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| Event | 2014–15 Copa del Rey | ||||||
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| Date | 30 May 2015 (2015-05-30) | ||||||
| Venue | Camp Nou,Barcelona | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Lionel Messi (Barcelona)[1][2] | ||||||
| Referee | Carlos Velasco Carballo | ||||||
| Attendance | 99,354 | ||||||
←2014 2016 → | |||||||
The2015 Copa del Rey final was anassociation football match on 30 May 2015 to decide the winner of the2014–15 Copa del Rey, the 113th edition ofSpain's premier football cup since its establishment (including two seasons where two rival editions were played).
It was played betweenAthletic Bilbao andBarcelona, at theCamp Nou, the latter club's home stadium. Barcelona won the match 3–1, achieving their record-extending 27th title in the competition.Lionel Messi andNeymar gave Barcelona a 2–0 lead at half time. Although Athletic replied with a goal byIñaki Williams, Messi scored another goal late on to confirm his team's victory and was namedman of the match. This was the second part of Barcelona'streble, with the team going on to win the2015 UEFA Champions League final a week later.
Messi's first goal, in which he ran past a number of opponents, was the runner-up in theFIFA Puskás Award for the year's best goal. Neymar was criticised for hisshowboating in the final minutes of the match, with Barcelona managerLuis Enrique excusing his Brazilian striker for cultural reasons. Both teams and theRoyal Spanish Football Federation were given fines by the nation's government for security breaches and allowing separatist demonstrations at the match. As Barcelona won the2014–15 La Liga, Athletic qualified automatically as the cup representative in the2015 Supercopa de España.
Before the semi-final second leg, Barcelona's board requested the final be held at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of theirfierce rivalsReal Madrid, as it is the largest stadium in Spain apart from their ownCamp Nou.[3] At the same time, according to Barcelona-based newspaperLa Vanguardia, the president of theRoyal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF),Ángel María Villar, wanted the final at theSan Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.[3] That decision would have given Athletic Bilbao home advantage, but could have been challenged by potential finalistEspanyol, whose team bus was vandalised on their last visit there.[3]
On 25 March, the RFEF confirmed that it would be held at Barcelona's Camp Nou.[4] Real Madrid refused to let the final be played at their stadium, and the Camp Nou was chosen at an RFEF meeting ahead of the San Mamés, withSevilla'sRamón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium andValencia'sMestalla Stadium eliminated in an earlier round of voting.[5]
Barcelona had previously played 36 Copa del Rey Finals, a record bettered only by Real Madrid with 39.[6] However, Barcelona had won the competition a record 26 times.[6] Their most recent appearance in the final wasthe previous year's edition, in which they lost 1–2 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla inValencia.[6] Their most recent win wasin 2012, beating Athletic Bilbao 3–0 at theVicente Calderón Stadium inMadrid.[6] Their only previous final at the Camp Nou was a victory in1963.[4] The last team to play a Copa del Rey Final at their own ground was Real Madrid, who lost in 2013 toAtlético Madrid and 2002 toDeportivo de La Coruña at their Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[5]
Athletic Bilbao had previously played in 35 finals, winning 23, with only Barcelona winning more.[6] Their most recent final was in 2012, and their most recent victory in the tournament wasin 1984, beating Barcelona 1–0 at the Bernabéu.[6]
Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao had played each other in seven previous finals of the tournament. Barcelona wonin 1920,1942,1953,2009 and 2012, and Athletic Bilbao wonin 1932 and 1984.[6]
The two teams played each other twice during the2014–15 La Liga season. In the first instance, at the Camp Nou on 13 September 2014, Barcelona won 2–0 with two goals fromNeymar in the last 11 minutes of the game.[7] On 8 February 2015 at Athletic Bilbao's San Mamés Stadium, Barcelona won 5–2.Lionel Messi andLuis Suárez gave them a 2–0 half-time lead. Four goals came between the 59th and 66th minutes:Mikel Rico scored for Athletic, his teammateÓscar de Marcos scored anown goal, Neymar achieved a fourth for Barcelona andAritz Aduriz a second for Athletic. Later on in the game,Xabier Etxeita was sent off for the hosts andPedro netted a fifth for the visitors.[8]
