A home for waifs and strays

Real Betis is an intense club where the fans passion can be all encompassing but the club has created a home for players not wanted by others.

Seville is a city of intensity, the heat can be overwhelming particularly in summer and the passion for football in the city is just as intense as the heat in the city which hits averages of 35-36 degrees in Summer. The city is divided into two clubs Sevilla and Real Betis and both sets of fanbases live and breathe their teams.

Both teams have over 50,000 socios and the demands on both teams to not only win but play good football is huge.

Real Betis have over 50,000 season ticket holders and 70,000 socios, they can be an intense fanbase who are one of the rare sides to fill away ends all across the country partly due to people leaving Seville for economic opportunities.

While all of what’s been said might sound like it’s a hard place to play football, Real Betis have found a market as the home for waifs and strays and rejuvenate their careers and it starts with the Head Coach.

On the 28th December 2019, Pellegrini was sacked with West Ham 17th and teetering above the drop-zone. That season West Ham had been humiliated 4-0 by Oxford United in the Carabao Cup, they’d lost four home games in a row and only five games all season after spending over £150 million in his spell at The Hammers.

The Chilean who had coached Real Madrid, Malaga and Man City amongst others was 66 and many would have expected this to be his farewell from the big stage and to be ushered into retirement or semi retirement through international football. The following July the coach turned up at Real Betis a club who had been through a tumultuous season under Rubi who was fired with the club finishing 15th.

Their business in the transfer market wasn’t particularly exciting but a sign of things to come with the signing of two players deemed not good enough for Premier League teams in Martin Montoya from Brighton and Claudio Bravo from Man City.

A talented squad including Nabil Fekir, Joaquin, Sergio Canales and Borja Iglesias found their groove in 20/21 and even with the pandemic disruption finished 6th. What is more remarkable is of that 33 man squad from 5 seasons ago only three remain with the club and one of those Marc Bartra left and came back.

Pellegrini’s attacking style suited the personnel with Sergio Canales a prodigy when younger but who had suffered serious injuries having his best season as he reached double figures.

The 21/22 season saw the club sign Hector Bellerin, once a highly rated right back consistently linked to the big two while at Arsenal but someone who had fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta and needed to get back playing again. Bellerin came in as a replacement for Emerson Royal who was signed back by Barca before ending up in North London. Bellerin was a boyhood Betis fan and he played a crucial part in one of Betis greatest seasons as the club not only performed well in Europe reaching the last 16 of the Europa League, they also won the Copa del Rey in Seville at La Cartuja and went one better in the league finishing 5th.

That season saw Bellerin earn a move to Barca and he wasn’t the only one to move on with Marc Bartra departing for Turkey and the club making a significant profit when selling Alex Moreno to Aston Villa. Betis are an ambitious club but also one who has to live within it’s means as part of the La Liga salary controls and that means a constant balancing of the books particularly for a club like Betis who tend to sign from the Premier League a league which pays significantly more in wages to players than La Liga.

The 22/23 player to come in and receive a service at the Real Betis garage for rejuvenation of players was Ayoze Perez. Perez had been a fixture in English football since signing for Newcastle as a 19 year old playing over 250 games for Newcastle and Leicester but as Leicester began to struggle he had gone off the boil. He found himself again at Betis and while not a prolific scorer he contributed 15 goals mainly coming in off the left in his spell with the club.

Real Betis have a proud history but have always been known as a volatile club with ups and downs almost a given. This is the club that broke the world transfer record for Denilson and then got relegated two seasons later. The 22/23 season though showed how stable they’d become under the calming influence of Pellegrini, while they didn’t repeat the feat of winning the Copa they did again finish 6th and qualify for Europe while also topping their Europa League group which included Roma before being knocked out in the last 16 by Man Utd.

23/24 was a huge change for the team and the nucleus of the squad with club legend Joaquin retiring. The winger embodied everything about Betis and was a representative of the fans on the field, he wasn’t the only one to leave with senior players such as Andres Guardado, Sergio Canales, Juanmi and Borja Iglesias also departing. The heart of the team had left and the club made a series of gambles with their signings to replace them.

Johnny Cardoso an American international and just 22 came in from Internacional, Abde Ezzalzouli a tricky Moroccan winger came from Barca at 21 alongside experience such as the return of Marc Bartra and Hector Bellerin, Chimy Avila a workhorse of an attacker and West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals.

