FCBARCELONA.CAT

29.01.2009 23:55

Third consecutive cup semi

Vanessa Forns

Having beaten Espanyol, Barça have qualified for the Copa del Rey semi finals for the third season in a row. Only Mallorca stand between them and a place in the final.

Objective achieved. Pep Guardiola’s side beat Espanyol 3-2 both on the night and on aggregate in tonight’s cup tie at the Camp Nou. That means a third consecutive semi final appearance for FCB, with a place in the final in Valencia beckoning.

Last title in 1997/98

The cup has eluded Barcelona since the 1997/98 season, when under Louis van Gaal, they won the title, beating none other than this season’s semi final opponents Mallorca in the final.

Valencia last time

Last season, with Frank Rijkaard on the bench, Barça made it into the final four after knocking out Alcoyano, Sevilla and Villarreal on the way. But the cup run came to an end against Valencia, who after picking up a useful 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou, went on to win at home 3-2.

Shock in Getafe

In 2006/07, and also with Rijkaard as manager, FC Barcelona made it as far as the semi final of the knockout competition. They beat Badalona, Alavés and Zaragoza en route to shock elimination at the hands of Getafe. It looked Barça had already done the job with a spectacular 5-2 win in the home leg, but the Madrid based side stunned everybody with an incredible 4-0 victory in the second leg to reach the grand final.