1903 Copa del Rey Final
Athletic Bilbao, champion
Event1903 Copa del Rey
Athletic Bilbao Madrid FC
3 2
Date8 April 1903
VenueHipódromo, Madrid
RefereeJosé María Soler

The 1903 Copa del Rey Final was the first final of the Copa del Rey, the Spanish football cup competition. The match took place on 8 April 1903 at the Hipódromo, Madrid. The match was contested by Athletic Bilbao and Madrid FC.[1]

Madrid FC scored twice in the first half to lead the match 0–2 down at the break. However, a crucial harangue at the break by the Athletic Bilbao captain and president Juan Astorquia, inspired Athletic to pull off an epic comeback in the second half that turned the game around, thus lifting the trophy for the first time with a 3–2 victory.[2][3] Athletic Bilbao claims this trophy to be their second in a row, although the Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize the previous tournament as official. Six Athletic players who played in this final had been proclaimed champions of the Coronation Cup in the previous year with Club Bizcaya.[4][5]

This match has been identified as a catalyst for the establishment a few weeks later of what would eventually become Club Atlético de Madrid, after some Madrid-based Basque students among the spectators were inspired by the comeback victory by Athletic Bilbao and decided to form a local branch of the club.[6]

Summary

In front of 5,000 expectant spectators, it was a Madrid FC side captained by Guatemala Federico Revuelto who came out stronger in the first half, developing a brilliant game that was converted in a 2–0 lead at the break, with Marqués de Valdeterrazo opening the scoring in the 15th minute, while Antonio Neyra doubled their advantage just before the break.[3][7]

Madrid FC decided to go defensive in the second half, feeling they could hold a 2–0 lead against a demoralized Athletic Bilbao team, but instead, they found an Athletic side even more driven than before, largely thanks to a crucial harangue at the break by their captain and president Juan Astorquia.[3] Madrid was able to resist Athletic's relentless siege for only 10 minutes, as the Basque club found a goal when Raymond Cazeaux scored in the 55th minute. The Athletic attack kept colliding again and again with the Madrid defense, and despite some fine saves from goalkeeper Arthur Johnson, and great defensive work from the Giralt brothers (Mario, Armando and José), the people from Bilbao managed to find the equalizer with 20 minutes to go thanks to Eduardo Montejo.[3] Athletic did not let go of the siege and pressed for a winner, which they found in the 80th minute when Alejandro de la Sota scored the goal that sent the people from Bilbao into euphoria. The result remained unchanged until the final whistle, and Athletic Bilbao was proclaimed as the first official champion of Spain.[3][1][2]

Match details

Athletic Bilbao3–2Madrid FC
Cazeaux 55'
Montejo 70'
de la Sota 80'		 Report 1
Report 2		 de Valdeterrazo 15'
Neyra 40'
Referee: José María Soler

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Copa del Rey / Spanish Cup 1903". www.linguasport.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Madrid - Athletic Club (2 - 3) 08/04/1903". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "La arenga de Juanito Astorquia que valió una Copa al Athletic en 1903" [Juanito Astorquia's speech that won Athletic a Cup in 1903]. www.deia.eus (in Spanish). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "Spain - Cup 1902". RSSSF. 13 January 2000. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "111 años de la Final de la Copa del Rey de 1903" [111 years of the 1903 Copa del Rey Final] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "More Than A Game: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid". FourFourTwo. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Athletic Club VS Real Madrid 4/8/1903". www.athletic-club.eus. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
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