The Moment of Truth Has Arrived. After eight months of intense competition, where at different stages FC Barcelona has been able to brush perfection and also overcome a significant crisis of results, the time has come for the final assault on the titles. The first in just 24 hours, playing the Copa del Rey final, the least important trophy of the most important ones, but which, given the possibility of winning it against the eternal rival, gains greater relevance. In La Cartuja, with the whole world closely watching what happens on the field, the blaugranas and the Merengues will face each other, and in just 90 minutes, or 120 in case of extra time, they must make enough merits to be crowned champions of the KO tournament.
On paper, it's just a Copa final. Whoever wins should celebrate it, and whoever loses should try to move on as soon as possible, since both are immersed in the fight for more significant trophies. But I doubt it will be like that. It's very likely that what happens in Seville on Saturday night will have a direct influence on the rest of the season. For Barça, a third victory over Ancelotti's team, and again with a title at stake as happened in the Super Cup, can be a springboard to blindly believe in achieving the treble. For Real Madrid, an unexpected triumph over Flick's men can restore confidence to a white squad that, by winning in the League at Montjuïc, could make the championship red-hot.
Thus, in a culé key, in this Copa Clásico, there may not only be a title at stake. Winning this Copa del Rey may also mean lifting a small part of the League and the Champions. In the following weeks, of course, those feelings will have to be reaffirmed by winning matches in the domestic and continental championships, but I truly believe it will be easier for this to happen if tomorrow, in La Cartuja, the cup ends up with blaugrana ribbons hanging from its handles. Among other things, because Flick's team is young and inexperienced, and for now, they don't know what it's like to digest a defeat as painful as this could be if it happens, and if it does, it would almost certainly have repercussions on what remains to be played.
In any case, whatever happens in the final in Seville, the presence of FC Barcelona in this grand final, added to the leadership in the League and being in the Champions semis, confirms that this team is back. That despite their youth, being Flick's first year on the bench, or the impossibility of strengthening given the club's economy, Barça is knowing how to compete like no one else. And that all this is just the beginning, the start of an era that promises to give us many joys. The first could be a Copa del Rey in which not one, but three titles will be at stake. Let's cross our fingers and hope that the balance tips in favor of soccer.