Atletico looks to seal improbable double with cup

By foxsports
Published

Atletico Madrid can close its season with an improbable double when it plays Sevilla in Spain's Copa del Rey final on Wednesday.

Atletico beat English side Fulham last week to claim the Europa League trophy - its first piece of silverware for 14 years when it managed a league-cup double.

Now, following a poor league campaign where it finished 52 points off champions Barcelona in ninth, Atletico can transform this season into one of its most successful with a victory at the Camp Nou stadium.

"It's something we didn't expect at the start of the season and its brought us a lot of honor," Argentina striker Sergio Aguero said after the Europa win, the 21-year-old's first triumph with the club. "But we're only halfway to the dream."

Coach Quique Sanchez Flores rested most of his regulars - including strikers Diego Forlan and Aguero - for Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Getafe on the final day of the league campaign.

"There's no favorite," Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop said. "Everything's changed. We've got momentum and we've got to take advantage."

With both clubs' European spots locked up, a domestic cup would go a long way to easing troubled domestic seasons which led both clubs to make coaching changes.

Sevilla promoted Antonio Alvarez to replace the fired Manolo Jimenez despite him having led the team to its second final in three years and seventh overall. It beat Getafe 1-0 in 2007.

Atletico, meanwhile, brought in Sanchez Flores for Abel Resino with the club misfiring in all competitions.

Although Sanchez Flores couldn't salvage poor Champions League and league campaigns, the former Real Madrid player has sketched his name into Atletico folklore with these two cup runs, including rallying from a 3-0 first-leg deficit in the quarterfinals to advance 5-4 against second-division Recreativo Huelva.

Atletico beat Barcelona 1-0 in 1996 for its ninth trophy from 17 appearances in the competition.

Both clubs have managed to hang on to its international players for a few extra days despite World Cup camps gathering in most parts of the world. But Sevilla's attack will be without strikers Luis Fabiano (leg) and Alvaro Negredo (suspension).

It is the third cup final to be played at Barcelona's home ground and first since 1970.