The final was jeopardised due to a dispute over the sharing of television revenue between Spanish clubs, with all football in the country due to be suspended from 16 May.[9] However, two days before the intended suspension, this action was deemed unlawful by theSpanish High Court, and the season continued.[10]
| Athletic Bilbao | Round | Barcelona | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Opponent | Result | Legs | |
| Alcoyano | 2–1 | 1–1 away; 1–0 home | Round of 32 | Huesca | 12–1 | 0–4 away; 8–1 home |
| Celta Vigo | 4–4 | 2–4 away; 0–2 home | Round of 16 | Elche | 9–0 | 5–0 home; 0–4 away |
| Málaga | 1–0 | 0–0 away; 1–0 home | Quarter-finals | Atlético Madrid | 4–2 | 1–0 home; 2–3 away |
| Espanyol | 3–1 | 1–1 home; 0–2 away | Semi-finals | Villarreal | 6–2 | 3–1 home; 1–3 away |
Athletic Bilbao, ofLa Liga, entered in the last 32 against aSegunda División B team,Alcoyano. In the first leg away at theEstadio El Collao on 2 December 2014, they drew 1–1;Francis opened the scoring for the hosts whileBorja Viguera equalised in added time.[11] Sixteen days later at the San Mamés Stadium, Viguera's first-half strike was enough to win the match.[12]
In the last 16, the club faced top-flight clubCelta Vigo, and began with a 4–2 away win at theGalician club'sBalaídos on 6 January 2015. DefenderMikel San José headed Athletic into an early lead, only forÁlex López to equalise for the hosts six minutes later, and Aritz Aduriz to restore the visitors' lead four minutes after that. In the second half,Charles made it level again, but aMarkel Susaeta goal and a late penalty from Aduriz gave Athletic the win.[13] Celta won the second leg 2–0 via a Xabier Etxeita own goal and aFabián Orellana contribution, but Athletic advanced on the away goals rule.[14]
Athletic's quarter-final began on 21 January with a goalless draw at theLa Rosaleda againstMálaga, but eight days later in the second leg Aduriz scored three minutes into the second half to send them into the semi-finals.[15] The semi-final against Espanyol began with a 1–1 home draw, Aduriz putting Bilbao ahead on his 34th birthday andVíctor Sánchez equalising ten minutes before half time.[16] On 4 March, Athletic travelled for the second leg at theEstadi Cornellà-El Prat and won 2–0 to reach the final, with first-half goals from Aduriz and Etxeita.[17]
Barcelona, also of La Liga, entered the tournament in the last 32 against a Segunda División B club,Huesca. The first leg was inAragon at theEstadio El Alcoraz on 3 December 2014, and Barcelona won 4–0 with goals fromIvan Rakitić,Andrés Iniesta, Pedro andRafinha.[18] Due to the large advantage, Barcelona rested key players for the second leg but nonetheless won 8–1 for a 12–1 aggregate. Pedro scored ahat-trick among further goals fromSergi Roberto and Iniesta for a 5–0 half-time lead, whileAdriano and substitutesAdama Traoré andSandro Ramírez added more goals in the second half;Carlos David scored a late consolation for the visitors.[19]
In the last 16, Barcelona met top-flight opposition in the shape ofElche, but won 9–0 on aggregate. They hosted the first leg at theCamp Nou on 8 January 2015 and won 5–0, with two goals from Neymar, a Lionel Messi penalty and contributions from Luis Suárez andJordi Alba.[20] A week later at theEstadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Barcelona defeated theValencian club 4–0, starting with a free kick from defenderJérémy Mathieu followed by a long-range strike by Roberto, a penalty by Pedro and an added-time goal by Adriano.[21]
On 21 January, Barcelona hosted the first leg of the quarter-finals, and defeated Atlético Madrid 1–0.Sergio Busquets was fouled, giving Barcelona a late penalty. Messi took it and it was saved by Atlético goalkeeperJan Oblak, but Messi scored the rebound.[22] A week later at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, the hosts made the aggregate score level in the first minute throughFernando Torres; in the ninth minute, Neymar put Barcelona back into the lead. WhenJavier Mascherano fouledJuanfran,Raúl García's penalty gave the advantage back to Atlético, but Barcelona scored two more goals in the first half from aMiranda own goal and Neymar to win 4–2 on aggregate. Atlético captainGabi was sent off at half time for arguing with the referee, and his midfield partnerMario Suárez was also dismissed later on.[23]
