A cup tie with a South American flavour

The standout tie in the Copa del Rey quarter-final draw is undoubtedly the meeting between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Last year’s Liga BBVA and Copa runners-up take on the current league champions and the 2013/14 Champions League finalists for a clash filled with history and stats that will also be closely followed on South America shores due to the players involved.

Latin American talent has enriched Spanish football over the last number of decades. However, few games before this have pitting this continent’s attacking and defensive forces against each other so clearly in the Spanish topflight. The two-legged tie kicks off in the Camp Nou on Wednesday at 22:00 and will see Barca’s attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez go up against three of the most in form centre backs in the league: Diego Godín, Miranda and José María Giménez.

It is up to Diego Pablo Simeone to pick the centre half pairing for the meeting with the Azulgrana. Godín looks like a certainty to start the game. The 28-year-old Uruguayan is one of the leaders for the rojiblancos. He has featured in 19 games during the first half of the Liga BBVA season and played twice in the current edition of the Copa del Rey (not to mention in all six of the UEFA Champions League group stage games).

The uncertainty lies in who will partner up with the former Villarreal CF player. Miranda was an undisputed starter last year as well as at the beginning of the current season, but his injury provided Giménez with a chance, which the Uruguayan made the most of. The 20-year-old made it 2-0 for Atleti in the first leg of the round of 16 clash against Real Madrid CF in the Vicente Calderón. However, Simeone once again put his faith in the experienced Brazilian for the second leg. Miranda put in another fine performance in a high-pressure fixture during his Copa debut for this season.

Even more important is South American contingent making up part of Luis Enrique’s Barcelona team, given the greater number of players involved. Dani Alves, Adriano, Douglas, Rafinha and Javier Mascherano have all featured in the Catalan side’s current Copa del Rey campaign. But now that they are through to the quarter-finals and have Atlético standing in their way, the attention will now shift towards the men up front who can make the difference. Luis Suárez has played 90 minutes in the knock-out competition and offers the Catalans more and more each time he’s on the pitch. Neymar has only played 66 minutes in the competition, but that was enough time for him to score twice against Elche CF. And what can be said for Messi? The Argentine star is the team’s driving force, the understanding between him and his two attacking partners is improving all the time and, after making his debut and scoring in the round of 16, his aim now will be to beat Jan Oblak, who will presumably be between the sticks for the Madrid outfit.

There is plenty of incentive on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to watch this game closely. A knock-out tie between two clear candidates for this season’s Liga BBVA title.