Copa del Rey trophy takes train ride to Seville

The Copa del Rey winner will be decided tomorrow when Real Madrid and Cub Atlético Osasuna face off in the final at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain. Of course, the final can’t be won without a trophy, and that trophy too had to make the journey from Madrid to Seville.

The Copa del Rey trophy’s journey to Seville

The Copa del Rey trophy made the journey from Madrid to Seville by way of Spain’s high-speed train system, the AVE. It was escorted by two legends of the game - Rafael Martín Vázquez and Andoni Goikoetxea. The train, decked out on the exterior with Copa del Rey designs, traveled at a speed of 186 miles per hour (300 km/hour).

Do the winners keep the Copa del Rey trophy?

The trophy was designed, manufactured, and restored at a jewelry store in Madrid, Spain for over half a century. The winners of the trophy will get to keep it if they win the Copa del Rey either three times in a row or five times total, or for exceptional reasons. Since the competition’s inception in 1903, there have been a total of 12 trophies which were permanently awarded to teams - five to Barcelona, three to Athletic Bilbao, two to Sevilla, one to Real Madrid, and one to Atlético Madrid.

In 2011, Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos accidentally dropped the trophy from the top of a double-decker bus, which then ran over it. Pieces of it were found all over the ground in the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid. The team instead received a copy of the trophy, which is now displayed at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Barcelona has the most Copa del Rey titles with 31, followed by Athletic Bilbao with 24, and Real Madrid with 19.

The game kicks off on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET at La Cartuja - here’s all the info on when and how to watch the Copa del Rey final between Osasuna and Real Madrid.