Betis lacked fluency and at times it felt stale with such experience taken out of the team. The finishing touch of the team though was Isco, an Andalucian native who had been at bitter rivals Sevilla before a training ground bust up with Sporting Director Monchi saw him leave just a couple of months after signing. The playmaker had almost signed for Union Berlin the previous January but it broke down at the final minute and it felt like he was on the scrap heap with clubs not interested in him.

In the modern, physical game many felt that football had left Isco behind and their wasn’t a role for that type of player but his return to Betis proved those people wrong. Having not made 20 appearances in a season since 2021 not much was expected but he enthralled the Beticos with his style of play and made 37 appearances in all competitions scoring nine goals and contributing 7 assists. It was about so much more than goals and assists though as everything good about Betis flowed through the playmaker.

Isco instantly was taken into the hearts of the Betis fanbase even with his past allegiance with Sevilla and he has become a symbol for Betis as they come into the unusual position of being the dominant force in the city.

Cedric Bakambu was signed, at 33 many might have thought his best days were over and they’re probably right but the striker who has played in France, China, Spain, Turkey, Greece and the UAE in a nomadic career brought experience and an ability to bring others into play which suits Betis and their attacking midfielders.

In an earlier life Pellegrini had qualified as a civil engineer and his ability to fix pieces into place and get the most out of them from that role shows in his managerial abilities and how he’s got the most out of players cast aside at other clubs.

Where others see problems or shortcomings, the Chilean sees a piece of the puzzle he can fit into what has become an everchanging team.

Having finished 7th it was the Conference League calling for Betis this season. Their signings have again been with a focus at those ignored by others, Giovanni Lo Celso someone who showed glimpses at Spurs but never truly hit it off has returned permanently, Natan a Centre Back brought in to replace Kim Min Jae at Napoli but shipped out on loan after struggling has been excellent for Betis.

Adrian has spent most of the last five seasons warming the bench for Liverpool but has come in and played well at his boyhood club at the ripe age of 38. Diego Llorente and Marc Roca both part of a relegation at Leeds have also found a new lease of life in Andalucia at Betis.

The big two though have been Cucho Hernandez someone who promised much in his earlier career but found himself in the MLS and seemingly out of sight for European sides until Betis paid €13 million for him and of course Antony.

Antony was held up as symbol of all that’s gone wrong at Man Utd, a story does the rounds that Man Utd scouts valued him at €25 million before Ten Hag insisted United buy him for what ended up being €90 million. At United his season read 14 matches and one goal. At Betis they read 19 matches, six goals and four assists plus some man of the match performances. Isco has said the club shout set up a crowd fund to keep the Brazilian international.

Antony and Isco in particular have struck up an almost telepathic relationship and with the hard running Cucho leading the line stretching sides they’ve found plenty of space to play their intricate style of play.

On Thursday this group of cast-offs, mismatches and waifs and strays took to the field in the first ever European semi final for Betis. In goal they had a 25 year old who only left the B team for the first team for the first time this season, at the back they had Aitor Ruibal someone Betis signed from Hospitalet in the third tier in 2015, Natan deemed not good enough by Conte at Napoli and Bartra who the club had sold then signed on a free alongside former Southampton left back Romain Perraud who was told he could leave the Saints with Ryan Manning deemed first choice.

In midfield they had American internation Johnny Cardoso, Pablo Fornals who had been mainly used as a sub for West Ham in his time there, United reject Antony, ex Barca Winger Abde with the Catalan club cashing in to try to gain much needed cash and Isco who had been dumped by rivals Sevilla. Bakambu who had been at Galatasaray before signing led the line. Betis used two sub, Sergi Altimira who cost €2 million from Getafe and Gio Lo Celso. While many in Europe didn’t want these players they all found a home in Betis and a piece in Pellegrinis puzzle and they won the first leg 2-1. They are now just 90 minutes away from a possible European final against Premier League big spenders Chelsea. While Betis have to wheel and deal and it’s a rotating door, at Chelsea there seems no exit just a constant influx of expensive youngsters walking through the door. The two clubs couldn’t be more different and it could make for a fascinating final.

In the League, Betis are again 6th and a model of consistency. They have a tough second leg to come but regardless of the outcome you can expect more wheeling and dealing from Betis in the summer and Pellegrini putting his engineering hat on and creating an environment for the next lot of cast-offs to feel comfortable and find a home as he puts the jigsaw together once again piece by piece.