Barcelona hosted the first leg of their semi-final on 11 February, and defeatedVillarreal 3–1, with a half-time lead from Messi. Within the first five minutes of the second half,Manu Trigueros equalised with a long-range strike but Iniesta gave the advantage back to Barcelona, which was extended byGerard Piqué later on despite Neymar missing a penalty.[24] They won by the same scoreline again in the second leg at theEstadio El Madrigal on 4 March with abrace from Neymar and a goal by Suárez, despite former Barcelona playerJonathan dos Santos equalising at one point.[25]
Athletic kicked the game off, and had an opportunity after five minutes, when Mikel Rico crossed for Aduriz, but he was prevented from making contact with the ball by Jordi Alba. Five minutes later, Barcelona launched a counter-attack starting with goalkeeperMarc-André ter Stegen and ending with Neymar volleying the ball into the goal, but it was ruled out foroffside. Soon after,Iago Herrerín saved from Messi. In the 20th minute, Messi scored the first goal of the game, taking possession on the right-hand side of the pitch and beating four defenders before finishing with a near-post shot. Barcelona had more chances after this, with Herrerín making saves from Neymar. In the 36th minute, Neymar scored the second goal of the game, finishing from close range when set up by Suárez, after earlier work by Messi and Rakitić. Near the end of the first half,Andoni Iraola set upIñaki Williams, whose volley missed the target. Piqué and Iraola received yellow cards at the end of the first half, for fouls on Aduriz and Suárez respectively.[26][27]
Ten minutes into the second half, Andrés Iniesta was substituted forXavi, who took over as captain for his 766th Barcelona appearance, and last one at the Camp Nou. Soon after, Athletic substituted Iraola in his final match, replacing him with Susaeta, whileMikel Balenziaga was booked for his foul on Messi. In the 74th minute,Dani Alves co-operated with Neymar before setting up Messi to put Barcelona 3–0 up. Six minutes later, Athletic gained a consolation goal from Williams' header. In the closing stages of the game, Neymar showboated around opposition players, and was pushed over byUnai Bustinza, starting a melée between both sets of players. After play restarted, Neymar received a yellow card for fouling Balenziaga. In added time Susaeta fouled Neymar, and Busquets was booked afterwards for dissent; the foul earned a free kick from which Xavi hit the post.[26]
          Athletic Bilbao |      Barcelona |
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The conduct of Neymar, who performed tricks with the ball in the closing stages of Barcelona's victory, was a talking point after the match. His opponent Iraola decried Neymar, saying that his actions were unsporting, while Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said that Neymar's actions were common in Brazil, even though frowned upon in Spain, and would have to change. However, Neymar himself did not apologise and said that he would repeat his behaviour in the future.[28]
In July 2015, the Spanish Sports Council levied fines against both clubs and the RFEF, with all three entities deemed to have taken insufficient action against security breaches and planned protests ofBasque andCatalan separatist supporters who jeered theSpanish national anthem and KingFelipe VI. Barcelona were laden with a €66,000 fine, Athletic with €18,000 and the RFEF €123,000. Barcelona claimed that the fines were punishment offreedom of expression.[29]
Lionel Messi's first goal was nominated for theFIFA Puskás Award at the2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or. It finished as runner-up to a bicycle kick byWendell Lira forGoianésia in theBrazilian third division.[30]
Barcelona had already won La Liga, and concluded theirtreble a week after securing the Copa, with victory overJuventus in the2015 UEFA Champions League final inBerlin. They became the first European club to win the national league, national cup and continental cup in one season on two separate occasions.[31]
As Barcelona won both domestic tournaments, Athletic were the cup entrants in the2015 Supercopa de España, in which they defeated Barcelona 5–1 on aggregate for their first trophy since their double in1983–84.[32] Athletic also entered the2015–16 UEFA Europa League, but their status as beaten cup finalists no longer granted a place (unlike the seasons following their losses toUEFA Champions League-qualified Barcelona in 2009 and 2012) as the rules were changed from 2015 onwards;[33] instead they qualified via their 7th-place league finish.
