The dream of the Cup was Real

For the aitonas and amoñas who left, for the children who were born, for those who dream in blue and white, who suffered the relegation to Second Division, the lost final of 88, the bump of seeing several of their best players go to the neighbor and rival. Because of that feeling of belonging that runs through a small province of 700,000 inhabitants, less than the great Bilbao, those who go from Irún to Mutriku, from San Sebastián to Ataun.

For that railing of the International Shell, for a Tamborrada that is the soul of an entire city, for that Gipuzkoa proud of its team, its shield, its colors. For all of them, captain Asier Illarramendi raised the Copa del Rey to the sky of Seville, the faithful reflection of what the Real has suffered until now. His example of improvement serves as the culmination of the history of a club that won the Cup 34 years later.

A whole generation has known since this Saturday what the Real that their parents told them is, the one they could only imagine by looking at old photos and videos: Zamora's goal in Gijón, Arconada's penalties in La Romareda, the Royal champion who walked through the Gipuzkoan villages in the 80s … The dream is real. Seville is already part of the history of the txuri-urdin group.

La Real always wanted to play their game, always risking in the exit of the ball, although at the beginning they found a plug. The double attacking presence with Raúl García and Williams closed the interior corridor. Zubimendi did not exist. The txuri-urdin circulation always referred to the gang men, those in charge of generating danger. Gorosabel put a couple of good centers, although Isak clearly did not reach any. The extreme defense above Yeray and Íñigo Martínez was immeasurable. The area was an unapproachable fortress for the Real. A rock.

The heavenly music of the game played as the ball passed by Silva, although it was intermittent. Athletic took the final at a slower pace. He was more interested. He did not press up, but every time he was able to connect with Raúl García he caused problems. The loss of the Navarrese in direct play is impressive. It looks like an impossible tree to knock down. With a push, Athletic approached the area. Raúl himself fired a cross shot, although the clearest occasion was a right hand from Íñigo Martínez from outside the area. La Real was afraid, Athletic respect. It was a final not to lose, rather than to win.

As if the party lacked little tension, the VAR also made an appearance. A center from Oyarzabal hit Iñigo Martínez's elbow on the line, in some shots it seemed inside, in others outside, and Estrada Fernández decided to take the play out of the area and whistle a foul. Not even with VAR actions as controversial and controversial as this one are corrected. What a game like this lacked, the incorrigible agony of video refereeing.

But the really fat came later. Íñigo knocked down Portu inside the area, Estrada whistled a penalty and red, and after a deliberation of several minutes he left him in yellow. The Athletic center-back had to come back from the locker room. In fact, the red one hadn't even protested. Incredible, unpublished. Oyarzabal, despite spending several minutes pending and in full tension, scored the goal that put Real ahead between the anarchy of the VAR and the nerves.

The reality of the game, apart from all the mess, is that the Real had matured better, sending in the opposite field and submitting an Athletic that did not feel comfortable either with the ball or without it. Marcelino wanted to make a move. He put Villalibre in, took Williams to the right and Raúl García to the left. Time was running out, the option to tie a historic final as well. The addition of 8 minutes prolonged the agony. That of some and that of others.

But the final was of the Real. The most important game in the history of Basque football was Real. Never again feel inferior to anyone, much less Athletic. That its fans can say that one day in April, in the midst of a pandemic, to the joy of some and sadness of others, the Real's anthem thundered in the sky of Seville. A Seville txuri-urdin. An ending to history. The great Real has returned. The Royal Champion.