Giant-killing back on Liga menu

The King's Cup offers two things to Spanish soccer fans: the opportunity to cast an eye over lower-league sides that would not normally come within a hundred miles of a television camera, and a chance of seeing one of the big guns fail spectacularly to overcome them.

The most famous giant-killing instance in recent years, perhaps even in the entire history of the competition, came in the 2009-10 season when AD Alcorcón, then of Segunda División B, thrashed a strong Real Madrid team 4-0 at home, then defended well for a 1-0 loss at the Bernabéu, sending the third-tier team into the next round on aggregate. Sports daily Marca, which rarely has a bad word to say about Real, called it an "historic ridicule." The rest of the country, of course, found it utterly delightful.

Last season lowly Mirandés, whose star striker works in a bank, cut a swathe through the competition. Also of Segunda B at the time, the club from Castilla y León dispatched then top-division Villarreal, Racing and Espanyol on its way to the semifinals, becoming only the third team from that division to reach the last four. Again, the whole of Spain urged on Mirandés, but Athletic Bilbao halted its run at San Mamés in brutal fashion.

Nonetheless, Pablo Infante, he of the desk job, was crowned tournament top scorer with seven goals, two more than World Cup-winner Fernando Llorente in second place.

And it is to the Basque Country that curious eyes will turn on Thursday, as third-tier Eibar hosts near-neighbor Athletic in the fourth round. The Lions have been awful so far this season, riddled with discontent and in dire need of a boost. If the Alcorconazo did not help Manuel Pellegrini when his job at Real was reviewed at the end of the season, a loss to Eibar will probably be the final match Marcelo Bielsa will oversee. While Eibar dresses like Barcelona, it does not play like the current cup holder, although it is currently third in Segunda División B Group 2, a few points clear of Athletic's reserve team. A potential upset, with potentially huge ramifications.

Since José Mourinho's arrival in the capital to replace Pellegrini, Real has taken the cup very seriously, winning it in the Portuguese's first season and losing to eventual champion Barcelona last year. Valencian side Alcoyano therefore faces a stiff task, and will probably be happy to settle for its day in the sun.

"We respect the competition and we will try to win it," said Mourinho on Tuesday. "Last year we reached the quarterfinals and we will try to make sure we don't make the same mistakes of the recent past in the early rounds of the cup. Whoever plays is not going to have it easy. It is not easy to go to a ground filled with motivation, with hope, belief and with the joy of playing this game."

It will be only the second meeting between the two sides, the previous coming in the 1945-46 season quarterfinals. Alcoyano held on for a 2-2 tie in Alcoy before going down 2-0 in the capital.

Levante, which knows a little about giant-killing itself, faces a trip to North Africa to play Melilla, another third-tier team, in the Spanish exclave. With its run in Europe showing no signs of slowing, The Frogs might not be too bothered if they croak early in the domestic cup. Málaga, with bigger fish to fry in the Champions League, may feel similarly disinclined to field its strongest team against Extremaduran clubbers Cacereño.

Four first-division clashes were also drawn out of the hat: Sevilla plays Espanyol, Mallorca travels to Deportivo, Zaragoza hosts Granada and Valladolid and Betis face off at the Estadio José Zorrilla.