The Copa del Rey is back for Real Madrid and all eyes are on Zidane. It is the cursed tournament of the white couch and the only title that resists him to close his triumphal circle on the white bench. It will be the fourth attempt for the coach to finish settling the pending account he has with the KO competition and seal once and for all the full club-level conquests.
After three Champions, two Leagues, two European Super Cups, two Spanish Super Cups, and two Club World Cups, the Copa del Rey is the only trophy that does not appear in Zidane’s private showcase. Not only that, but it is a competition that has given him significant disappointments, with painful eliminations and the impossibility of overcoming the barrier of the quarterfinals in any of the three editions he has played.
Because in both 15-16 and 18-19 the team was already eliminated when they took over. Celta avoids the triplet at the end of January 2017, Real Madrid dreamed of their first treble in history. Zidane’s team walked triumphantly with two titles already in their pockets ( European Super Cup and Club World Cup ) and commanding in the League.
He overcame Sevilla’s ‘bone’ with authority in the second round and seemed unstoppable heading to the final. But Celta woke him up from the dream of the triplet in the quarterfinals, surprising the white team at the Bernabéu (1-2) and defending the income in Balaídos (2-2). Zidane missed the Cup for the first time in a season that ended with the League-Champions double. Pepinazo and the beginning of Zidane’s goodbye Cup was again a nightmare for the white coach in 17-18. With Real Madrid off the hook from the fight for the League and the galactic PSG of Neymar and Mbappé waiting in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The Cup acquired great importance for the Whites. But the KO tournament was again a trap for Zidane. Madrid starred in a sounded elimination in the quarterfinals against Leganes. Beyond saying goodbye to another title, the elimination left consequences and increased wear on Zidane. The painful cupbearer fiasco was one more drop in the glass that would end with the coach’s goodbye at the end of the season despite winning the Champions League for the third time in a row. Coup de la Real at the best moment last year it was Real Sociedad that delved into the Zidane curse in the Copa del Rey.
Madrid was going through their best moment of the season after 19 games without losing in all competitions. A streak that was broken in the KO tournament, which again crossed the path of the white couch. La Real attacked the Bernabeu (3-4) and Zidane once again ran out of the Cup in the quarterfinals. An elimination that would again leave consequences because from then on Madrid derailed from the triumphal path it was leading, something that took its toll in the League and the Champions League before the break due to the pandemic.