Football Wiki
Advertisement
Football Wiki
Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey logo since 2012
Founded 1903
Region Flag of Spain Spain
Number of teams 126
Tournament information
Current champions Athletic Bilbao (24th title)
Most successful team(s) Barcelona (31 titles)
Football current event Current
Website Official website

The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey (Championship of Spain – His Majesty the King's Cup). Like the Emperor's Cup in Japan the tournament is one of the most well-known football competitions bearing the name of a monarch.

The competition was founded in 1903, thus making it the oldest Spanish football competition. Typically, the winner of Copa del Rey goes to the UEFA Europa League; but if the winner also qualifies for UEFA Champions League, then the losing finalist goes into the Europa League.

The current holders are Real Madrid, who won their 19th Copa del Rey against Barcelona at the 2014 Copa del Rey Final held at the Mestalla.

Barcelona has won the cup on the most occasions, with 26 wins.

History[]

In 1902, a competition under the name Copa de la Coronación, was played after Carlos Padrós, later president of Real Madrid, suggested a football tournament to celebrate the coronation of King Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid FC for the competition: FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Bizcaya (a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC) which eventually defeated Barcelona in the final. That cup is on display in the Athletic Bilbao museum and the club includes the victory in its honours list. Nevertheless, it is considered only the forerunner of the Copa del Rey and the Royal Spanish Football Federation officially don't recognize it.

Copa del Rey was Spain's football National Championship from 1903 until the foundation of the Campeonato de Liga — League Championship — in 1928. It was initially known as the Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council's Cup). Between 1905 and 1932, it was known as the Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII (His Majesty King Alfonso XIII's Cup). During the Second Spanish Republic, it was known as the Copa del Presidente de la República (President of the Republic Cup) or Copa de España (Spanish Cup) and during the years of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, it was known as the Copa de Su Excelencia El Generalísimo or Copa del Generalísimo ((His Excellency) The Supreme General's Cup). Teams from upper and lower divisions play against each other but the number of clubs allowed to participate is restricted.

Athletic Bilbao were declared winners in 1904 after their opponents Español de Madrid failed to show up. In both 1910 and 1913, there was a split among the clubs and two rival associations, the Unión Española de Clubs de Fútbol and the Federación Española de Fútbol, organised rival competitions, the Copa UECF and the Copa FEF. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, clubs in the Republican area of Spain entered the Copa de la España Libre, with Levante FC beating their city rivals Valencia CF 1–0 in the final. (Although in 2007 the Congress of Deputies urged Royal Spanish Football Federation to recognise it as a Copa del Rey win for Levante, the governing body of Spanish football has not made a decision yet.)

Because of the dispute regarding the 1902 competition, the statistics regarding the leading winners are also disputed. Barcelona have won the Copa 26 times; Athletic Bilbao are just behind, with either 24 or 23 titles, depending on the source. Throughout the history of the competition, there have been 12 actual trophies. Trophies have been permanently awarded to clubs for winning the competition either three times in a row or on five separate occasions and for other special reasons.

Thus, four trophies have been permanently awarded to Barcelona, three to Bilbao and one to Real Madrid. Athletic Bilbao kept the first trophy as inaugural winners, Sevilla FC were awarded the Trofeo del Generalísimo in 1939 and Atlético Madrid, winners the previous year, were awarded the 11th trophy following the death of Francisco Franco. In December 2010, the cup was given to Sevilla, the 2010 winners, to keep in honour of Spain's World Cup win.

Before the formation of La Liga in 1929, the competition was effectively a national championship. Teams qualified to enter via their regional leagues. Over the years, various formats, including group stages have been used. Unlike the English FA Cup, entry is limited. Only teams from the Primera División, Segunda A, about 23 teams from the Segunda B and the Tercera División champions (or runners-up if the champion is a reserve team) are invited to enter. The early rounds are one-off games with teams from the lower divisions given home advantage. The round of 32, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, and semi-finals are played over two legs. The final is a one-off game played at a neutral venue. The winners qualify for both the Supercopa de España and the UEFA Europa League the following season.

Trophy[]

22 December 2010, at an extraordinary general meeting of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Sevilla FC requested permission from the Federation to keep the trophy they had won in the 2010 final to commemorate the victory of the Spanish national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. There had been a precedent for this; Real Madrid were allowed to keep the first Copa de la República (1936), Sevilla, the first Copa del Generalísimo (1939) and, Atlético Madrid, the last Copa del Generalísimo (1976).

