Osasuna and Athletic faced off in the first round of the Cup semi-finals.

Despite ‘lions and ‘rojillos’ have been measured at other heights of competition.three times and always with Bilbao qualification for the next round.

Osasuna welcomes Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg, which has become the main illusion of a group of footballers who will have the support of their fans on a historic night.

Navarrese side to play Cup semi-finals again 18 years later With the motivation of their last league win in Sevilla, which they broke without winning five games.

The road to a date was not an easy one. After eliminating Fuentes, Arnedo and Nastic, Jagoba Arrasate’s men faced Betis, who had previously gone through penalties at Benito Villamarín and with Sevilla in the quarterfinals, knocking the Sevillans in overtime in a packed Sadar to the Flag.

“We want to play the final”

red trainer, Jagoba Arrasate“As the team has already played such matches this year, they are prepared and The mood is good after the last victory. “We want to play the final and for that we need to play two great games.”

Regarding athletics, the trainer stated: “Last year it was much higher. It was in Bilbao that they were superior in the first half and we were able to hold them in the second half. We didn’t show our true potential in any of the three matches,” he said, analyzing the last three matches.

The sensations in Pamplona couldn’t get any better. Osasuna took on Sánchez-Pizjuán in an endurance show on Sunday. Sevilla equalized the match twice before Abde ended the final with a score of 2-3.

The team achieved that vertical, fast and clear image that they hadn’t applied for a while. Joy ran like wildfire through the Osasunista congregation with three unexpected spots. The machine looks set for the most relevant appointment in recent times.

The most important players rested to come against the lions in the best conditions. Torró, Chimy Ávila, Abde, Moi Gómez or Budimir were the backups and will start tomorrow.

since 2005

Osasuna played its last Cup semi-final in 2005. The draw paired the Rojillos with Atlético de Madrid, after knocking out Sevilla on two legs in the quarterfinals. Valdo’s goal won the first set 1-0 in Pamplona. The second match played at Vicente Calderón ended 0-0. Then Betis would come to a sad end for Navarrese interests.

“They’re going to be headlines again,” said Rojilla fans.. We are just as excited as they are and we should play together. I believe they will help us because we are much stronger with them”.

Sadar will save best entry since reform. Members took their seats and the club handed out some 700 tickets, which soon sold out.

More than 22,000 viewers will watch the draw live to play a key role in supporting their team when the opponent pushes.

An Injured Athletic

This time the duel is not offered as rojiblanco, because Athletic is coming to Pamplona. one of the darkest days in a long timeAt San Mamés, he lost to Girona with two own goals and five injuries.

Biscayan team, which parked Girona’s first win and first goals in its history at ‘La Catedral’, evaluates tomorrow’s match just waiting for the physical condition of his battered teamA little less than a whip on a Sunday.

So knee sprain first Nico Williamswere low and then fell on the field. Unai Simón was relieved at halftime from an Achilles tendon injury; Yeray Alvarezafter the meeting time, it gives way to muscle discomfort; Jon Morcilloleft his team with ten people after breaking his collarbone; And raul garciawho finished the match as best he could with a sprained shoulder.

It looks like the most recoverable of the five for tomorrow, something that will confirm the call or not after this afternoon’s practice, are the youngest of Williams and Yeray. Namely, the two most outstanding players of the season, along with Unai Simón, who will not play because Ernesto Valverde gave the trophy to young Julen Agirrezabala.

Iñigo Martínez and Ander Herrera may also have been present, much better recovered from their injuries, plantar fasciitis and a muscle setback, although they were not cleared Saturday and could not be called up by Valverde against Girona.

Even so, Iñigo and Herrera’s entry into the starting lineup is overly complicated by the recent recovery. Especially when it comes to the defender who has been away for a long time.

And it might be risky for Nico and Yeray to do that too, but this is the first leg of the semi-final and Yeray won’t be in Vallecas on Sunday due to the buildup of warnings.

On the other hand, one of the good news from Athletic for tomorrow is the return of Dani Vivian, who was left out of the squad last Sunday because he was suspended last Sunday.