It hasn't been a bad week for Athletic Bilbao. Eliminated from the Europa League by Torino 5-4 on aggregate seven days ago, Ernesto Valverde's side ensured it will play in the continent's second-tier tournament again next season by reaching the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday night, win or lose against Barcelona in May.

That was a much-needed shot in the arm for a club whose season has not exactly delivered on early promise. Last season, Athletic went fourth after 14 games and stayed there until...

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...