Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao have a lot in common. Between them they have won 49 of the 112 editions of the Spanish Cup, and they will meet again in this year's final on May 30 to decide who takes the 50th.

That game will be a repeat of the 2009 and 2012 finals that Barca won, and there should be scenes that are similar to those friendly occasions when fans mixed happily, united in their opposition to a shared enemy in the Spanish capital.

Leaving aside the complexities of Spanish politics, Barcelona...

It's official: Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final on May 30. The Blaugranas booked their place in the final for the fifth time in the last seven seasons by thrashing Villarreal with a convincing 6-2 aggregate score in the semifinals.

This exciting matchup between the most historically successful teams in the Spanish knockout competition, with a combined 49 titles between them, seems to have become a bit of a tradition. In fact, the Catalans and Basques competed in the...

At the end of the 2012 Copa del Rey final, when the celebrations had died down, the fans had departed and the press conferences had finished, when the bus waited, engines running, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola appeared on the pitch at the Vicente Calderon, making his way to the exit. He paused briefly, laid the trophy down among the confetti and posed for one last photograph before walking off through the tunnel. It was past one o'clock in the morning and it was his last match at the club. He wasn't...

Barcelona qualified for their fifth Copa del Rey final in seven years after beating Villarreal 3-1 at El Madrigal (6-2 on aggregate). Neymar scored twice and Luis Suarez added the third for the Blaugrana.

Luis Enrique's strong lineup showed that, despite the comfortable advantage achieved at the Camp Nou in the first leg, he was not prepared to take any chances. The Catalans' focus was obvious and helped them start the game in style, with Neymar scoring in the third minute.

While the hosts made...

Despite Villarreal having traditionally been a tough nut for Barcelona to crack, Luis Enrique has in fact led his team to three victories in as many matches against them this season. Sure, past results count for very little in modern football, but having won both league matches will surely give the Blaugranas a slight mental edge which could prove crucial in decisive moments.

Fortunately, Barca are back on track, having recovered some of the momentum they lost when they were shockingly defeated by...

Europe's top performers for February were whittled down to a three-man shortlist in consultation with WhoScored.com and ESPN FC's writers.

Lionel Messi, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery were those in contention, despite the vociferous protestations from Craig Burley that Bas Dost should've been included for the February award. And, for the second time this season, Barcelona's No. 10 has been named ESPN FC's Player of the Month.

Messi's second victory comes just as his first did: in a landslide. The...