Morality versus memory

The names of Toledo, Real Unión or Alcorcón continue to cause cold sweats in Chamartín. Alcoyano entered that black list of cup nonsense of Real Madrid last season, which inflicted a strident elimination to the then team of Zinedine Zidane, culminating in extra time a comeback that began to forge when regulation time was heading into its final stretch. Militao’s goal on the brink of rest seemed to put a night on track without too many shocks for the visiting side in El Collao, where the locals were deprived of the breath of their parish in the middle of the third wave of the coronavirus. But the target of Solbes well advanced the second part paid for the dream of David from Alicante, who struck down his particular Goliath with a goal from Juanan to unleash ecstasy in Alcoy.

The vagaries of chance have appointed both rivals to confront their forces again a year later, again in the round of 32 of the KO tournament. It will be morality against memory.

“It is a wound that is still open,” said Carlo Ancelotti, the last coach capable of winning the Copa del Rey at the controls of Real Madrid. He did so in the 2013-14 campaign, when Bale’s sprint against Bartra certified the triumph over Barça in the final held at the Mestalla. Since then, the Chamartín squad has not returned to contest the decisive pulse for the title of a tournament that sealed the fate of several of its coaches this century. Bernd Schuster began his fall from grace the day that the Real Union descended in the round of 32 to a block that appeared as current League champion, the ‘Alcorconazo’ sentenced Manuel Pellegrini and Zidane began to ponder his first goodbye after the ‘pepinazo’ of the Leganés at the Bernabéu.

Ancelotti dribbled the trap in his first stage in the Spanish capital, but is warned of the risk involved in underestimating any adversary in a competition that is especially conducive to surprises with the one-game crossover system. “It is a direct tie that we play outside and in an important competition. It is not cheating, but it is different because you play the competition. We started this Cup, which is very important. The objective is to win it. It will be a game where we need a lot of things. Not only the quality, where in theory we are superior, but it will demand other things: win the duels, focus on the set pieces … “, argued Reggiolo’s coach, who announced that he will have the best eleven possible because he takes “Very seriously” the duel.

Bar for Lunin

That determination does not prevent eight footballers from being left out of the Real Madrid squad: the limping Bale and Carvajal, the confined Jovic and a Vinicius who has just overcome the coronavirus, in addition to Courtois, Mendy, Modric and Benzema. But Ancelotti argued that the last three left with minor annoyances from the visit to Getafe, so that only the goalkeeper will rest due to a mere technical decision.

An absence that will bring Lunin’s second official match as a Real Madrid player on the same stage as his debut, where he conceded two goals. Ancelotti does not stop praising the Ukrainian, a bet for the future whose present is overshadowed by cohabitation with one of the best goalkeepers in the world. “He knows the field and the environment well, so he can play a good game. The only thing I have told him is that because of his quality he deserves to play more », explained the transalpine.

There is no doubt about the first, but the scenario that will be experienced in Alcoy will be very different from a year ago. Then the local side gave the bell in a silent stadium that will now become a pressure cooker with the roar of almost five thousand throats. The full house is guaranteed at El Collao because the Generalitat Valenciana allows one hundred percent capacity in low-capacity venues and there will not fit another soul.

Not surprisingly, since the draw brought Alcoyano back together with the thirteen-time European champion, hope has overwhelmed a team whose mention has served, since ancient times, to allude to the confidence needed to overcome the most formidable obstacles .

“Let’s hope that the fans’ arreón will help us to go flying. The normal thing is that they have a lot of possession and they overwhelm us, but we are prepared to compete in any circumstance “, analyzed Vicente Parras, a team coach that will park his tribulations in Primera RFEF for a few hours to try to reissue the feat in a competition that gives license to dream. And more with a miracle worker like veteran goalkeeper José Juan.