History and excitement in the Copa del Rey

Getafe CF and Villarreal CF will play a game this Thursday that is marked out in red on their footballing calendars. They are playing for a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, something that the team nicknamed "the yellow submarine" have never achieved. Getafe will be dreaming of a place in order to reawaken past glories.

At the moment, the hard-fought 1-0 win would be enough for Villarreal, obtained thanks to superb free kick that was converted by the captain Bruno Soriano in the dying moments of the game.

The result leaves the Castellón side well placed to reach their first Copa del Rey semi-finals. Getafe will be looking to take inspiration from some of their historic comebacks in the tournament in order to win the right to dream of a final they made it to in both 2007 and 2008.

To achieve this, Quique Sánchez Flores' new Getafe side will have to pay close attention to one of the finest chapters in the club's history. It was the 10 May 2007. FC Barcelona were looking strong and had one foot in the final thanks to a 5-2 win in the first leg, a match that will be remembered for the Maradona like goal scored by Lionel Messi.

Following that result, Barcelona were excessively confident upon their arrival at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez and they soon paid for this. Dani Güiza (2), Javi Casquero and Vivar Dorado completed a 4-0 win that left fans absolutely ecstatic and hardly able to believe what they were seeing.

However, that Getafe side were unlucky when it came to the big occasions. First, they were beaten in June 2007, by Juande Ramos’ unforgettable Sevilla FC side following a single goal by Frédéric Kanouté in the opening minutes.

A year later in April 2008, they lost 3-1 against a Valencia CF side that had David Silva, Juan Mata and David Villa. Curiously, Valencia’s second goal was scored by Alexis Ruano. This Thursday he may be in the Madrid team’s squad.

This time however, Getafe do not need four goals as they did that night against Barcelona. One goal would be enough to see them into extra-time against a Villarreal side who are ready to continue their unbeaten run of 17 games that goes back until the beginning of November. Marcelino's side seems to have found the perfect balance.

They create danger with the energy of Denis Cherysev and the magic of Luciano Vietto without losing balance at the back. They ae the fifth highest goalscorers in the Liga BBVA and rank third in terms of goals conceded.

This will be a very special match for both sides in the 2014/2015 calendar. The dreamed of Copa del Rey is one step closer for Villarreal and Getafe.