cross had bobbled across the area and through the legs of Bilbao midfielder Tiko.

Athletic remained unflustered, however, and drew level 10 minutes later, fullback Asier del Horno planting a measured left-foot curler into the far corner from a metre outside the area.

It was not until 16 minutes from time that they took the lead, midfielder Santi Ezquerro rising above the Valladolid defence to head in at the far post.

Andoni Iraola made it 3-1 when he fired home from the penalty spot five minutes later after Valladolid midfielder Rafa was penalised for handball.

But the second division side gave their chances of a second-leg recovery a boost when striker Aritz Aduriz tucked home a spot kick three minutes from time after Javi Gonzalez had handled on the goal line.

[Quango]

It might be a tough second leg. Or Athletic may win 6-0. Who knows? :) The Numancia - Atletico game was postponed due to snow.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

Valladolid are thorn in Athletic's side for the last couple of years.

It seems we beat RM one week and then always lose against Valladolid the next match

[Bilbao Lion]

The game against Valladolid was indeed a tough one, and the second leg is going to be even tougher. Still, we should be in the semifinals.

[Bilbao Lion]

from http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=322826&cc=5901
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Athletic are taking nothing for granted as they continue their bid to win the trophy a record-breaking 25th time.
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That looks better, doesn't it :rolleyes:

Actually, we have already won the cup 24 times. It pisses me off that people never count our victory in the first edition of the tournament. In 1902 the cup was won by Club Vizcaya, an association of "Bilbao Football Club" and "Athletic Club". A year later the association was made permanent and the team was renamed to "Athletic Club de Bilbao". In 1903 we won the cup again. I fail to understand that, even though the team was the same, we are usually not given credit for that first cup.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

That looks better, doesn't it :rolleyes:

Actually, we have already won the cup 24 times. It pisses me off that people never count our victory in the first edition of the tournament. In 1902 the cup was won by Club Vizcaya, an association of "Bilbao Football Club" and "Athletic Club". A year later the association was made permanent and the team was renamed to "Athletic Club de Bilbao". In 1903 we won the cup again. I fail to understand that, even though the team was the same, we are usually not given credit for that first cup.
Sadly, we know why.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

Bilbao through to the Semi's
from www.soccernet.com

Bilbao join Betis, Osasuna in Copa semis


MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A Fran Yeste penalty gave Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win at second division Valladolid on Thursday that earned the Basque side a place in the King's Cup semi-finals alongside Real Betis and Osasuna.
The midfielder sent Valladolid keeper Francisco Lledo the wrong way with his perfectly struck 74th-minute spot kick to put his side through 4-2 on aggregate after Joseba Etxeberria had been brought down in the area.


Betis booked their place in the semis on Wednesday when they ended third division Gramenet's heroic Cup run with a thrilling 4-3 home win to progress 6-5 on aggregate.

And Osasuna reached the last four for the second time in three seasons after a 3-1 win at home to Sevilla allowed them to turn round a first-leg deficit and seal a 4-3 aggregate victory over the Andalucians.

The final member of the semi-final quartet will not be known until February 16 when Atletico Madrid and Numancia play their second-leg match.

Atletico ground out a 0-0 draw at Numancia in Wednesday's rescheduled first leg that was postponed after the original fixture was called off because of a frozen pitch.

Bilbao, who held a narrow 3-2 lead after last week's first leg, took no risks against second division opponents in the first half as they kept plenty of men behind the ball and looked to play on the break.

Valladolid, who disposed of Real Madrid in the last round, pushed hard but were constantly frustrated by the well organised Bilbao defence and the closest they came to breaking the deadlock was a sliced shot by Alvaro Anton in the opening minute.

It was the visitors, accompanied by close to 5,000 travelling fans, who enjoyed the best chance of the half when Etxeberria raced clear after beating the offside trap only to see his angled shot bobbled wide of the far post in the 28th minute.

The Basques remained in control after the break and were denied the lead midway through the half when Valladolid keeper Francisco Lledo reacted sharply to stop a Yeste free kick on the line.

It was Yeste who eventually sparked the celebrations from the Bilbao supporters when he fired home his spot kick after Valladolid defender Rafa had lunged at Etxeberria as the Spain winger jinked past him into the area.

