FC Barcelona have dominated the competition in recent years, and the legendary duo have been there for the full ride
The Copa del Rey has been all about FC Barcelona in recent years, and the facts are there to prove it. The team has made it as at least as far as the semi-finals in all but one of the last ten editions, and Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi have been there to see it happen every time
That’s a humungous eight cup semi-final appearances in nine years for the Barça duo, and more than 2,000 minutes of football between them. The only game in which neither appeared was the second leg at Almeria in the 2010/11 season. But that was something of a formality after Barça had already won the first leg 5-0, so they were both rested.
Barça have gone on to appear in five of the last nine finals, and have won the trophy three times.
| SEMI-FINAL | AGG. RESULT | MINUTES | |||
| INIESTA | MESSI | ||||
| 1st leg |
2nd leg |
1st leg |
2nd leg |
||
| 2006/07, Getafe | 5-6, lost | 81 | 90 | 76 | – |
| 2007/08, Valencia | 3-4, lost | 23 | 90 | 90 | – |
| 2008/09, Mallorca | 3-1, won | 90 | 54 | 35 | 32 |
| 2010/11, Almería | 8-0, won | 90 | – | 90 | – |
| 2011/12, Valencia | 1-3, won | – | 1 | 90 | 90 |
| 2012/13, R. Madrid | 4-2, lost | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 2013/14, R. Sociedad | 3-1, won | 17 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 2014/15, Villarreal | 6-2, won | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 986 minutes | 1043 minutes | ||||
Semi-final goals
Iniesta scored in the first leg of last season’s semi-final against Villarreal, while Messi has scored in seven of the different encounters: 2006/07 (Getafe), 2008/09 (Mallorca), 2010/11 (Almería), 2013/14 (Real Sociedad) and 2014/15 (Villarreal).
The most famous of those was probably the one against Getafe at the Camp Nou. That was the almost exact replica of Diego Maradona’s goal against England at the 1986 World Cup, and which is often hailed as the greatest goal ever. Here’s a video reminder of one of the goals that confirmed the name of Messi among the all-time elite of world football.