Osasuna stands between Real Madrid and its quest to win the Spanish Cup in football for the first time since 2014, when they face Saturday in the final match at La Cartuja stadium in Seville.

And after the league title was logically decided in favor of Barcelona and satisfied with the competition for the “honorary” runner-up with its neighbor Atletico Madrid, Real will try hard not to come out empty-handed from its domestic season and win a title out of two possible since it continues to defend the Champions League title, as it engages in a grueling confrontation with Manchester City. English.

This is the first time that Real has reached the Cup final since its last nineteenth coronation in 2014 at the expense of Barcelona, and therefore the Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti will seek not to waste this golden opportunity.

Real will try to benefit from his experience with the final matches that led him to 61 major titles in terms of cups, including 14 in the Champions League, without counting his 35 titles in the Spanish League, in order to settle Saturday’s match against a team that had only reached this stage once. One in its history in 2005 when it lost the cup final to Real Betis on penalties.

Osasuna sporting director Braulio Vasquez stressed the huge difference between the two sides of Saturday's match, saying, "For Madrid, it is an additional final out of many (in its history, including 40 in the cup). But for us, it is the 'final'."

"There is excitement and tension. We will have fun, but we will also compete. What we will experience we will never forget, but we are not going there to have a beer on the (banks of) Gadalkivir."

Reaching the cup final for a team whose coffers include four titles in the second division and seven in the third, is a great reward for the Basque club, which has committed itself to continuity with its coach, Yaguba Arasati.

Osasuna did not abandon his coach despite the difficulties he went through, especially in the middle of the 2020-2021 season when he played 13 consecutive matches without winning the league, which made him threatened with relegation before he rose up and remained among the adults.

Osasuna reached the final in a dramatic way, at the expense of its Basque neighbor, Athletic Bilbao, by drawing with it in the second leg of the semi-final 1-1 in extra time, thanks to a goal by Pablo Ibanes, after winning the first leg at home 1-0.

After the dramatic qualification, Ibanes said, "I can't find the words at the moment. We were suffering like dogs the whole match."

Determination and fighting spirit will be Osasuna's weapons in the face of giants Real and its big stars, in addition to his fans, who will be present strongly in Seville in order to support the team, as happened in the last match in the league at Barcelona Stadium (zero-1) on Tuesday when Arasati played with a backup squad, and despite that His team remained tied with the Catalan giants until the 85th minute.

Osasuna showed his high spirit, not only for his steadfastness against Barcelona with a backup squad, but also because he played with ten players since the 27th minute, and this is "a lesson for what it means to us to be competitors," according to what the coach said in a warning message to Real.
But the high spirit and arrogance may not be enough in the face of an experienced team like Real, who reached the final by sweeping Barcelona 4-0 at the “Camp Nou” during the semi-final second leg.

Saturday's confrontation is also of moral importance to Ancelotti, because he will remain on the path of equaling the number of Frenchman Zinedine Zidane in terms of the number of titles as coach of the Royal Club (11).

The Italian currently owns 9 titles, and winning the Cup and the Champions League will put him at the same distance from the 1998 World Cup champion, who occupies second place on the historical list of honor behind Miguel Muñoz (14 titles during 15 years as coach of the team between 1960 and 1974).

The experienced Italian was confident ahead of the semi-final second leg against Barcelona "of winning at least one title out of the remaining two."

Ancelotti hopes that Saturday will be correct in his expectations, especially since retaining the Champions League title is not guaranteed in light of the difficult test that Real is facing against City and its Spanish coach, Josep Guardiola, who will visit the “Santiago Bernabeu” on Tuesday for the first leg before hosting the second leg a week later.

Ancelotti said, "If we are lucky and win the cup this season, this team will have won every possible title in a two-year period," adding, "There are teams that do not win this matter (all possible titles) during their entire history."

Real, coming from a 0-2 loss in the league against the other Basque team, Real Sociedad, is counting on its record against Osasuna, who has not tasted victory over the Madrid giants since January 30, 2011 (1-0 in the league).
After the end of the league match between Real and Osasuna on February 18, Ancelotti expected to face Pamplona again in the Cup final, and his expectations were correct.

Real won that match with two late goals, signed by Uruguayan Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio. Ancelotti appeared in television footage as he approached Arasati, telling him, "We will meet together in the final of the cup," which prompted his counterpart to laugh and show signs of surprise.

And since the final matches carry surprises, regardless of the differences between the teams, Ancelotti hopes that his team will not fall victim to one of the biggest surprises in the history of the Spanish Cup, which began in 1903, and which Barcelona holds its record (31) against Bilbao (23) and Real (19).