Forever Betis

Sweet 16

The latest round of the Copa Del Rey was all but completed last night with no major surprises (although Athletic Bilbao's postponed game against Segunda B neighbours Eibar still looks like it might be interesting). As the graphic above confirms, Betis will play Segunda side Las Palmas of the Canary Islands in the last 16, with the first leg (away, I think) on December 12th or 13th, and the return on January 8th/9th/10th. 

It would obviously be silly to get carried away at this stage, but I think it's true to say that Béticos have a good feeling about the cup this year. Get past Las Palmas and we may well play Atlético Madrid - for whom the competition comes well down their list of priorities - at the end of January, and immediately after that it could be Sevilla in the semi-finals (although I get the impression that fans of both sides are dreading rather relishing that particular prospect).

You may have noticed that the attendance on Tuesday night was well over 27,000, easily the third-biggest crowd of the midweek games (behind the Big Two), and an amazing figure considering the early kick-off, the unexciting opponents and the chilly temperatures. The club have already promised similar ticketing arrangements for the Las Palmas game - with season-ticket holders getting in free and other seats available more cheaply than normal - and granted a decent start time it's not impossible that close to 40,000 could turn up. 

But that's all in the distant future. Next on the agenda are Deportivo La Coruña on Sunday afternoon, with our new hero Álvaro Vadillo likely to start on the bench once again. Apparently Betis have a terrible record in Galicia, but after the last two games I don't think we're going to get too worried about a team down in 17th place with just two wins to their name all season. As Pepe Mel put it this week when asked how he'd managed to turn things around in less than two weeks, "Why?" he said, completely straight-faced. "What happened two weeks ago?"

The winger takes it all

The coverline reads: "Vadillo pays for another round" (a pun which, for once, works in Spanish and English). The text continues: "After more than a year without playing for the first team, the home-grown player came on in the second half and turned around the game aginst a weak Valladolid; Las Palmas await in the last 16."

And just in case there was any danger of forgetting that the lad himself is still just 18 years old, today he Tweeted the following: "Good morning and thanks so much to everyone!!! It's not possible to be happier!! It's incredible what happened yesterday! Thank you." Ahhhh.

How it happened

Extended highlights from last night.

In case it's not clear, what happens for the disallowed Jorge Molina goal in the first-half is that the Valladolid defender deliberately smacks his free-kick against Molina in a bid to demonstrate that the Betis striker isn't 10 yards away. That's always a risky tactic as you never quite know how the referee is going to react, but this time the official decides to ignore the ricochet and subsequent goal and book Molina instead.

Real Betis 3-0 Real Valladolid (Betis win 3-1 on aggregate)

The last time I saw Álvaro Vadillo in the flesh he was on crutches, watching his Betis B mates play a game at the training ground in the company of his mum and dad and looking like the most miserable 17-year-old on the  planet. So his first-team re-emergence tonight, when he single-handedly made the two tie-winning goals from the left wing, is more than a just a football story. Since he tore his cruciate ligament at the Bernabeu on October 15th last year, the 18-year-old must have had some very bleak days; who could not be happy to see him back doing what he does best? (Apart from the Valladolid right-back, perhaps.)

In truth, though, Vadillo was just one cog in a very well-oiled Betis machine tonight. This was as unfussy, professional a performance I can remember since the Segunda days. Valladolid were kept at bay, the defecit was erased, the screw was tightened and Vadillo did the rest. Casto only had to make one proper save all evening.

Hearteningly, it was another young winger, Joel Campbell, who was the star of the first half. Delivering a couple of very dangerous crosses  from the left, he can also be credited for an assist as it was his powerful run in the 25th minute that won the corner which Antonio Amaya headed home decisively. (Paulao? Bah - who needs 'im!)

With the aggregate scores level, Betis merely bided their time, content in the knowledge that Valladolid's game plan had already been shot to pieces. The home side didn't exactly tear through their opponents in the first half, but an away goal never looked likely and with Beñat coming on for the injured Nosa at half-time, Pepe Mel's side began to ramp up the pressure nicely.

And it was Vadillo who took advantage. Shortly after coming on as a 60th-minute sub for Salvador Agra, he ran hard at his opposite number, played a nice one-two with Rubén Castro and then pulled the ball back the Betis striker to bundle in clumsily. Pace, power and skill, all in one handy package - no wonder all the world's big clubs are insterested.

In retrospect, it's perhaps a pity Betis couldn't get the ball to Vadillo more often in the final half-hour. As it was, they just played sensibly, keeping possession, encouraging Jorge Molina to charge into the channels and preventing Valladolid from doing much of anything. From the time of the second goal it seemed only a monumental mistake could make lose Betis the tie.

