Real Betis

Real Betis
Full name Real Betis Balompié
Nickname(s) Béticos del Universo
Verdiblancos
Ground Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, Seville
(Capacity: 52,700)
Owner Flag of Spain Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
Chairman Flag of Spain Pepe León
Head Coach Flag of Spain Paco Chaparro
League La Liga
2007-08 La Liga, 13th[1]
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Third colours

Real Betis Balompié is a Spanish football club in Seville founded in 1907. The team currently plays in La Liga. Its home stadium is the 52,700-seat Manuel Ruiz de Lopera and its home colours are green and white. Real Betis celebrated their centenary year this past year 2007–08 La Liga season.

Real Betis were noted as the 32nd best followed team in Europe as regard average attendances during the 2006–07 season.[1]

Contents

History

Real Betis holds the distinction of being the first Andalusian football team to play in the La Liga and to reach the UEFA Champions League although city rivals Sevilla already played this competition but with a different format, known as European Cup, in the 1957-58 season. Betis are also the only Spanish club to have won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd division leagues. Supporters of Real Betis are known as béticos. The club came close to folding in the summer of 1992 when they were saved by then vice-chairman Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, who later became chairman and is the current owner of the club.

Early years

Seville was the venue for the first official football game played in Spain. On 8 March 1890 at the Tablada Hippodrome a team from the Seville Water Works defeated the Huelva Recreation Club 2-0. With the exception of two Spanish players on the Huelva team, the players on both teams were British. Despite this historic event, it was not until 1905 that Sevilla FC was formed. The name is derived from Baetis, the Roman name for Guadalquivir river. Betis initially attracted support from the working classes although a large number of aristocracts including the King of Spain also supported the team. The foundation date is disputed. The 1907 foundation date comes from Sevilla Balompie, a club founded by students from the Escuela Politécnica on Calle Cervantes. This club merged with Betis FC in late 1914.

Name and colours

Balompie is the literal Spanish word for football as opposed to the anglicized version, futbol. Betis is one of only a handful of Spanish clubs that use this version in their name. As with other Spanish clubs Real was added after receiving patronage from the King of Spain Don Alfonso XIII in 1914. In 1912, Manuel Ramos Asensio, one of the club's founding members, returned from a business trip to Glasgow with a set of green and black striped shirts, donated by Celtic F.C, and proposed Betis take up the colours. The green and black strip was subsequently deemed unlucky after a losing streak and was replaced by a green and white version - the Andalucian national colours. During the Second Spanish Republic the club was once again called Betis Balompie, reverting to its current name after the Spanish Civil War.

Domestic success

Betis have won the La Liga once - in 1935 under the guidance of Patrick O'Connell - and won their first Copa del Rey in 1977. They made it to the final in 1997 but lost to FC Barcelona. Betis made it to the final again on 11 June 2005 against CA Osasuna at the Vicente Calderón Stadium and won their second Copa del Rey 2-1.

Centenary celebrations

Betis celebrated their centenary year in 2007, during the 2006–07 and 2007–08 league campaigns. In celebration of their centenary year they played A.C. Milan on 9 August 2007. Betis won the game 1-0 when new signing Mark González scored from the penalty spot early into the second half. On 15 August Betis competed in the Estadio Ramón de Carranza Trophy, playing against Real Madrid in the semi-final, winning the game 1-0 with an injury time free-kick scored by Juan Pablo Caffa. The following day, Betis contested in the final of the Estadio Ramón de Carranza Trophy against Real Zaragoza. The match ended 1-1, with a goal from David Rivas for Betis, before winning the game 4-3 on penalties, with Antonio Doblas decisively saving a Ricardo Oliveira penalty. The summer brought with it a complete change to the Betis squad, with eight arrivals that included Mark González, Ricardo, and Mariano Pavone, and fourteen sales.

Stadium information

Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera is a football stadium in Seville, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Real Betis. It was previously called Estadio Benito Villamarín before the new owner of the club, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, decided to build a new stadium over the old one.

