The magic of the cup – one of football’s well worn clichés churned out year after year. In England, it’s often used to describe the premier domestic cup competition, that being the FA Cup.
It’s labelled by the FA as the best cup competition in the world but recent finals belie this. The semi-final line up this year theoretically will provide a good final but to eclipse its European rivals, the FA Cup Final will need to be special judging by the matchups the Copa Del Rey, the DFB-Pokal and the Coppa Italia have produced.
This year’s Copa Del Rey final for example has an intriguing matchup even though it’s not an El Clásico final. Manchester United know very well the talent which Athletic Bilbao possess, having been pressed into submission by the Basque side. Such is the tactical genius of Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa their opponents in the final will be well aware of the threat posed.
Barcelona may have swept all that have come before them in the last few seasons. Earlier in this campaign though, they were held 2-2 in what was an entertaining game in Bilbao as Bielsa further illustrated his tactical nous against Europe’s finest. What’s more it showed his players ability to carry out his instructions effectively, something which shouldn’t be underestimated against teams like Barça. With the free flowing nature of Spanish football mixed with the two teams competing, an entertaining final will hopefully ensue in May.
Six days prior to the Copa Del Rey final though, Barcelona will want to participate in the Champions League final in Munich. One of the tenants of the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich, are also vying to reach that final. They too though have a cup final to look forward to though as they take on the side above them in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund.
The DFB-Pokal final perhaps won’t be as effervescent as its Spanish counterpart but it nevertheless will showcase Germany’s two best teams against each other. Champions Borussia Dortmund have led the table since January and are currently unbeaten in their last 22 Bundesliga games. Bayern Munich meanwhile are closing on Jürgen Klopp’s side despite being shaky on the road. Their prior meeting this season saw Dortmund sneak past Bayern 1-0 and it wouldn’t be too surprising if there was another tight encounter at the Olympiastadion.
The Olympiastadion was a scene of great joy for Italy in 2006 when they beat France on penalties in the biggest cup final of them all – the World Cup. The final of the Coppa Italia doesn’t quite compare but like other domestic cup finals around Europe, it offers a good match up as unbeaten Juventus take on the ever entertaining Napoli. These two played out a six goal thriller earlier in the campaign with Juve maintaining their unbeaten record by coming back from 3-1 down to claim a draw.
Napoli’s flair is doubtless and as a result, they’re always a good team to watch especially with the fluid front three of Lavezzi, Hamsik and Cavani. This is countered by the Juventus defence, which is currently the best in Seriea A. Now take into account the earlier meeting between the two sides and the Coppa Italia final could well be the best of them all.
In response, the FA Cup final does “on paper” (another great cliché) offer a decent final with either Chelsea or Spurs facing Liverpool or Everton. However, predicting thrilling finals is very difficult such is the somewhat erratic nature of modern football. What’s more each fan in their respective country has their definition of what makes a brilliant game; such is the subjective nature of football. This is a must. After all, if everybody played football in the same way, the game wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining and exciting than it is currently.
Nevertheless, the respective cup finals in Spain, Germany and Italy seem to eclipse the spectacle which the FA Cup Final will offer. Arguably there hasn’t been a good FA Cup Final for the neutral since Wembley was rebuilt. The 2006 final in Cardiff where Liverpool defeated West Ham on penalties isn’t easy to live up to but no final has even come close to this.
This doesn’t mean that goals necessarily make for a good game. Jonathan Wilson has pointed out before that, “If goals alone were a mark of excellence, there would be thousands queuing to watch primary school football.”
It’s also hard to be definitive as the finals of course haven’t been played yet. However, take into account also the individual stories of the underdog which help to characterise cup competitions. England hasn’t lived up to those of Spain and Germany this season.
The tales of Mirandes, a team from the third tier of Spanish football and Fürth of the 2.Bundesliga have added something special to the Copa Del Rey and the DFB-Pokal respectively. Both sides reached the semi-finals, beating first division opposition on their way, before being eventually undone by Athletic Bilbao and Borussia Dortmund.
The FA Cup this season cannot compete with this. Perhaps then in 2012, unless the FA Cup final does produce a fantastic game, the “magic of the cup” will belong to the finals in Spain, Germany and Italy.
This article was originally written at Gone With The Rhind
For more football musings on Twitter, follow @archiert1
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