[Hugo Sanchez]

How can one view Copa del Rey in the U.S.?

I'm interested in seeing Aguirre's squad, both on TV and when they come to the states next month.

[Quango]

How can one view Copa del Rey in the U.S.?

I'm interested in seeing Aguirre's squad, both on TV and when they come to the states next month.

Gol TV, available on Dish Network, Comcast and Adelphia in California, and apparently DirectTV in Feb, carries many Copa del Rey games and most definitely will carry the semis and final.

[Hugo Sanchez]

Gol TV, available on Dish Network, Comcast and Adelphia in California, and apparently DirectTV in Feb, carries many Copa del Rey games and most definitely will carry the semis and final.
Sorry, I forgot to include the word "Live."

Watching the match at 9 pm is a little odd to me.

Fixed question:
How can one view Copa del Rey live in the U.S.?

:(

[RandyNA74]

Gol TV, available on Dish Network, Comcast and Adelphia in California, and apparently DirectTV in Feb, carries many Copa del Rey games and most definitely will carry the semis and final.
Actually, from what I understand Gol TV does not have the rights to the final. TVEi has the exclusive rights to show the Copa final in the US.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

Some photos from our last Copa.

The call that the Pitxitxi yacht. ;)

http://mcd59.euskalcom.net/MCD/html/albums/album31/aae.sized.jpg

http://www.aupaathletic.com/fotos/galeria/foto2654.jpg

http://www.aupaathletic.com/fotos/galeria/foto2656.jpg

[Hugo Sanchez]

Heh.

I saw that entire rant on Spanish separitism in the Barca thread.

Kind of weird to see such a heavy stance on his part.

Cool pictures.

You learn something new everyday.

I can now refer to my God as 'El Penta-Pitxitxi.'

;)

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=325173&cc=5901


"Heavy snow on the ground forced the postponement of a UEFA Cup match on Wednesday between Austria Vienna and Spain's Athletic Bilbao.


The game was called off less than an hour before the scheduled 1945 GMT kick-off time. Vienna was blanketed by over 30 centimetres of snow in a storm that hit Tuesday evening and did not abate until Wednesday afternoon.

No new date for the first knockout round first leg match was immediately set."

[ezpatari]

The video of the snow on the pitch at Vienna was pretty funny. It showed Guerrero and several other Athletic players walking around in camelhair coats with a look that implied, "Now, why didn't somebody call us before we LEFT Bilbao on Tuesday?" The stadium only had two very small snow removal units. I gather Vienna were not ready to get beat, and so they just let the snow accumulate. They apparently didn't even make an attempt to lay down tarps, as was done last weekend in many stadia in the German Bundesliga.

[Bilbao2Brooklyn]

Athletic Bilbao face Betis on April 20th. The copa is very important to me because after a long absence it would be nice for us to win a Cup.



We have played better just recently, after a slump and had a big win this weekend. We are now three points from being in a european position.

[david_me262]

There are no ticket for the 2nd leg against Betis. Everybody is hopeful. We'll see

[Pichi]

Ese Beti Oe!!!

The fat lady was singing sevillanas tonite in Bilbao! :cool:

Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera!

El Pichi

Here's Marcas write up of the match:


COPA DEL REY. SEMIFINAL (vuelta)

ATHLETIC 0 (4) 0 (5) BETIS

DOBLAS Y LUIS FERNÁNDEZ, QUE MARCÓ EL DECISIVO, ELIMINAN AL ATHLETIC


El Betis vuelve a una final copera ocho años después gracias a los penaltis

Ocho años después, el Betis ha alcanzado la final de la Copa del Rey, en la que ya espera a Osasuna o Atlético de Madrid, tras volver a empatar sin goles ante el Athletic en San Mamés en el encuentro de vuelta de la primera semifinal y decidir su clasificación en los penaltis. Tras igualar a cuatro en la primera tanda de cinco lanzamientos, Doblas paró a Ezquerro el penúltimo y Luis Fernández sentenció en el último.

