Copa del Rey: Osasuna punch above their weight and can land knockout blow to Real Madrid

The Basque club have never won a major trophy but will be looking to give their more illustrious neighbours a bloody nose in Sunday's final

Osasuna have never won a major trophy in their 103-year history. EPA

Two teams have been drawn against both Sevilla and Real Betis, the two sides from Spain’s fourth biggest city, in cup competition this season. One, Manchester United, defeated Betis but were then eliminated from European competition by Sevilla. The other, Osasuna, went one better, beating holders Betis away on penalties then Sevilla at home after extra time in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

A goal in the 116th minute of the semi-final second leg in Bilbao at neighbours Athletic Club was dramatic – and it also led Osasuna to the final, where they meet Real Madrid, back in Seville, on Saturday.

Osasuna – it means ‘health’ in Basque - are 14th in Spain’s all-time league table. Every team above them has won a major honour, yet Osasuna have never managed one in their 103-year history.

The team hail from Pamplona, a wealthy, growing, city of 200,000 best known for the San Fermin running of the bulls festival every July. There’s a statue of the writer Ernest Hemmingway outside the bull ring with "A friend of this town" underneath the name of the Nobel Prize winner, but it’s the football team that is the talk of the city this week. On Tuesday, while resting several key players for the final and being down to 10 men for most of the match, they held Barcelona at Camp Nou for 85 minutes before losing 1-0.

It’s what happens on Saturday that matters most. It goes without saying that Osasuna are not favourites against the European and world champions, but Madrid were defeated 2-0 in the Basque Country by Real Sociedad on Wednesday – when home fans sang for Osasuna ahead of their final. They wish their neighbours well. Although Pamplona is in Navarra, not the Basque Country, 70 per cent of their match-going fans consider themselves Basque and the distinctive red, green and white Basque flag is everywhere at their games.

Osasuna are in a good place. Over 20,000 fans bought up their ticket allocation for the final and they will fly, train or drive the 900 kilometres from the north of Spain to the south, while a chant of "Osasuna nunca se rinde" ("Osasuna never gives up") went viral on TikTok earlier in the season. Their redeveloped El Sadar stadium, one of Spain’s most impressive which looks far bigger than the 23,576 capacity, has worked and crowds, averaging 19,500, are at their highest ever level.

Those fans are watching a stable team at a stable club with 10th, 11th and 10th-placed finishes since their promotion back to La Liga in 2019. Stable in the boardroom, where the club president is in his fourth season, stable on the pitch, where boss Jagoba Arrasate is in his fifth.

They are ninth in La Liga at present, five points off a European spot with five games to play. But that spot could come if they beat Real Madrid to qualify for the Europa League. No such privilege is given to the runner-up.

Part of their success is their academy, with the club long serious about youth development. Javi Martinez, later sold to Bayern Munich for €40 million, was born in Pamplona and came through the system before joining Athletic Club in Bilbao. Caesar Azpilicueta, later a Champions League winning captain at Chelsea, was born in Pamplona and came through the system before signing for Marseille for €9 million. Mikel Merino, later a Spanish international, was born in Pamplona and came through the system before moving to Borussia Dortmund and then Newcastle United. Raul Garcia, a key player for Atletico Madrid and then Athletic Club, was born in Pamplona and was also a product of the system. Nacho Monreal, who went to Malaga for big money and then Arsenal, was born in Pamplona and another example of the academy’s success.

Having Athletic Club, who only recruit Basque players, in proximity, makes life even tougher for Osasuna since Athletic recruit aggressively. Iker Munian, the long-time captain of Athletic Club, was born in Pamplona. Athletic use their higher status and financial muscle to snare the best Basque quarry, and Real Sociedad, Alaves, Eibar and Osasuna can’t compete. The population of the Basque cultural area is just 3 million, yet teams from there make up a quarter of La Liga. Nowhere in Spain has such a density of leading clubs. Villarreal and Barcelona have also both been accused of raiding the system at Osasuna.

Osasuna's Argentina striker 'Chimy' Avila, left, is proof of the Spanish impressive club's overseas recruitment. EPA

Despite this, the club from a region which controls much of its own taxes, still prosper and while most of their players are Spanish, imports have been among their most successful players. Their current star, striker "Chimy" Avila, is from Lionel Messi’s home city of Rosario in Argentina. In the 1980s, the former Liverpool players Sammy Lee (who is set to become Leeds United assistant manager) and Michael Robinson loved their time at Osasuna, as did Ashley Grimes, who had been at Manchester United.

The current side are well drilled, well coached and well respected. While you don’t see many Barcelona or Real Madrid shirts in Pamplona, you do see plenty of Osasuna shirts. They’re proud of their own, as they’ll show it in the 2023 Copa del Rey final.