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Copa del Rey
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The Copa del Rey is an annual cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Don Juan Carlos I (His Majesty King John Charles I's Cup), referring to the current King of Spain, Juan Carlos I of Spain; it has been known by various names over the years.
First played in 1902, FC Barcelona have won the most titles, with 24 wins.
competition was first played in 1902 after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII.
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Encyclopedia
The Copa del Rey is an annual cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Don Juan Carlos I (His Majesty King John Charles I's Cup), referring to the current King of Spain, Juan Carlos I of Spain; it has been known by various names over the years.
First played in 1902, FC Barcelona have won the most titles, with 24 wins.
History
The competition was first played in 1902 after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid FC for the first competition: FC Barcelona, Club Espanyol de Foot-Ball, Club Vizcaya and New Foot-Ball de Madrid. The competition featured the first recorded game between FC Barcelona and Madrid FC, with the former emerging 3-1 winners. Club Vizcaya eventually beat FC Barcelona in the final.
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 (Republic President's Cup) or Copa de España (Spanish Cup) for short and during the years of the Franco 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 will get to play against each other but the number of clubs allowed to participate is restricted.
Controversies
The 1902 competition was won by Club Vizcaya, a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC. In 1903, these two clubs merged as Athletic Club Bilbao, the modern Athletic Bilbao. As a result, the tally of Copa wins by Athletic Bilbao is disputed. The 1902 cup is on display in the Athletic museum, and the club includes the victory in its honours list.. However LFP and RFEF official statistics do not include this as an Athletic win.
Athletic Bilbao were declared winners in 1904 after their opponents Club 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. This competition officially recognised by the RFEF in 2007. No competition was played in 1938.
Statistics
Because of the dispute regarding the 1902 competition (see above), the statistics regarding the leading winners are also disputed. FC Barcelona have won the Copa 24 times; Athletic Bilbao are joint-leaders with 24 titles, or just behind with 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 three times in a row and/or on five separate occasions. Thus, four trophies have been permanently awarded to FC Barcelona, three to Athletic Bilbao and one to Real Madrid.
Club Vizcaya 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 Franco. The remaining trophy is the one in current usage.
Format
Before the formation of the first La Liga in 1928, 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 Division, Segunda A, about twenty-three teams from the Segunda B and the Tercera Division 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 Cup the following season.
Performance By club
Winners
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
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| FC Barcelona | 24 | 9 | 1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1942, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1998 | | Athletic Bilbao | 23 (24*) | 11 | 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1973, 1984 | | Real Madrid | 17 | 19 | 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917, 1934, 1936, 1946, 1947, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1993 | | Atlético Madrid | 9 | 8 | 1960, 1961, 1965, 1972, 1976, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1996 | | Valencia CF | 7 | 10 | 1941, 1949, 1954, 1967, 1979, 1999, 2008 | | Real Zaragoza | 6 | 5 | 1964, 1966, 1986, 1994, 2001, 2004 | | RCD Espanyol | 4 | 5 | 1929, 1940, 2000, 2006 | | Sevilla FC | 4 | 2 | 1935, 1939, 1948, 2007 | | Real Unión | 3 | 1 | 1918, 1924, 1927 | | Real Sociedad | 2 | 5 | 1909, 1987 | | Real Betis | 2 | 2 | 1977, 2005 | | Deportivo de La Coruña | 2 | – | 1995, 2002 | | Arenas Club de Getxo | 1 | 3 | 1919 | | RCD Mallorca | 1 | 2 | 2003 | | Club Vizcaya | 1* | 1 | 1902* | | Racing Irún | 1 | – | 1913 | | Levante UD | 1 | – | 1937 |
(*)See Controversies section
Finals
Note on name changes
Real Madrid were originally known as Madrid FC and did not add the Real until 1920. During the Spanish Second Republic the club dropped Real from their name. In 1941, a decree issued by General Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF and Athletic Bilbao changed the spelling of their prefix to Atlético. RCD Espanyol were known as RCD Español until 1995.
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