A new trophy was made by Madrid jeweller Federico Alegre. The trophy, made of silver, weighs 15 kg (33 lb) and is 75 cm (30 in) tall. On 21 April 2011, Real Madrid became the first recipients of the trophy. During the post-game celebrations, the trophy was accidentally dropped at Plaza de Cibeles by the Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos from the top of a double-decker bus, which then ran over it. Ten pieces were found by civil servicemen when they recovered it from the ground. The club received a copy which is displayed at Santiago Bernabéu.

Venues[]

The Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid has hosted 36 Copa del Rey finals, more than any other venue. Between 1948 and 1973, there were only three occasions when the final was not held at the Bernabéu - Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in 1957 and Camp Nou in 1963 and 1970. Real Madrid have played 8 home cup finals, winning two.

Performances[]

Rank Club Winners Runners-up Finalists Seasons
1 Barcelona 31 11 42 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1941–42, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21
2 Athletic Bilbao 23 16 39 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1944–45, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1969, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1983–84, 1984–85, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2020–21
3 Real Madrid 19 20 39 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1924, 1928–29, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1958, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14
4 Atlético Madrid 10 9 19 1920–21, 1925–26, 1955–1956, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76. 1984–85, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2009–10, 2012–13
5 Valencia 8 10 18 1934, 1941, 1944, 1944–45, 1946, 1948-49, 1952, 1954, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1978–79, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2018–19, 2021–22
6 Zaragoza 6 5 11 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1975–76, 1985–86, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06
7 Sevilla 5 4 9 1935, 1939, 1947–48, 1955, 1961–62, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2017–18
8 Espanyol 4 5 9 1911, 1915, 1929, 1940, 1941, 1947, 1957, 1999–2000, 2005–06
Real Unión 4 1 5 1913, 1918, 1922, 1924, 1927
10 Real Sociedad 3 5 8 1909, 1910, 1913, 1928, 1951, 1986–87, 1987–88, 2019–20
Real Betis 3 2 5 1931, 1976–77, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2021–22
12 Deportivo La Coruña 2 2 1994–95, 2001–02
13 Arenas 1 3 4 1917, 1919, 1925, 1927
Mallorca 1 2 3 1990–91, 1997–1998, 2002–03
15 Español de Madrid 3 3 1904, 1909, 1910
Celta Vigo 3 3 1947–48, 1993–94, 2000–01
Sporting Gijón 2 2 1981, 1982
Real Valladolid 2 2 1949–50, 1988–89
Getafe 2 2 2006–07, 2007–08
Bizcaya 1 1 1907
Real Vigo Sporting 1 1 1908
Gimnástica 1 1 1912
Espanya de Barcelona 1 1 1914
CE Europa 1 1 1923
Sabadell 1 1 1935
Racing de Ferrol 1 1 1938–39
Granada 1 1 1958–59
Elche 1 1 1969
Castellón 1 1 1972–73
Las Palmas 1 1 1977–78
Real Madrid Castilla ‡‡ 1 1 1979–80
Recreativo 1 1 2002–03
Osasuna 1 1 2004–05
Alavés 1 1 2016–17

‡ Counting the 1913 win by Racing de Irún, which merged with Irún Sporting Club in 1915 to form Real Unión.
‡‡ Real Madrid's reserve team. Reserve teams have been banned from this competition from 1990–91 onward.
‡‡‡ The number of wins Athletic Bilbao have been credited with is disputed. The 1902 version was won by Bizcaya, a team made up of players from Athletic Bilbao and Bilbao FC. In 1903 these two clubs merged as the current Athletic Bilbao. The 1902 cup is on display in the Athletic museum and the club includes it in its own honors list.

Clubs in italic no longer exist. Seasons in italic are runner-up finalists seasons.

