The romantics will not like it, and the thousands of Barcelona fans who called for Luis van Gaal's resignation certainly did not, but it will be Valencia who take on Real Madrid in the all-Spanish Champions League final after a surprisingly comfortable passage last night.
Steely in defence and impressive on the counter-attack, the one-time 40-1 shots to win the competition deserved to progress. By the time Frank de Boer headed in from a corner and Philip Cocu scored from close range to salvage some pride for Barcelona the contest was over, Mendieta's goal having given Valencia a 5-1 aggregate lead.
Barcelona had sounded confident beforehand, spurred by memories of their stirring comeback against Chelsea in the previous round. Van Gaal had implored his players "to be prepared to die out there on the field", a roundabout way of warning Valencia that they would progress over his dead bodies. The last thing Valencia can have expected was an easy ride.
It was a sign of local hopes that this huge, vertigo-inducing stadium was only a little short of its 98,000 capacity. But the worrying news for those who had come was that, unlike Chelsea, Valencia were clearly not content to sit back and wait for waves of Barcelona attacks to drown them.
Closing down quickly from the front and forcing Barcelona back whenever possible, Valencia's game-plan was clear: smother when they did not have the ball and, when they did, look to hold it or counter-attack. The discipline and team ethic which is at the root of their unexpected Champions League surge was evident.
Barcelona were far from their fluent, surging best - Valencia did not allow them to be - but hopes were raised when Patrick Kluivert headed over from Luis Figo's cross. Then Rivaldo forced Canizares to tip round the post, and Michael Reiziger twice found Kluivert in promising positions early on.
But Barcelona struggled after that to carve out anything of note despite the promptings of Figo, and as Valencia came more into the match, Claudio Lopez and Kily Gonzalez had chances on the counter-attack. With the game scoreless at half-time Valencia coach Hector Cuper could start dreaming of Paris and the final.
Angulo should have settled matters shortly after the restart from Lopez's cross but allowed Ruud Hesp to save. Valencia continued to dominate, with their captain Gaizka Mendieta particularly impressive.
Barcelona's mounting frustration heightened when penalty appeals for fouls on Figo and Rivaldo were turned down. For Valencia there are new heights of rejoicing after Mendieta made sure of victory with a fine curling shot from Lopez's cross. The Copa del Rey they won last season was their first trophy for 19 years. Now they are on the verge of landing the biggest prize of all.
Barcelona: Hesp, Reiziger, Guardiola (Sergi 69), Abelardo (Litmanen 77), Figo, Cocu, Kluivert, Rivaldo, F de Boer, Zenden (Simao 63), Xavi. Subs Not Used: Arnau, Dehu, Garcia Lara, Mario. Booked: Guardiola. Goals: F de Boer 78, Cocu 90.
Valencia: Canizares, Pellegrino, Djukic, G Mendieta, Lopez, Farinos (Sanchez 90), Angulo, Gerard, Carboni, Gonzalez (Albelda 74), Angloma (Gerardo 86). Subs Not Used: Bartual Molina, Bjorklund, Oscar, Ilie. Booked: Lopez, Carboni. Goals: G Mendieta 70.
Referee: VM Melo Pereira (Portugal).
