Copa del Rey final set for Madrid
According to a report in Sport the final of the 2011-12 Copa del Rey will be played in Madrid after consultation with all four semi-finalists: Barcelona, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Mirandés. The actual venue has still to be decided but is likely to be the larger-capacity Santiago Bernabéu as opposed to the Vicente Calderón.
The Spanish capital was selected for its geographical location plus the fact it has two stadiums capable of hosting a big gate for the final of a competition that has had something of a renaissance in the past few seasons. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is hopeful of a repeat of the 2010 final which was played in front of a full house at the Camp Nou between Atlético Madrid and Sevilla, particularly since three of the clubs involved are among the top four in Spain attendance-wise.
If the 85,000-seater Bernabéu is chosen it will be the first time the final has been held there since 2007, when Sevilla beat Getafe (1-0), while the Calderón (capacity 54,000) staged the event the following year as Getafe were once more runners-up, this time to Valencia (3-1).
What has been decided are the dates: if Barcelona, the only semi-finalists in the Champions League, reach the final of the competition in Munich then the Copa del Rey fixture will be played on Friday, May 25. If not, then it will take place on Sunday, May 20, one day after the Champions League final, although in this case it would not be at the Vicente Calderón as a Coldplay concert is scheduled for that date.
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