See main article: Manuel Ruiz de Lopera

Club honours

Competition participation

Domestic

European

Players

Current squad

As of September 2, 2008 - [2][3][4]
No. Position Player
1 Flag of Portugal GK Ricardo
2 Flag of Spain DF Melli
3 Flag of Spain DF Fernando Vega
4 Flag of Spain DF Juanito (Captain)
5 Flag of Spain DF David Rivas
6 Flag of Slovenia DF Branko Ilič
7 Flag of Spain MF Juanma
8 Flag of Spain MF Arzu
9 Flag of Spain FW Sergio Garcia
10 Flag of Brazil FW Edú
11 Flag of Chile MF Mark González
12 Flag of Spain DF Damià Abella
13 Flag of Spain GK Casto
No. Position Player
14 Flag of Spain MF Capi
15 Flag of Argentina DF Fabián Monzón
16 Flag of Argentina FW Mariano Pavone
17 Flag of Croatia DF Marko Babić
18 Flag of Spain MF Alberto Rivera
19 Flag of Spain FW Xisco
20 Flag of Cameroon MF Achille Emana
21 Flag of Turkey MF Mehmet Aurélio
22 Flag of Brazil DF Willian Lima
23 Flag of Portugal DF Nélson
24 Flag of Spain FW José Mari
27 Flag of Spain MF Juande
30 Flag of Spain FW Diego Segura

Loaned players

No. Position Player
Flag of Argentina MF Juan Pablo Caffa (at Real Zaragoza till July 1, 2009)
Flag of Spain DF Nano (at Real Valladolid till July 1, 2009)

Unregistered

No. Position Player
Flag of Germany MF David Odonkor (due to long term knee injury)

Non-EU players

Main article: List of foreign Real Betis Balompié players

Current reserve/Youth team players

Notable former players

Main article: List of Real Betis Balompié players

Club management

Current technical body

As of 24 August 2007 [5]
Position Name Nationality
Manager: Paco Chaparro Flag of Spain Spanish
Assistant Manager: Juan Merino Flag of Spain Spanish
B Team Manager: José Luis Mena Flag of Spain Spanish
Goalkeeping Coach: José Ramón Esnaola Flag of Spain Spanish
Physical Coach: Carmelo del Pozo Flag of Spain Spanish
Recuperation Coach: David Gómez Flag of Spain Spanish
Doctor: Tomás Calero Flag of Spain Spanish
Surgeon Santiago Pérez Hidalgo Flag of Spain Spanish
Physiotherapist: Ildefonso Blanco Flag of Spain Spanish
Masseuse: José Mª Montiel Salas Flag of Spain Spanish
Masseuse: Francisco Bizcocho Flag of Spain Spanish
Podiatrist: Angel Olivia Flag of Spain Spanish
Helper: Jose Manuel Acuña Flag of Spain Spanish
Helper: Manuel Barrera Castro Flag of Spain Spanish

Management positions

As of 24 August 2007 -[6]

Name Nationality Role
Manuel Ruiz de Lopera Flag of Spain.svg Spain Owner
José León Gómez Flag of Spain.svg Spain Acting President
Ángel Martín Vega Flag of Spain.svg Spain Vice-President
Rufino González Navarro Flag of Spain.svg Spain Vice-President
Jaime Rodriguez Sacristán-Cascajo Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counsel Secretary
Óscar Arredondo Prieto Flag of Spain.svg Spain Chief Legal Services
Francisco Nuchera Cejudo Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Luís Salcedo Gómez Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Javier Páez Ruíz Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Balbino de Bernado Barrio Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Gregorio Conejo Muñoz Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Víctor López García-Aranda Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Manuel Castaño Martín Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
José Manuel Villarán Toribio Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Francisco Sánchez Moreno Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Fernando Rubiales Torrejón Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
Diego García León Flag of Spain.svg Spain Counselor
José Antonio González Flores Flag of Spain.svg Spain General Manager
Manuel Ortega Momparlet Flag of Spain.svg Spain Sporting Director
Ignacio Lasa Puech Flag of Spain.svg Spain Marketing Director
Iván Larriba Flag of Spain.svg Spain Chief Press Officer

Notable former managers

see also Cat:Real Betis managers

Spain
  • Flag of Spain Luis Aragonés
  • Flag of Spain Domènec Balmanya
  • Flag of Spain César
  • Flag of Spain Javier Clemente
  • Flag of Spain Luis del Sol
  • Flag of Spain Llorenç Serra Ferrer
  • Flag of Spain Javier Irureta
  • Flag of Spain Juande Ramos
Argentina
  • Flag of Argentina Carlos Timoteo Griguol
  • Flag of Argentina Héctor Cúper
Slovakia
  • Flag of Slovakia Fernando Daucik
France
  • Flag of France Luis Fernández
Hungary
  • Flag of Hungary Ferenc Szusza
Ireland
  • Flag of Ireland Patrick O'Connell
The Netherlands
Uruguay
  • Flag of Uruguay Enrique Fernández