So the third, pleasing though it might have been, was really just the icing on the cake. Once again Vadillo ran full pelt at the right-back, who looked like he'd heard the young Betis starlet was right-footed and showed him the outside. Vadillo purred past him like a Ferrari on an empty motorway and pulled the ball back with his left, persuading central defender Rueda to stick out a tired leg. The goalkeeper didn't have a hope. "Vadillo, Vadillo!" sang the crowd.

So, 3-1 on aggregate and into the last 16, where we'll face run-of-the-mill Segunda side Las Palmas. After that it'll probably be Atlético Madrid, and after that...Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now it's enough to acknowledge that the team have bounced back in the most emphatic way possible from the Night That Shan't Be Mentioned and the future looks very bright indeed. Bring on Depor on Sunday.

Betis: Casto; Chica, Amaya, Dorado, Nacho; Agra (Vadillo, min. 60), Rubén Pérez, Igiebor (Beñat, min. 46), Campbell (Nono, min. 75); Rubén Castro y Jorge Molina.

Goals: 1-0, min. 26: Amaya. 2-0, min. 61: Rubén Castro, 3-0, min. 86: Rueda (og).

Attendance: 27,789

Preview: Real Betis v Real Valladolid, Copa del Rey 2nd leg (7.30pm)

In theory, Betis should be ideally placed for a good cup run - ahead of the eight-ball in La Liga and with a big enough squad to allow for sensible player rotation - but they'll do well to get past Valladolid tonight. The visitors won the first leg 1-0 and have admitted they're coming down to Seville to park the bus, albeit with an understrength side, so it'll take a bit of magic (or some luck) to turn things our way.

The Betis team will be dictated by injuries and tiredness from Saturday's exploits, but is likely to be something like: Casto; Chica, Amaya, Dorado, Nacho; Rubén Pérez, Nono, Nosa; Rubén Castro, Jorge Molina, Joel Campbell. It'll be really interesting to see if the promising young trio of Nono, Nosa and Campbell can stake a claim for more regular first-team action.

Don't be surprised if the attendance doesn't reach 20,000, as the kick-off time is early enough to prevent many working people - including me - from getting the stadium in time, but that doesn't mean Béticos aren't interested. As they showed on Saturday, this Betis team are capable of beating anyone on any given night, which means actually winning the cup is certainly no forlorn hope. But first they have to knock pesky Valladolid out of the way. Away goals count double if the aggregate scores are tied; a 1-0 Betis win would mean extra time and, possibly, penalties.

UPDATE: The team is almost as listed above, but with Salvador Agra in for Nono. I'll try and give score updates in the Comments.

Taking the fifth

This is worth a post of its own, don't you think? PJ = games played; PG = wins; PE = draws; PP = defeats; GF = goals for; GC = goals against; En casa = home; Fuera = away; and Pts = those things we've got four more of than the team in tenth.

Just champion

It's a long time since I added to my compilation of Betis songs, but it struck me that the team was roared home on Saturday night to an old favourite I don't think I've included before. The first time I heard it, some time ago, I was wracking my brain for ages to identify the tune, but it's Sway, of course. The Bético variant is very simple: just "Vamos, vamos, vamos, Beti' campeon, campeon, campeon; Vamos, vamos, vamos, Beti' campeon, campeon, campeon..." (Let's go, Betis, champions  - or something like that. As always, it loses a bit in the translation.) The version shown below is actually from the Granada game earlier this month, but the tune was sung repeatedly (and at great volume, by the whole stadium) in the last five minutes on Saturday in a bid to lift our fellas over the finishing line. And it worked, obviously. (For more Betis chants, see here.)

 

No need to apologise

There's one thing I want to get off my chest straight away. The Seville papers this morning have made much of the fact that the Betis players were whistled at when they came out to warm up, that a banner with the slogan "18/11/12 VERGÜENZA" (Embarrassment) was unfurled in a corner of Gol Norte before kick-off, and that the players have now "redeemed themselves" in the eyes of the fans after the derbi defeat, which makes it sound like Béticos as a whole were fuming and vengeful after last Sunday's events.

Far from it, in my experience. Yes, it's true that a vocal minority took the 5-1 as some kind of personal betrayal, but the vast majority simply accepted the loss - however reluctantly - as part and parcel of the privilege of supporting Betis. The mood in the streets around the stadium before last night's game was notably good-humoured, with gallows humour much in evidence, and the cheers as the team was announced were far louder than the isolated whistles. And when the players came out of  the dressing rooms, the first thing they would have seen was Betisweb's big "Manquepierda" (Even if we lose) banner. As a Sevillano friend of mine said beforehand, "All I'm hoping for is a good performance." Even if the internet age tends to amplify the voices of the angry few, you'll have to take it from me that most Béticos are still as stoic as they ever were.