Finals[]

Season Location Champion Runner-up Score
1903 Hipódromo, Madrid Athletic Bilbao Madrid FC 3–2
1904 Tiro de Pichón, Madrid Athletic Bilbao --- No final
1905 Tiro de Pichón, Madrid Madrid FC [---] No final
1906 Hipódromo, Madrid Madrid FC Athletic Bilbao No final
1907 Hipódromo, Madrid Madrid FC Bizcaya 1–0
1908 O'Donnell, Madrid Madrid FC Real Vigo Sporting 2–1
1909 O'Donnell, Madrid Ciclista Español de Madrid 3–1
1910 Ondarreta, San Sebastián Athletic Bilbao Vasconia No final
1910 Tiro de Pichón, Madrid Barcelona Español de Madrid No final
1911 Jolaseta, Bilbao Athletic Bilbao RCD Espanyol 3–1
1912 La Industria, Barcelona Barcelona Gimnástica 2–0
1913 O'Donnell, Madrid Racing de Irún‡ Athletic Bilbao 1–0
1913 La Industria, Barcelona Barcelona Real Sociedad 2–1
1914 Amute, Irún Athletic Bilbao Espanya 2–1
1915 Amute, Irún Athletic Bilbao RCD Español 5–0
1916 La Industria, Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Madrid FC 4–0
1917 La Industria, Barcelona Madrid FC Arenas 2–1
1918 O'Donnell, Madrid Real Unión Madrid FC 2–0
1919 Martínez Campos, Madrid Arenas Barcelona 5–2
1920 El Molinón, Gijón Barcelona Athletic Bilbao 2–0
1921 San Mamés, Bilbao Athletic Bilbao Atlético Madrid 4–1
1922 Coia, Vigo Barcelona Real Unión 5–1
1923 Les Corts, Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Europa 1–0
1924 Atotxa, San Sebastián Real Unión Real Madrid 1–0
1925 Reina Victoria, Sevilla Barcelona Arenas 2–0
1926 Mestalla, Valencia Barcelona Atlético Madrid 3–2
1927 Torreo, Zaragoza Real Unión Arenas 1–0
1928 El Sardinero, Santander Barcelona Real Sociedad 3–1
1929 Mestalla, Valencia RCD Español Real Madrid 2–1
1930 Montjuïc, Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid 3–2
1931 Chamartín, Madrid Athletic Bilbao Betis 3–1
1932 Chamartín, Madrid Athletic Bilbao Barcelona 1–0
1933 Montjuïc, Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Madrid 2–1
1934 Montjuïc, Barcelona Madrid Valencia 2–1
1935 Chamartín, Madrid Sevilla Sabadell 3–0
1936 Mestalla, Valencia Madrid Barcelona 2–1
1939 Montjuïc, Barcelona Sevilla Racing de Ferrol 6–2
1940 Chamartín, Madrid RCD Español Real Madrid 3–2
1941 Chamartín, Madrid Valencia RCD Español 3–1
1942 Chamartín, Madrid Barcelona Atlético Bilbao 4–3
1943 Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Real Madrid 1–0
1944 Montjuïc, Barcelona Atlético Bilbao Valencia 2–0
1945 Montjuïc, Barcelona Atlético Bilbao Valencia 3–2
1946 Montjuïc, Barcelona Real Madrid Valencia 3–1
1947 Riazor, A Coruña Real Madrid RCD Español 2–0
1948 Chamartín, Madrid Sevilla Celta de Vigo 4–1
1949 Chamartín, Madrid Valencia Atlético Bilbao 1–0
1950 Chamartín, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Valladolid 4–1
1951 Chamartín, Madrid Barcelona Real Sociedad 3–0
1952 Chamartín, Madrid Barcelona Valencia 4–2
1953 Chamartín, Madrid Barcelona Atlético Bilbao 2–1
1954 Chamartín, Madrid Valencia Barcelona 3–0
1955 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Sevilla 1–0
1956 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Atlético Madrid 2–1
1957 Montjuïc, Barcelona Barcelona RCD Español 1–0
1958 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Real Madrid 2–0
1959 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Granada 4–1
1960 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Madrid 3–1
1961 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Madrid 3–2
1962 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Real Madrid Sevilla 2–1
1963 Camp Nou, Barcelona Barcelona Zaragoza 3–1
1964 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Zaragoza Atlético Madrid 2–1
1965 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Zaragoza 1–0
1966 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Zaragoza Atlético Bilbao 2–0
1967 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Valencia Atlético Bilbao 2–1
1968 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Real Madrid 1–0
1969 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Elche 1–0
1970 Camp Nou, Barcelona Real Madrid Valencia 3–1
1971 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Valencia 4–3
1972 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Valencia 2–1
1973 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Bilbao Castellón 2–0
1974 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Real Madrid Barcelona 4–0
1975 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Real Madrid Atlético Madrid 0–0 (penalties, 4–3)
1976 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Zaragoza 1–0
