In the Copa del Rey final, with neither Real Madrid nor Barca, Real Betis competing for the title with Valencia. The two teams eventually reached a penalty shootout, which ended with Betis winning 5–4 to claim the third Copa del Rey title in the club's history.
Joaquin and Juan Miranda, who scored penalties for Real Betis respectively, weave the story of two generations of Real Betis heroes.
In the fifth round of the penalty shootout, if 22-year-old defender Juan Miranda scored, Real Betis could win the Copa del Rey for the third time in the club's history since the 2004/05 Copa del Rey. He was so nervous that he thought, "I'll lose, I'll lose..." Then he stepped forward, drew his bow, the ball entered the net, his teammates ran wildly to celebrate, he fell to his knees in excitement, and his tears couldn't stop falling.
In the Copa del Rey final 17 years ago, Miranda, who was only 5 years old, supported her beloved Real Betis at the stadium, and the eyes of the little fans reflected Joaquin, who was still a 23-year-old rookie at the time, and helped Real Betis lift the trophy. Then he joined the Real Betis youth training as he wished, grew all the way, once moved to Barca, and after his debut, he loaned to Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga, but he still returned to Real Betis in 2020.
This year, Miranda, like Joaquin did, won a rare honor for Real Betis in her early 20s.
Joaquin, who is about to turn 41, is still on the pitch today, playing alongside Miranda as a teammate, and after playing in the 86th minute, he played extra time and scored a penalty in the second round, and the veteran will become the only player in Real Betis history to help the team win two major titles. In contrast to Miranda's tears of joy, Joaquin raised his trophy in ecstasy and shouted to the camera – in fact, Real Betis has won only 4 important titles in its history, including La Liga in the 40s and 3 Copa del Rey titles, meaning that Joaquin has won half of the club's titles.
Joaquin has a deep relationship with Real Betis, he was trained in the Real Betis youth training system, when he received his uncle's funding, he had the money to take a car to the stadium for training, and a year before he was promoted to the first team in 2000 and helped the team to promote to La Liga, his uncle died, and he had no chance to witness his nephew's later feat, which was unprecedented in the club.
Joaquin played for The Royal Betis for six seasons, delivering numerous goals and assists as a winger, and in the 2005 Copa del Rey final, he played full time and extra time for Osasuna, which realLy Betis won 2:1. The scene of a blond- young man with his arms outstretched at the camera is still alive today; the yellow-haired boy of the day may not have imagined that the 40-year-old would still be wearing this green and white shirt No. 17 shirt.
The fact is that this No. 17 jersey has since become a symbol of legend. Joaquin moved to Valencia and won the Copa del Rey in 2007/08, and later played for Malaga and Serie A Fiorentina, but in 2015, Real Betis returned to La Liga after one season of relegation, still offering a 3-year contract to joaquin, who was 34 at the time, with great trust; Joaquin also surpassed the players and fans to acquire a 2% stake in the club and became a minority shareholder.
So far, he has played for the Real Betis team for 13 seasons, playing 494 games and scoring 67 goals, which can be said to be completely shed the blood of The Royal Betis. "The Athletic" quotes him as speaking to the team before the Final Four against Rayo Vallecano, "I don't know in what capacity I'm speaking to you now, maybe teammates, friends, captains, but now I want to speak as a Real Betis guy because I know how the fans here feel. ”
The 40-year-old is still wearing the no. 17 shirt, his smile is still infectious, he has not seen the slightest old age when he runs around with the trophy, and after 17 years, the enthusiasm is still the same: "We played well this year, we and all the fans present deserve this trophy!" I was very excited after the game because I saw with my own eyes how we came all the way to this final at Sevilla. Indeed, who knows Royal Betis better than he does? He grinned and said: Seeing the fans so excited, I couldn't help but cry with joy.