When the Scots Ruled Spain

We tend to think of the Copa Del Rey as a purely Spanish affair, which probably sounds like the most obvious statement ever. This statement however is wrong, because nearly 100 years ago, two foreign teams were invited to play in the tournament and one of them actually won it.

The Copa Del Rey was founded in 1903 as an early form of championship tournament. The winners and runners-up of each of the regional leagues would have a chance to win the cup, which would cement their position as the best team in all of Spain. This model lasted until 1928 when a league format was adopted. However, before the switch was made, the Spanish decided to spice things up a bit, and hold one last special edition.

The regular Copa had already been held, with Real Union crowned as the winners. For the post-season tournament, Motherwell and Swansea received invitations to participate. The two British teams made the trip to Spain, where they were supposed to play each other in the semifinals. King Alfonso XIII had donated a special trophy, to be handed to the eventual winners and was in attendance for Motherwell's 4-3 win over Swansea. After the game, when speaking to the press, he described the match as a “brilliant display of scientific football”.

Motherwell had their tickets to the final, where Real Madrid awaited. They would face their hosts in their own stadium, the Estadio Chamartín and the Los Blancos side received some extra players from other Spanish teams, in order to ensure a victory. Although Real were a far cry from the juggernaut we are used to seeing today, they had already won 5 Copa Del Rey trophies, in the tournament’s relatively short existence.