Albacete eye history, the clubs to oust Real Madrid and Barcelona in one Copa season | OneFootball

Knocking Real Madrid out of any competition is daunting, even more so for Segunda Division side Albacete. After upsetting Arbeloa’s team, they now target Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, a success that would place them alongside only four clubs.

AS notes that the most recent team to achieve that double was Marcelino’s Athletic Club in 2021-22. They moved from beating Atlético Mancha Real in the round of 32 to meeting holders Barcelona in the last 16, winning 3-2 after extra time against Xavi’s side.

The quarter-final brought Real Madrid to San Mamés. Ancelotti named a strong XI, but Álex Berenguer struck in the 88th minute for a 1-0 win.

Athletic fell short of the final, losing to Valencia in the semi-finals. Valencia went on to lift the Copa del Rey that season.

Three other heavyweight sides also eliminated both giants in the same campaign, then won the trophy. Atlético de Madrid did so in 1990-91, Valencia in 1998-99 and Zaragoza in 2003-04, with stars such as Bernd Schuster, Paulo Futre, ‘Piojo’ López, Gaizka Mendieta, Santi Cañizares, David Villa and Gabriel Milito, and Zaragoza’s win over Madrid remembered as the Galacticazo.

Source: AS