Huesca

Huesca (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈweska]; Aragonese: Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almost a quarter of the total population of the province. That makes it one of the least populated provincial capitals in Spain.

Huesca celebrates its main festivities Fiestas de San Lorenzo from 9 to 15 August.

History

Huesca's pre-Roman Iberian name was Bolskan. It was the capital of the Vescetani, in the north of Hispania Tarraconensis, on the road from Tarraco (modern Tarragona) and Ilerda (modern Lleida) to Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza) and fell under Caesaraugusta's jurisdiction. Pliny alone places the Oscenses in Vescitania, a district mentioned nowhere else. The city's name was rendered as Osca, and was a Roman colony, Urbs Victrix Osca, during the Roman Empire. Under the impetus of Quintus Sertorius, the renegade Roman and Iberian hero who made Osca his base, the city minted its own coinage and was the site of a prestigious school founded by Sertorius to educate young Iberians in Latin and Romanitas in general. We learn from Plutarch that it was a large town, and the place where Sertorius died. It is probably the town called Ileoscan (Ἰλεόσκαν) by Strabo, in an apparently corrupt passage. It seems to have possessed silver mines, unless the argentum Oscense here mentioned merely refers to the minted silver of the town.

Copa del Rey

The Copa del Rey (English: King's Cup) is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey (Championship of Spain – Cup of His Majesty the King), and is commonly known as La Copa.

The competition was founded in 1903, thus making it the oldest Spanish football competition. Typically, the winner of Copa del Rey goes to the UEFA Europa League; unless they qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona are the current holders, who won their 27th Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao at the 2015 Copa del Rey Final held at the Camp Nou.

History

In 1902, a competition under the name Copa de la Coronación, was played after Carlos Padrós, later president of Real Madrid, suggested a football tournament to celebrate the coronation of King Alfonso XIII. Four other teams joined Madrid FC for the competition: FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Bizcaya (a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC) which eventually defeated Barcelona in the final. That cup is on display in the Athletic Bilbao museum and the club includes the victory in its honours list. Nevertheless, it is considered only the forerunner of the Copa del Rey and the Royal Spanish Football Federation officially doesn't recognize it.

Real Zaragoza

Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal θaɾaˈɣoθa]) is a Spanish football team based in Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded on 18 March 1932 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at La Romareda, which seats 34,596 spectators.

The club has spent the majority of its history in La Liga, winning the Copa del Rey six times and the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, amongst other trophies. Traditionally, team colours are white shirts and socks with royal blue shorts.

A government survey in 2007 found that 2.7% of the Spanish population support the club, making them the seventh-most supported in the country.

History

Early years

Real Zaragoza was originally formed from two rival teams: Iberia SC and Real Zaragoza CD. In 1939, after three years without football due to the Spanish Civil War, the team made its first appearance in La Liga, ending in seventh position out of 12 teams but being relegated in 1941. The club returned to the top division one year later, only to be immediately relegated back; it remained in Segunda División until the end of the 1950–51 campaign, when it achieved promotion by finishing second in a play-off league.

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ ˈkɫub bərsəˈɫonə]), also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (More than a club). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the second most valuable sports team in the world, worth $3.16 billion, and the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €560.8 million. The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.

Domestically, Barcelona has won 23 La Liga, 27 Copa del Rey, 11 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, Barcelona has won five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a shared record five UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a record three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. Barcelona was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 and currently occupies the second position on the UEFA club rankings. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid; matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.