Notable former players

Main article: List of Real Betis Balompié players

•(1992-1995)Veli Gasimov Aydin •(1981-1982)Luis Aragones

Presidents

  • SEVILLE BALOMPIÉ
    • 1907-1909: Juan del Castillo Ochoa
    • 1909-1910: Alfonso del Castillo Ochoa
    • 1910-1911: José Gutiérrez Fernández
    • 1912: Juan del Castillo Ochoa
    • 1914: Herbert Richard Jones
  • BETIS FUTBOL CLUB
    • 1909: Eladio García de la Borbolla
    • 1910-1911: Manuel Gutiérrez Fernández
    • 1913-1914: Miguel Folgado
    • 1914: Pedro Rodríguez de la Borbolla
  • REAL BETIS BALOMPIÉ
    • 1914-1915: Herbert Richard Jones
    • 1915-1917: Pedro Rodríguez de la Borbolla
    • 1917-1918: Roberto Vicente de Mata
    • 1918-1919: Eduardo Hernández Nalda
    • 1919-1920: Carlos Alarcón de la Lastra
    • 1920-1921: Jerónimo Pérez de Vargas
    • 1921-1922: Carlos Alarcón de la Lastra
    • 1922-1923: Gil Gómez Bajuelo
    • 1923-1925: Ramón Navarro Cáceres
    • 1925-1926: Antonio Polo Roma
    • 1926-1927: Ramón Cortecero
    • 1927-1928: Antonio de la Guardia
    • 1928-1929: Ignacio Sánchez Mejías
    • 1929-1930: Daniel Mezquita Moreno
    • 1930: Camilo Romero Sánchez
    • 1930-1931: Adolfo Cuellar Rodríguez
    • 1931-1933: Jose Ignacio Mantecón Novasal
    • 1933-1939: Antonio Moreno Sevillano
    • 1940-1942: Ramón Poll Carbonell
    • 1942-1943: Alfonso Alarcón de Lastra
    • 1943-1944: Francisco Cantalapiedra Fernández
    • 1944-1945: Eduardo Benjumena Vázquez
    • 1945-1946: Manuel Romero Puerto
    • 1946-1947: Filomeno de Aspe Martín
    • 1947-1950: Pascual Aparicio García
    • 1950-1952: Francisco de la Cerda Carmona
    • 1952-1955: Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez
    • 1955-1965: Benito Villamarín Prieto
    • 1965-1966: Avelino Villamarín Prieto
    • 1966-1967: Andrés Gaviño
    • 1967-1969: Julio de la Puerta
    • 1969: José León Gómez
    • 1969-1979: José Núñez Naranjo
    • 1979-1983: Juan Manuel Mauduit Caller
    • 1983-1989: Gerardo Martínez Retamero
    • 1989-1992: Hugo Galera Davidson
    • 1992-1996: José León Gómez
    • 1996-2006: Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
    • 2006: José León Gómez

Domestic position

Recent La Liga history

Real Betis currently compete in the top flight of Spanish football, La Liga. Real Betis were relegated during the 1999–2000 La Liga season and so competed in the Segunda División during the 2000–01 season. They were promoted on their first attempt.[7]

Season Pos P W D L F A Pts
1996-97 4 42 21 14 7 81 46 77
1997-98 8 38 17 8 13 49 50 59
1998-99 11 38 14 7 17 47 58 49
1999-00 18 38 11 9 18 33 56 42
2001-02 6 38 15 14 9 42 34 59
2002-03 8 38 14 12 12 56 53 54
2003-04 9 38 13 13 12 46 43 52
2004-05 4 38 16 14 8 62 50 62
2005-06 14 38 10 12 16 34 51 42
2006-07 16 38 8 16 14 36 49 40
2007-08 13 38 12 11 15 45 51 47

Records

References and footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Betis 16th". 16th. Retrieved on 2008-12-04.
  2. "Real Betis Squad". Realbetisbalompie.es. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  3. "Real Betis Squad #2". Betisweb.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  4. "Real Betis Squad #3". LFP.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  5. Current technical body
  6. Current management positions
  7. "Real Betis La Liga history". LFP.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.

External links

Official Websites

Fan Sites

Articles, News, & Rumours