Copa del Rey draw: semi-final ties revealed
Copa del Rey semi-final draw: as it happened
2019/20 Copa del Rey semi-final draw in full:
Real Sociedad* vs Mirandés
Athletic Bilbao* vs Granada
*At home in the first leg
The first legs will be held on Wednesday 12 February, with the second legs scheduled for Wednesday 4 March.
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Athletic vs Granada in semi-final 2
We know the second semi-final will be Athletic Bilbao against Granada, so all that needs to be decided is who is at home in each leg.
The Basques come out of the hat first, so it's Athetic vs Granada - Los Leones will be at home in the opening leg.
And the first tie out of the hat is...
After all that, now it really is time for the draw - and the first semi-final comes out of the hat!
Copa del Rey semi-final 1:
Real Sociedad vs Mirandés
Real Sociedad will be at home in the first leg, with Mirandés hosting the return.
With La Real and Athletic Bilbao avoiding each other in the last four, we still have the possibility of a Basque derby in the final!
Some edited highlights of the four representatives' comments:
Granada general manager Antonio Fernández Monterrubio on the Andalusians reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 51 years: "It's a historic achievement for our club, and we can't wait to find out who we've got next"
Mirandés president Alfredo de Miguel: "It's been so exciting, we've played really good football - and we aren't ruling out going all the way."
Real Sociedad vice-president Mikel Ubarretxena: "We want to win the final and emulate the achievement of our women's team [who won the Copa de la Reina] last year. We're feeling optimistic."
Athletic Bilbao ambassador and former player Andoni Goikoetxea: "It's been years since I enjoyed an Athletic goal as much as I enjoyed Iñaki Williams' [winner against Barcelona] yesterday."
Well... almost draw time...
Hold on, before we actually get to the draw we are treated to a video recapping how the four semi-finalists got this far, and a few words with a representative of each club.
The draws for the previous rounds were fairly short and straight to the point, but, perhaps because the actual ball-plucking will take no more than two shakes of lamb's tail today, they're really drawing it out.
Draw time!
With the talk out of the way, it's now time for the draw.
A reminder that the four teams in the hat are Athletic Bilbao, Granada, Mirandés and Real Sociedad, and that it is a completely open draw, so anyone can be paired with anyone.
"Mirandés an example of what is going to happen in the years to come," says RFEF chief
After a video introducing the venue for the next four Copa del Rey finals, there are a few words with RFEF president Luis Rubiales and Javier Imbroda of Andalusia's regional government.
Rubiales then gives a speech looking back on the Copa so far, underlining how competitive the tournament has been this season in the wake of the changes made to its format, most notably the move to single-match ties.
"Mirandés are an example of what is going to happen in the years to come," Rubiales says. "I'm absolutely convinced of that."
Copa del Rey semi-final draw: how and where to watch
Should you be keen to see the balls come out of the hat at RFEF HQ, by the way, then you might want to avail yourself of our guide on how and where to watch.
It's very nearly time for the draw!
La Cartuja the venue for the final
It was announced this week that the 60,000-capacity Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville will be the venue for the final on 18 April. The arena is also to host the 2021, 2022, and 2023 finals, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed.
Both the winners and losers of the trophy decider at La Cartuja will qualify for the second edition of the revamped, four-team Spanish Super Cup, which means we can already say that two of Athletic, Granada, Mirandés and Real Sociedad will be at the event in Saudi Arabia next season.
The other two Super Cup qualifiers will be the LaLiga champions and runners-up.
(Photo: MIGUEL ANGEL MORENATTI/DIARIO AS)
How does the semi-final draw work?
For the first time in this season's Copa del Rey, it is a completely open draw - so anyone can face anyone in the semi-finals.
This year's introduction of single-match ties has had a big part to play in making it such an entertaining Copa; however, the exception to this format change is the semis, which will be held over two legs.
They'll be played on 11/12 February and 3/4 March.
Copa del Rey: the semi-finalists
Real Sociedad:
Real Sociedad held on to win a thrilling quarter-final against Real Madrid on Thursday. Goals by Martin Odegaard (against his parent club), Mikel Merino and a brace from Alexander Isak left the Basques 4-1 up after 70 minutes, but Rodrygo Goes and Nacho clawed back the deficit to just the one, forcing La Real to survive a grandstand finish at the Bernabéu.
Real Sociedad have won the Copa del Rey twice in their history, with their most recent trophy triumph coming back in 1987.
Copa del Rey: the semi-finalists
Mirandés:
Having already made it all the way to the semi-finals as a third-tier side in 2012, Mirandés - who are now in Segunda División - have once again been the story of the Copa del Rey this season. After doing for Celta Vigo and Sevilla in the last 32 and last 16, respectively, Andoni Iraola's men sent another top-flight side packing in the quarters, beating Villarreal 4-2 at Anduva on Wednesday.
(Photo: Edu Del Fresno/ZUMA Wire/dpa)
Copa del Rey: the semi-finalists
Granada:
Granada survived a scare at third-tier Badajoz in the last 16, requiring extra time to see off the minnows after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at the Estadio Municipal Nuevo Vivero. The boot was on the other foot in the quarter-finals, however, as Roberto Soldado's injury-time penalty secured a 2-1 win over Valencia - the striker's former club - and ended the holders' trophy defence.
Los Nazaríes have never won the Copa del Rey.
Copa del Rey: the semi-finalists
Athletic Bilbao:
Athletic had needed penalties to beat second-tier opposition in the third round and the last 16 - Elche and Tenerife, respectively - but claimed a major scalp in the quarter-finals, dumping out Barcelona, winners of four of the last five Copas del Rey, thanks to a late, late Iñaki Williams header at San Mamés on Thursday.
Having won the competition 23 times in their history, Athletic are the Copa's second-most decorated club - but Los Leones haven't lifted a major trophy since doing a league and cup double in 1984. This is a real opportunity to end that 36-year barren run.
No big two for first time in a decade
This is the first time since the 2009/10 season that neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona are among the semi-finalists; indeed, at least one of the two has featured in every final in that time, too.
(Photo: Ander Gillenea/Javier Gandul)
Copa del Rey semi-final draw: who's in the hat?
After four quarter-finals all won by the sides who went into the ties as the underdogs, the line-up for the 2019/20 Copa del Rey semi-final draw is:
Athletic Bilbao, Granada, Mirandés and Real Sociedad.
(Photo: Diario AS/AIOL)
Copa del Rey semi-final draw: welcome one and all
Good afternoon!
After a Copa del Rey last eight which, in keeping with this season's tournament as a whole, was nothing short of thrilling, we'll shortly be finding out who'll face who in the semi-finals.
The draw for the last four gets underway at 13:00 CET at the Madrid headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation.