Alves doubts Bernabeu final

Dani Alves believes the Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao will not be held at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

The last time Barca and Athletic met in the King’s Cup decider, at Valencia’s Estadio Mestalla in 2009, fans with pro-Catalan and Basque sympathies booed the Spanish national anthem.

The choice of venue for this year’s decider has become a point of contention, and Barca fullback Alves doubts the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) will be keen to allow a similar incident to take place at the home of Real Madrid.

“We know that, in terms of capacity, the Bernabeu puts itself forward (as the ideal venue),” Alves said.

“But I believe that Barcelona will never be allowed to play a final at the Bernabeu.”

“We just do not want it to be on Athletic’s pitch (at San Mames).”

Despite Alves’ concerns, Barca secretary and spokesman Toni Freixa is confident an agreement can be reached to stage the final in the capital.

“It should be an honour for the Santiago Bernabeu and for Spanish football, the final being staged on a stage like that between two big clubs,” he told Mundo Deportivo.

“We insist that this must be the stadium. I am optimistic as possible because we want to throw a big party for Spanish football.”

“At the moment, we are in the process of proposing the Santiago Bernabeu as the final and we hope that it will be possible because it is the ideal scenario.”

“We seek a field that meets the criterion of maximum capacity and equidistance between the two cities, in the interests of our fans.”

“We understand that the ground which meets these criterion is the Santiago Bernabeu and that is something we have made known to federation in conjunction with the Athletic Bilbao.”

“In the coming days we can hold a meeting (with the RFEF) to nominate the venue.”

Barcelona defeated Real 3-1 on aggregate to reach the final, while Bilbao saw off second-tier club Mirandes 8-3 over two legs of their semi-final.