MADRID -- The thousands of Alaves fans -- representing some significant percentage of Vitoria, their little northern town -- began filling the hot streets of Madrid well before noon. For hours, it seemed as though their alleged rivals from Barcelona wouldn't even deign to join them. The conclusion of their meeting in the Copa del Rey was that foregone.

If there is anything more universal than football, it's the desire to see its biggest underdogs succeed. So it was impossible to wade through those...

MADRID -- Barcelona ended what has been a rollercoaster of a season on a high on Saturday at the Vicente Calderon, beating Alaves 3-1 to win the Copa del Rey and send Luis Enrique off with a trophy. 

Lionel Messi opened the scoring but Alaves responded almost immediately through a stunning free kick from Theo Hernandez. But goals on the cusp of half-time from Neymar and Paco Alcacer moved Barca back into the lead and they held on to win Spain's domestic cup for the 29th time in their...

MADRID -- Three quick thoughts from Barcelona's 3-1 win over Alaves in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday evening at the Vicente Calderon.

1. Messi guides Barca to Copa victory

Lionel Messi was again the inspiration as Barcelona finished the season by claiming the Copa del Rey trophy with a straightforward-in-the-end 3-1 win over Alaves on Sunday evening at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

Messi opened the scoring in trademark fashion on the half-hour mark, and after Theo Hernandez's free-kick...

Damned if they win, damned if they don't. It's almost as if Barcelona can do no right when they face Alaves in the final of the Copa del Rey this weekend.

Winning the cup, some of the players have admitted themselves, will not cover up what has ultimately been a failed season, expectations not met. But lose and this team -- which lost the league on the final day by just three points and produced that incredible Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain -- will be knocked by friends and...

In case you hadn't heard, Barcelona have a match on Saturday. And, no, that's not quite as silly as it sounds, because you might not have heard. Well, you might not have heard much, anyway. Over the last week, maybe even beyond, it has sometimes felt like the Copa del Rey final, against Alaves at the Vicente Calderon, isn't really there.

By kickoff, it will be. In the hours before the game, around 20,000 fans will make their way south-west to Madrid. There will be a lot of noise by the stadium and...

BARCELONA -- The last eight months have whizzed by for Jasper Cillessen since he joined Barcelona from Ajax. However, since the completion of his dream move the Dutch goalkeeper has played just 810 minutes football, and it's even been suggested he could leave the club if he's unable to knock Marc-Andre ter Stegen out of the No. 1 spot.

But Cillessen is a goalkeeper who has always had to fight. At the age of 21 he ousted Gabor Babos at NEC Nijmegen and then, after two seasons on the bench, forced...