Having secured their passage through to the semi-final of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, Real Madrid could sit back and watch what happened between Atletico de Madrid and Athletic Bilbao last night as they awaited their opponents.
And the 3-1 win for Real’s city rivals – the first team to beat Bilbao in the new San Mames stadium – confirmed an all Madrid semi-final showdown. AS goes with that news on its front cover today. Los Blancos will be out for revenge against Diego Simeone’s team, having lost the final of the same competition at the Santiago Bernabeu last season.
Throughout their history, Madrid have knocked Atletico out of the Copa on 12 occasions before the final, and beaten them once in the final. Los Rijoblancos have won four Copa del Rey finals against their illustrious neighbours, and knocked them out four times before reaching the final.
Marca has already switched its attention to the weekend’s La Liga matches, and Real Madrid’s visit to Athletic Bilbao. It will be a special weekend for Sergio Ramos, who will mark 10 years since his professional debut. He turned out for Sevilla against Deportivo la Coruna at the Riazor Stadium on Feburary 1 2004.
Since then, he has gone on to has a hugely successful career, winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey in Spain, and being a key part in his national side’s European Championship and World Cup triumphs.
In an interview with Marca, Ramos said the last decade has flown by, but still aged just 27, he hopes to have another 10 years at the top level.
