Check it out, it’s the Copa del Rey and we’re back with a liveblog. Fantastic!

Copa del Rey Preview: Cultural Leonesa – Barça, Wednesday 5pmEST (check your local time here)

Update! Update! This match will take place at 5pmEST, not 4pm as previously stated! Damned time changes in Spain I didn’t know about…

Cathedral of León (Wikimedia)

In the year 68, an aging general named Servius Sulpicius Galba levied a legion and marched on Rome, where he took over the Roman Empire from Nero, the emperor who had appointed Galba as governor of Hispania Tarraconensis only seven years before.

Galba’s reign was brief and ended violently: he was murdered only six months after taking the throne and most have forgotten his name. The city he left behind on his way to Roman obscurity is alive and well, its legacy cemented in its architecture and its place in history secure.

Founded by Legio septima Gemina (Seventh Twin Legion), the legion Galba used to take the Roman throne, León sits in northern Spain, in the shadows of the Cantabrian Mountains along the northern coast. It is a relatively small city (metro pop 200,000), but it is packed with history and culture. Continue Reading

The draw for our first round in the Copa del Rey (the round of 32) is out.

We face Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa, a team from León that was founded in 1923 and currently plays in the Segunda B, Group 1. You can read up a bit about them on Wikipedia here. They have only ever been in La Liga for one season, back in 1956/57 when they were relegated directly back to the Segunda (though they finished 15th).

The matches are October 28 and November 10.

You can check out the Final Phase Bracket here on Wikipedia. It seems somewhat unfair that we’re playing Leonesa and Real Madrid is playing Alcorcón while Getafe gets Espanyol, Valladolid gets Mallorca, and Zaragoza gets Málaga. Not that I’m complaining and generally agree that better seeds should face easier competition in the earlier rounds as compensation for having previously done better than others.

I think this is where we see the reserves get massive amounts of time on the field, especially Pinto, who I expect to play ever match of the CDR, like he did last year. He was, after all, the reason we were able to breath easy for the last few minutes against Mallorca. That PK save was stupid sick.

Here’s to another run towards the trophy!