“The result is not the most important thing,” was the message coming from Osasuna before this weekend’s Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid.
But with an hour gone in Saturday evening’s game at Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja, the rojillo team and their fans believed that, actually, the result was now very important.
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There was a surge of hope in the stadium and on the pitch that the underdogs could go on and overcome a disconnected and disorganised Madrid to win the first major trophy in their 103-year history.
Osasuna had recovered from the shock of conceding to Rodrygo after just 109 seconds to gain a foothold in the game, then deservedly equalised through midfielder Lucas Torro. Their former player Michael Robinson’s phrase: “Osasuna is soul, soul, and more soul”, which the club have promoted in recent weeks, seemed to be driving them towards something previously thought impossible.
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When Torro’s 20-yard strike hit the net, Osasuna fans’ celebrations were riotous, with flares let off and thousands jumping up and down. The mayhem spilled over the fence onto the running track surrounding the pitch and, for a few moments, it seemed a serious incident might be unfolding.
Even as play restarted, medics, stewards and police were continuing to deal with the situation behind Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera’s goal. One supporter was carried away on a stretcher and it took some minutes for everyone to get back to their seats.
Not long afterwards, another burst from Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior past stand-in right-back Jon Moncayola tore the Osasuna defence open and Rodrygo was on hand to calmly finish past Herrera to make it 2-1.
Still, Osasuna kept pressing forward in the high-tempo, front-foot style of play that connects this team with their people. When five minutes of added time was announced, a last rousing roar came from the red half of the stadium. There was one more chance, too, as substitute Chimy Avila fired a ball across the six-yard box, but fellow replacement Kike Barja just could not direct his shot goalward.
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The final whistle blew and the white half of the stadium cheered the players who had added yet another trophy to the huge Bernabeu cabinet. That is generally the cue for the losing side to head for the exits. Fans of beaten finalists do not often stick around to witness the celebrations of the other team.
🙌 ¡Porque somos Osasuna y esto nunca no va morir! 🙌#CopaDelRey | pic.twitter.com/AfIijyEUNo
— C. A. OSASUNA (@Osasuna) May 6, 2023
But at La Cartuja on Saturday night, everyone in red stayed in their seats as Osasuna players grouped together to salute their supporters. They spent a long time gathered in front of their most fervent fans, right in the spot where the incident had happened half an hour earlier.
It was a true moment of communion between a team and a group of fans who’ve been through much together and not just over the night’s 95 minutes. Osasuna’s Copa campaign included four games decided in either extra time or by penalties. Going back further still, the club has essentially been reborn over the past eight years.
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As they prepared for just their second Copa final ever, Osasuna president Luis Sabalza and many others at the club spoke emotionally about their pride in the work done to return from debt and disgrace and become one of Spain’s best run and most admired clubs. They were also clear about who they represented: the people of their city, Pamplona, and their province, Navarrre.
“Madrid might beat us on the pitch, but not in the stands, for sure,” the club’s sporting director Braulio Vazquez told The Athletic last week. Sabalza and his directors made very sure that every one of their 19,208 club socios who requested a ticket, and another 350 long-time followers, could be at the game.
Other channels meant at least 25,000 Osasuna fans ended up with tickets and many thousands more made the trip to Seville just to be in the city for what was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many.
All day Saturday, red jerseys meandered down the cobbled, winding streets of Sevilla’s sun-scorched city centre, dodging from patch of shadow to patch of shadow as they saw the sights of the Andalusian capital. The Athletic spotted one group with red jerseys featuring the names of Kike Sola, Orbaiz and Patxi Punal entering the gleaming white Andalusian Mudejar 14th-century church of Santa Catalina.
A few hours before kick-off, there was an especially raucous atmosphere in the fans’ zone at the Parque de Magallanes across the river Guadalquivir in the Triana neighbourhood. Madrid supporters were enjoying themselves on the other bank, as local authorities wanted to keep the two groups apart. The weekend saw just one incident when a group of Madrid’s Ultras Sur charged a group of Osasuna supporters in the Alameda de Hercules square.
Those involved might generously be described as mindless thugs, but elsewhere there was a more political edge to the game. During the week, Basque independence-seeking party EH Bildu organised a banner supporting Osasuna with their logo to be displayed just outside the Cartuja stadium.
Sevilla tiene un color especial ❤️💙
AUPA OSASUNA! pic.twitter.com/pxg8mFy6Tj
— EH Bildu (@ehbildu) May 5, 2023
That was not acceptable for either Sevilla’s PSOE (socialist) city hall or the PP (conservative) Andalusian regional government. By kick-off time, the logo of EH Bildu and the flags of Navarre and the Basque country had been covered. EH Bildu Spanish parliament deputy Oskar Matute called it “censorship”.
El Gobierno del PP en Andalucía censura la ikurriña y la bandera navarra. pic.twitter.com/QtG8kPGI4z
— Oskar Matute (@OskarMatute) May 6, 2023
The game also featured the usual politicking within Spanish football, as the federation used their showpiece fixture to promote their own interests. Although the stadium’s facilities and pitch surface have been criticised, Rubiales said “La Cartuja is better than Wembley” during the week. The security and safety arrangements can be questioned after the incident following Torro’s goal and next year might see a different host for the Copa final, as their deal with the Andalusian regional authorities is up for renewal.
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Rubiales was also smiling as he welcomed Spain’s King Felipe XI to the stadium just minutes before kick-off, with the monarch having come straight from attending King Charles’ coronation in London earlier in the day. He would have heard the Madrid fans sing along lustily to the Spanish national anthem while not reacting to the ear-splitting whistles from Osasuna supporters who are generally not so happy to be subjects of the Spanish crown.
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After 95 exhausting minutes, as Felipe handed over the Copa trophy to Madrid captain Karim Benzema, the red-clad supporters did not have the energy left to do anything other than to watch on silently. The Osasuna players then went into their own huddle, with some final messages exchanged and staff giving hugs and words of encouragement to those players who had sunk again to the turf.
Not that it was really an unexpected end to their Copa del Rey journey this season.
“Madrid win finals,” Osasuna figures kept repeating to The Athletic during our visit the week before. Financial logic told in the end: Real’s giant €687milllion spend on their team this season dwarfed Osasuna’s €50m budget for 2022-23. The Bernabeu outfit were able to invest over €120m to sign Vinicius and Rodrygo as teenagers. Osasuna’s record signing is €8m for Croatian striker Ante Budimir. The difference was just too big.
But all those in red and those watching back in Navarre knew all this beforehand. The most important thing for Osasuna was not to win the final, but to be there and to use the occasion to show their pride in the progress the club and the team have made in recent years.
“The fans on the street tell me: we have to win the final,” Sabalza told The Athletic. “But for me, reaching the final is an achievement. If we lose, it will not be the end of the road. Navarre is proud again of the club.”
(Top photo: Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images)