1977 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Betis Athletic Bilbao 2–2 (penalties, 8–7)
1978 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Las Palmas 3–1
1979 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Valencia Real Madrid 2–0
1980 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Real Madrid Castilla‡‡ 6–1
1981 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Barcelona Sporting de Gijón 3–1
1982 José Zorrilla, Valladolid Real Madrid Sporting de Gijón 2–1
1983 La Romareda, Zaragoza Barcelona Real Madrid 2–1
1984 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Athletic Bilbao Barcelona 1–0
1985 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao 2–1
1986 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Zaragoza Barcelona 1–0
1987 La Romareda, Zaragoza Real Sociedad Atlético Madrid 2–2 (penalties, 4–2)
1988 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Real Sociedad 1–0
1989 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Real Madrid Valladolid 1–0
1990 Luis Casanova, Valencia Barcelona Real Madrid 2–0
1991 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Mallorca 1–0
1992 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Madrid 2–0
1993 Luis Casanova, Valencia Real Madrid Zaragoza 2–0
1994 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Zaragoza Celta de Vigo 0–0 (penalties, 5–4)
1995 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Deportivo La Coruña Valencia 2–1
1996 La Romareda, Zaragoza Atlético Madrid Barcelona 1–0 (aet)
1997 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Barcelona Betis 3–2 (aet)
1998 Mestalla, Valencia Barcelona Mallorca 1–1 (penalties, 5–4)
1999 La Cartuja, Seville Valencia Atlético Madrid 3–0
2000 Mestalla, Valencia Espanyol Atlético Madrid 2–1
2001 La Cartuja, Seville Zaragoza Celta de Vigo 3–1
2002 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Deportivo La Coruña Real Madrid 2–1
2003 Martínez Valero, Elche Mallorca Recreativo 3–0
2004 Lluís Companys, Barcelona Zaragoza Real Madrid 3–2 (aet)
2005 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Betis Osasuna 2–1 (aet)
2006 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Espanyol Zaragoza 4–1
2007 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Sevilla Getafe 1–0
2008 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Valencia Getafe 3–1
2009 Mestalla, Valencia Barcelona Athletic Bilbao 4–1
2010 Camp Nou, Barcelona Sevilla Atlético Madrid 2–0
2011 Mestalla, Valencia Real Madrid Barcelona 1–0 (aet)
2012 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Barcelona Athletic Bilbao 3–0
2013 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Madrid 2–1 (aet)
2014 Mestalla, Valencia Real Madrid Barcelona 2–1
2015 Camp Nou, Barcelona Barcelona Athletic Bilbao 3–1
2016 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Barcelona Sevilla 2–0 (aet)
2017 Vicente Calderón, Madrid Barcelona Deportivo Alavés 3–1
2018 Metropolitano, Madrid Barcelona Sevilla 5–0
2019 Benito Villamarín, Madrid Valencia Barcelona 2–1
2020 La Cartuja, Seville Real Sociedad Athletic Bilbao 5–0
2021 La Cartuja, Seville Barcelona Athletic Bilbao 4–0
2022 La Cartuja, Seville Real Betis Valencia 1–1 (penalties, 5-4)

‡ The title in the 1913 edition was conferred on Real Unión.

‡‡ Real Madrid's reserve team. Reserve teams were banned for this competition for first time in the 1990–91 edition.

Club name changes[]

Real Madrid were originally known as Madrid FC and did not add the Real until 1920. During the Second Spanish Republic, the club dropped Real from their name. In 1941, a decree issued by Francisco Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF and Athletic Bilbao had to change the spelling of their prefix to Atlético. (These changes were reverted after Franco's death). RCD Espanyol were known as RCD Español until 1995.

External links[]

Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey seasons

2013–14 · 2014–15 · 2015–16 · 2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 ·

Copa del Rey Finals

2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 ·

UEFA members national football cups
Current

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Kosovo · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales

Defunct

Czechoslovakia · East Germany · Serbia and Montenegro · USSR · Yugoslavia

Cups of Europe (UEFA)
Current
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Kosovo · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales
Former cups
Czechoslovakia · East Germany · Serbia and Montenegro · USSR · Yugoslavia
Advertisement