06.01.2011 19:15

Bernabéu final to be repeated

Jordi Clos

Barça will play Betis in the next round of the cup, a repeat of the 1997 final at thel Santiago Bernabéu. The sides have not met in the cup since.

June 28, 1997 was the night that Barça won their 23rd cup against Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was the third title of the season, conquered thanks to goals from Figo (2) and Pizzi. With Bobby Robson on the bench and Guardiola wearing number 4, the club enjoyed winning the title and hearing their own anthem played on the Madrid tannoy system.

Even matches

The sides had met seven times in the cup before that, with Barça winning four times and Betis going through three times. There was a huge shock in 1994 when Betis, a second division club at the time, put out the Dream Team in the quarter finals. But in 1958/59, it was Barça under Helenio Herrera who won in the same round by a historic 6-0.

Classic game

The last time the sides played each other was in the league in 2008/09. Barça won at the Camp Nou by a tight 3-2 and the second meeting in Andalusia ended scoreless. But FC B ended up winning the league title, and Betis were relegated.

The two sides have faced off 92 times in the league, with a much better balance for the Catalans: 53 wins, 19 draws and 20 defeats.