Some more points arsing from last night's game...

l As always, huge credit is due to Pepe Mel for turning things around. It's one thing to use a heavy defeat as pre-match motivation, but quite another to actually achieve such a dramatic improvement in performance in such a short time. Making five changes from the derbi team (only two of which were required by injuries), he got the team playing with zest and discipline from the kick-off, taking on Real Madrid at their own game. "I know we're capable of both looking spectacularly bad and beating the best team in the world," he admitted afterwards, "but tonight we played like our opponents, going into the tackle strongly, pressurising the ball and going out there with three very fast guys upfront. We can't do anything about last week now, but I want to congratulate the players for their display of aptitude and attitude, which reconverted the public, who were up in arms to start with but ended up applauding." (Well, you know my view on that.)

l Not surprisingly, he had particular praise for goalkeeper Adrián, who bounced back nicely after a disastrous derbi performance. "I'm really happy for him," Mel said. "He'll never have a more difficult game and I'd give him ten out of ten." In the stadium fans were noticeably supportive of the young keeper from the beginning, applauding his first catch and cheering every subsequent save with increasing enthusiasm. He also seems to be leading most Man of the Match polls - despite the fact he didn't have that much to do - so there are obviously no hard feelings there.

l It's also time to show appropriate appreciation for the work of centre-backs Antonio Amaya and Chechu Dorado, who, despite being nominally the fourth and fifth choices in their positions and having almost no playing time between them this season, made life impossibly difficult for the most expensively assembled forward line in world football. Nor is this an isolated occurrence; last season they were also together for Betis's two most unlikely victories, away at Atlético Madrid and Málaga. They were immense yesterday and well deserve the extended run in the team they're likely to get.

l Has anyone else noticed that Jose Mourinho has a bit of a crush on Betis? He was moved to say we deserved a point after last season's 2-3 defeat and last night congratulated every Betis player personally before leaving the pitch applauding the Benito Villamarín faithful. "After a difficult week, the Betis fans helped their team win ," he said after the game. "And I like that. Yes, they're against Madrid, but that's all right. I congratulated the Betis players because they gave everything they had and fought with enormous commitment. It's not their fault we had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside and that we should have had a penalty for handball at the end. [Ha!] They deserve my respect because on top of everything they played better than Real Madrid."

My reading of his situation is that while his ego appreciates the challenge of coaching the biggest club in the world, he still doesn't feel much of an emotional connection with Real Madrid and gets a bit envious when he sees a club with a tad more soul. Anyone want to bet against him being back in England this time next year?

l We don't have to wait long for more hot Betis action: the team take on Valladolid at home on Tuesday night, trying to overturn a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie. There are likely to be more changes - not least because several players have knocks - but at least there'll be no question of division among the fans this time. The dark clouds have cleared already.

The pics are from the Manquepierda.com and Beticismo.net galleries of images from the game.

"Where can you go from there?"

And on a scale of one to ten, how much do you think we want Atlético Madrid to win a little later today?

 

UPDATE: It finished 4-0, leaving Betis four points above our near neighbours. One more Atleti goal and would have been a perfect weekend.

I read the news today - oh boy

How about a look at last night's game via this morning's front pages?

I think I like El Correo de Andalucía best: "Pure Betis: the verdiblancos redeem themselves with an extraordinary triumph over Real Madrid."

Diario de Sevilla is a little more low-key: "Betis react in the best way: Pepe Mel's team forget the disappointment of the derbi with a great triumph over Real Madrid thanks to a goal from Beñat."

As always, Seville sports daily Estadio Deportivo gets a bit carried away: "A slap for Madrid: a single goal from Beñat helps Betis cure the manita conceded in the derbi and to win the respect and forgiveness of their long-suffering fans."

AS has a nice picture of the post-game celebrations on both its Madrid and Seville editions, although the coverlines are different on each. "Red alert" (shown here) is what the capital's residents will have seen, while here in verdiblanco land the headline is "the Return of CurroBetis" (a reference, as I understand it, to the club's habit of being entertainingly inconsistent).

Marca, meanwhile, go with a picture of Jose Mourinho looking like Mr Bean above the coverline, "Lost." Unlike AS, there's no front-page mention of either the Benzema offside or Nosa's handball, so I think we can take that as confirmation that both decisions were marginal.