The lowdown on UD Barbastro
On Saturday 4 January, FC Barcelona face the first challenge of 2025, and its a 7pm CET kick-off away to UD Barbastro in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey. The home side are not at all unfamiliar to Culers, as its the same side we played at this stage of the competition last year, but here's a reminder of the key details...
Where are they from?
Barbastro is city of around 17,000 people in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the Huesca province of Aragon. It is known for its rich cultural heritage, picturesque landscapes, and significance in the Somontano wine region. The town boasts landmarks like the Cathedral of Santa María del Romeral, a stunning example of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and the Episcopal Palace.
The club
The club was founded in 1939, although its current name of Unión Deportiva Barbastro didn't come until much later. Traditionally it built a strong rivalry with UD Huesca, but the latter has grown to bigger things in recent years, even reaching the heights of La Liga. Meanwhile, Barbastro have never played in either of the top two tiers of Spanish football, and have spent almost their entire existence in the 4th and 5th tiers of the national pyramid.
They play at the Municipal de Deportes de Barbastro, which normally holds 4,700 people but supplementary seating has been added for this game, which is naturally a sell-out for this game and will gather around 6,000 people. Barça, as usual when facing more modest clubs, has waived its own ticket allocation so as to allow as many home supporters as possible the chance to attend such a momentous occasion.
Head to head
The club's greatest moment came last season, when they defeated first division Almería to qualify for the last 32 of the Copa del Rey. They were drawn to face FC Barcelona and put up a good fight, twice equalising before Robert Lewandowski eventually wrapped things up for the Catalans from the penalty spot in the closing minutes of a 3-2 win. Fermín López and Raphinha were Barça's other scorers that day. Unsurprisingly, that was the only previous meeting between the clubs.
There is a curious connection between the two teams that dates back to December 2008. It was at Barbastro that Pep Guardiola made his debut as Barça B manager in the promotion playoffs to Division2B. The Catalans won both those games, 3-0 on aggregate, the start of an illustrious career for a man now regarded as one of the finest coaches of all time.
This season
To put some perspective on the difference between these two teams, Barbastro are currently competing in the 4th tier Segunda Federación, one below the Barça reserves. Their cup run started with a 4-0 pasting of third tier Amorebieta from the Basque Country, earning them a high-profile encounter with first division Espanyol. Against all odds, they won that 2-0 thanks to a brace from Sito Barrera. And as fate would have it, they now face Espanyol's city rivals in a rematch of last year's encounter.
That's in stark contrast to their league form, where they have spent the whole campaign in the relegation zone. However, their exploits in the Copa del Rey seem to have had a knock-on effect, for since beating Espanyol they also won league games against Gernika and Ejea, and drew away to Izarra. But even after those results, just five wins from their first 17 games leaves them third from bottom in the table.
Once again coached by Dani Martínez, the Barbastro players are little known outside of their own club, although one exception is Aldair Ruiz, who has played three times for Cuba.