San Mamés empezó arengando a un Athletic que salió con un ataque desbordante que mantuvo encerrado al Betis prácticamente durante los primeros 15 minutos en su medio campo. Pero los contragolpes de Joaquín y Oliveira fueron callando a los aficionados y a los jugadores rojiblancos, que perdían presión a medida que iban pasando los minutos. Unos 15 minutos trepidantes, controlados por el Athetic, dieron paso a otros 15 minutos de contención y control del juego del Betis con contragolpes y pases largos.

El Athletic llegó con más intensidad a la portería verdiblanca pero el Betis lo hizo con más contundencia y peligro. El jugador más destacado de la primera parte ha sido el bético Joaquin, que como siempre resulta fundamental para el ataque de su equipo y siempre desequilibrante por las bandas. El resto del partido centró la tensión en el medio campo, donde los dos conjuntos luchaban por mantener el control. Se llegó al descanso con el mismo marcador con el que empezó el partido. Un 0-0 que parecía que todavía ninguno de los dos equipos tenía la iniciativa de modificar.

San Mamés se quedó a oscuras
Nada más comenzar el segundo tiempo un apagón en el estadio dejó al terreno de juego con más sombras que luces. Quince minutos hubo que esperar para que se solucionara el problema y volviera la energía a 'la Catedral'.

Se reanudó el juego y ni las palmas de San Mamés ni las instrucciones de Ernesto Valverde conseguían centrar al equipo bilbaíno que cedía cada vez más terreno al Betis. Y se volvió a repetir las mismas circunstancias que en la primera parte, el Betis empezó a ceder y el Athletic a tomar posiciones en el terreno de juego. Los rojiblancos sacaron su condición de 'Rey de Copas' y empezaron a jugar por encima de sus fuerzas. Los jugadores del Betis estaban sin reservas, como si hubieran donado la energía al estadio para que los focos siguieran iluminando.

'In extremis' el Betis consiguió alargar la agonía hasta la prórroga. Hasta entonces la figura más destacada había sido la del portero bético Toni Doblas, que había salvado a su equipo de goles que el estádio ya estaba cantando. Las dos partes de la prórroga no resolvieron nada. En los penaltis se fallaron tres tiros. El primero se lo paró el inmenso Doblas a Del Horno. Oliveira falló el del Betis. Ezquerró volvió a fallar para el Athletic y Luis Fernandez cierra la semifinal marcando el segundo penalti de la última tanda. En resumen,un Doblas prodigioso mete al Betis en la final de la Copa del Rey.

Ficha técnica

0 (4).- Athletic Club: Lafuente; Iraola, Lacruz, Prieto, Casas (Del Horno, min.62); Orbaiz, Gurpegui; Etxeberria (Ezquerro,min.62), Tiko, Yeste; y Urzaiz (Llorente, min.96).

0 (5).- Real Betis Balompié: Doblas; Melli, Juanito, Rivas, Luis Fernández; Assuncao, Arzu (Lembo, min.121); Joaquín, Benjamín (Denilson, min.91), Fernando (Varela, min.72); y Oliveira.

Secuencia de los lanzamientos de penalti: Primera tanda: Del Horno: paró Doblas. Assuncao: gol (0-1). Yeste: gol (1-1). Oliveira: fuera. Tiko: gol (2-1). Joaquín: gol (2-2). Orbaiz: gol (3-2). Denilson: gol (3-3). Iraola: gol (4-3). Lembo: gol (4-4). Segunda tanda: Ezquerro: paró Doblas. Luis Fernández: gol (4-5).

Arbitro: Megía Dávila (Comité Madrileño). Expulsó a Juanito en el minuto 120, por doble amonestación. Además, mostró tarjeta amarilla a los locales Yeste, Gurpegui, Del Horno, Prieto, Lacruz, y a los visitantes Assuncao y Luis Fernández.

Incidencias: Todas las localidades vendidas. Unos 40.000 espectadores en San Mamés, entre ellos varios centenares de seguidores del Betis. Partido de vuelta de semifinales de la Copa del Rey. Un apagón en el minuto 4 de la segunda mitad mantuvo el encuentro parado durante 13 minutos.

[david_me262]

Hard luck!!!!!!
Vaya ************!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Betis played well in defense.
21 years without a cup or league is too much for us.