In Spain's Andalusia region, Real Betis have long been overshadowed by their bitter rivals Sevilla, but the past two years under Manuel Pellegrini have had an unexpected renaissance.
Ever since the veteran Chile coach took over at the Benito Villamarin Stadium, he has guided them from the lower mid-table to a place in the Champions League, as well as a place in the Europa League last 16 and Copa del Rey final . There is a growing feeling that the former West Ham United and Manchester City boss has woken up to the huge potential of Los Verdiblancos and their 2021-22 season finale is shaping up to be an entertaining one.
In La Liga, Betis is third, just behind Sevilla, who beat them over the weekend. Despite the defeat, they are in a strong position to qualify for Europe's most glamorous competition, however, it is not the only ace up their sleeve. After a 3-2 aggregate win over Rio Vallecano, on Wednesday night, they secured their place in the Copa del Rey final and now the stage is set for a grand final clash with Valencia next month.
This season is already set to become the club's most successful campaign in 17 years, when they won the Copa del Rey for the second time in their history after their first victory in 1977. Interestingly, the club's veteran winger was part of Joaquin. The side that won the trophy in 2005 and now, in his second spell at the age of 40, will once again feel that cup final with Los Verdiblancos. A win would further cement their Club Legend status.
Pellegrini's short-lived turnaround has been an incredible renaissance for the Spanish club, described as a sleeping giant. The stadium has a capacity of just over 60,000 and supporters always come in numbers even when things aren't great on the field. When they finished 15th two years ago, their average gate was 35,240 per game, which just shows that fans are firm believers of the club's motto: Viva el Betis Mancupierda (Betis win even when they lose). Huh). With the way the team has been performing for Chile this year, it looks like the legend is waking up.
After the 68-year-old's memorable stint at West Ham, his second spell in England, it seemed his ways and magic of making a positive impact on teams had faded. But he has proved that his style is nowhere out of date and his teammates still have a lot to learn. His success with Betis has not been alone and has been fueled by the help of his trusted colleague, sporting director Antonio Cordon.
Cordon joined Betis around the same time as Pellegrini and they have proved to be a dynamic duo in the past when they were together at Villarreal between 2004–09. At that time the pair had led the previous season's El Submarino Amarillo to the Champions League semi-finals in 2006, before finishing second in La Liga in 2008. So when it was made official that the pair were about to reunite in Andalusia, the level of excitement in the green and white half of Seville was high.
It's already paying dividends considering how much the club has changed in less than two years. It is worth mentioning that they are currently in the top three, but are ranked eighth in the league in terms of revenue. They're slowly building on the back of some delicious profits from the sale of Giovani Lo Celso, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Ceballos, replacing them with equally effective talents, but for a fraction of the price.
The prime example is fictional Frenchman Nabil Fakir, who joined the club in 2019 for just £17.7 million. His surprise arrival in Seville came as a shock to the football world, considering that it was only a year before he was at Liverpool for £. 53 million moves that fell. Fekir's move to Betis has been a match made in heaven and his impressive form has put him on Barcelona's radar. With nine goals in 32 matches in this period, it is not surprising.
It is not the only smart piece of business the club has made in recent years, with veteran Portuguese midfielder William Carvalho joining the project and Arsenal full-back Hector Belleri, who joined this season on loan and a different player. Looks like it is revealed. That he is happy to play football again. The squad also includes former Barcelona recruit Cristian Tello, who was once tipped to make a world move. Attacking midfielder Sergio Canales, 31, has also proved to be an excellent business after joining Real Sociedad in a free transfer in 2018.
Strikers are always the hardest players to recruit in football because consistent scorers cost a significant amount of money, but Betis has had no problem building a strike force that regularly reduces the burden of goals. Chip does. Their top scorer is former Southampton flop Juanmi who has netted 16 in all competitions and 12 in La Liga. He is followed by Borja Iglesias with 14 and Willian Jose with 10. The latter has shown how Betis is a haven for players looking to rediscover form and is back among goals after a hard loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020-21. continuous basis.
Real Betis have a crucial week, kicking off with a big struggle in the race for the top four as they welcome defending champions Atletico Madrid this evening, with a point and two places separating the two teams. Then it travels to Germany to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League Round of 16 first leg in midweek. These two fixtures cannot be overstated, yet given how positive Betis has been this year, it is hard to see that he is surprised by these two tough fixtures.