The 1978 Copa del Rey final, held on April 19 at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu stadium, pitted FC Barcelona against Unión Deportiva Las Palmas. Although the Canarian team did not win the trophy, the achievement of reaching the final, with over 10,000 island fans traveling and the presence of legends like Johan Cruyff, was etched into collective memory.
During the traditional pre-match handshake, the captains, Cruyff for FC Barcelona and Hernández for UD Las Palmas, exchanged pennants. However, this gift from the Catalan team disappeared from the club's facilities in Pío XII some time later, leaving no trace or explanation of its whereabouts.
It was a lost relic of the greatest night in yellow history, a minimal object that, nevertheless, carried a disproportionate symbolic load: tangible proof of having been there, in a final – the only one the yellows have played in their history.
Decades later, on January 5, 2011, on the eve of Three Kings' Day, an anonymous package arrived at the club's headquarters. With no clear sender and originating from Tenerife, the envelope offered no clues about its origin. Inside, carefully preserved, was the lost pennant. This discovery, which for the then club director and historian, Antonio de Armas de la Nuez, was an intimate revelation, restored a link to that historic final.
The pennant not only resolved a mystery but also reconnected the present with that moment when UD Las Palmas stepped onto the grand stage of Spanish football. The Bernabéu final, with goals from Rexach (two) and Asensi securing a 3-1 victory for FC Barcelona, remains a bittersweet memory for yellow fans, a mix of pride and the sting of a lost title.
