Euskadi has a special color

A thousand kilometers from the Basque Country, the most important game in the history of Basque football is played. Seville has a special color and from today it will also differentiate between the one that won the Eusko Final and the one that lost it. Athletic or Real. Real or Athletic. Everything achieved in the past by both will be overshadowed by the one who manages to snatch a title so directly from the neighbor and rival.
What was foreshadowed as the celebration of camaraderie and good vibes will finally be a phantom duel in an empty Charterhouse. It has been useless to delay the final for a year to wait for the fans. There will not be. The stands, therefore, will not play.

The rivalry between Athletic and Real is healthy, historical and permanently alive. The people of Bilbao have won the Cup 23 times, although it was 37 years since the last. In fact, they have lost the last four finals played. Even so, for many it is the cup team par excellence and with Marcelino they have recovered that essence. They have already won the Spanish Super Cup this season and they also aspire to the Cup of the current edition that they will be looking for against Barça in 15 days.

La Real, for its part, has two Cups to its credit, the last of them a long time ago too: in 1987. A year later it lost the final and since then there has been an abyss from which it seems to recover now. They are more than three decades without conquering a title for a club that has always felt in the shadow of its neighbor. In Bilbao they consider this an inferiority complex; in San Sebastián they understand Athletic as a superiority complex. Complex, after all. The reality is that, except for the story, there is not that much difference between his current projects. La Real reaches this final cup in 5th place in the League while Athletic is 9th with ten points less.

The greatest tensions between both entities came from the profusion of Athletic signings from Real. The Bilbao policy of having only Basque players or those raised in the Basque youth academy made Zubieta a natural showcase for them. From Joseba Etxeberría at the time to Íñigo Martínez, Unai López, Yuri or Dani García in the current squad. There are many players that Athletic fished from Real. However, in recent times that trend has slowed and Txuri-urdines props such as captain Oyarzabal have continued in Donosti, despite constant attempts. What's more, even a lion like Remiro went the other way and went from Athletic to Real.

Illarra. In addition to intensity and self-love, the final will have the condition of how little both teams have been able to work with their internationals. La Real trust their goals to one of them, Alexander Isak, and everything else to the talent of Silva and Oyarzabal. In addition, captain Illarra was injured in the last training session. Athletic does not have notable casualties, but the accumulated attrition with the National Team of Unai Simón and Íñigo Martínez. Aim for the side De Marcos and the unknown is the midfielder who will accompany Dani García. The history of Basque football stops at the Cartuja. Pride, honor, courage. The day is today.