Since 2010, Real Madrid have won the Copa Del Rey 3 times in 2011, 2014 and 2023. In which, the first two victories were both defeats to Barcelona in the final. In 2023, Los Blancos overcame Osasuna. Of these 3 titles, Jose Mourinho owns 1, the rest belongs to Carlo Ancelotti.
However, if we look at the decade, exactly 31 years, Real Madrid only had 3 Copa Del Rey titles. During the same period, they have won the European championship 9 times. Real Madrid currently owns 15 European championship titles, the second-placed team, AC Milan, has only 7. In La Liga, the "White Vultures" have 36 titles while their arch-rivals Barcelona are 9 trophies behind.
However, in the Copa Del Rey arena, Real Madrid only finished 3rd with 20 titles. Leading the way are Barcelona (31) and Athletic Bilbao (24). At the Bernabeu, Copa Del Rey has never been considered a secondary playground, although based on priority, the Champions League and La Liga are still more prestigious.
Not only have they won fewer Copa Del Rey titles than Barcelona, Real Madrid have even suffered many crushing defeats in this national cup playground. In 2002, on the occasion of the club's 100th anniversary, Vicente Del Bosque's Real Madrid surprisingly lost 1-2 to Deportivo in the final. Although Los Blancos later won the Champions League after defeating Leverkusen in the final. However, the pain in Copa Del Rey that year was unforgettable.
Just next season, Real Madrid was eliminated by Mallorca in the quarter-finals with an unbelievable score of 5-1. In 2004, Los Blancos lost 2-3 to Real Zaragoza in the home final of Barca, now called Lluis Companys.
In the 2008-2009 season, Real Madrid was eliminated in the round of 32 teams. "White Vulture" was defeated by anonymous team Real Union de Irun. At that time, Real's opponent was even playing in the third division. Bernd Schuster's army lost 3-2 away, then won 4-3 at home. However, the final score of 6-6 made Real Madrid leave the game because of the away goal rule.
The next season was even worse. Real Madrid, Raul Gonzalez, Guti, Karim Benzema, Rafael van der Vaart and Lassana Diarra were crushed 4-0 away by Alcorcon - another third-tier team. Then returning to the Bernabeu, the Royal team won only 1-0 and was eliminated with a total score of 1-4.
The 4-0 defeat to Alcorcon in October that year was called the "Alcorconazo". It cost coach Manuel Pellegrini his job at the end of the season.
If the 0-4 loss to Alcorcon is considered the most disastrous in Real Madrid's Copa Del Rey history, the defeat in the 2015 2016 season leaves many questions about the abnormality. Real visited Cadiz in the round of 32 and won 3-1. However, Los Blancos captain Rafael Benitez has left a scandal that has been mentioned until now.
The Spanish teacher launched Denis Cherychev from the beginning. The Russian star is a loan contract from Villarreal last season. He received enough yellow cards and was suspended but perhaps Benitez did not remember this fact. Until Cheryshev came on, fans screamed in the stands, reminding Benitez to review it because Cheryshev was not eligible to play. When Benitez was not able to recover, Cheryshev opened the score in the third minute of the match.
Two days later, the Spanish Football Federation held a meeting to determine the incident. As a result, Real Madrid were eliminated from Copa Del Rey. A month later, Benitez was sacked and Zinedine Zidane was given a place.
Zidane has won the Champions League for 3 consecutive seasons with Real Madrid, something unprecedented in history. However, the French strategist could not escape the bad luck in Copa Del Rey. In January 2021, during his second term at the Bernabeu, ZiZou and his students were eliminated from the round of 32.
Real Madrid lost to Alcoyano at that time, a team playing in the Spanish Third Division. That day, Vinicius Jr, Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Marcelo and Eder Militao started but had no idea what had happened. At the end of that season, Zidane left the Bernabeu hot seat for the second time.
Therefore, Carlo Ancelotti understands that if he loses to Barcelona this weekend, he could be fired immediately, not simply leave his seat after the season ends. Copa Del Rey is not a big trophy but at a time when everything is gloomy after the loss to Arsenal.
