Betis Float Up!

Special Guest Writer Adam Boyle from the awesome Ooh Ooh Betis Blog is chufed, stoked, and over the moon that Betis is back in La Primera!

Fabulous Pictures courtesy of Selu Vega from Manquepierda Blog. Enjoy!


Fans of Real Betis are walking on air. Their club is back in Primera, free from dictatorship and fun to follow again. It’s been a wild year in Seville!

A couple of years ago, a report emerged declaring the citizens of Costa Rica to be the happiest people on earth. (This is usually put down to a uniquely winning combination of great beaches and no army.)

But, with all due respect to the good people of the little country between Nicaragua and Panama, at 6.52pm on Sunday May 15th the baton passed. The most contented humans in the universe are now to be found mostly (but not exclusively) in the green and white half of Seville, Andalucía. They are the inhabitants of Planet Betis.

To be honest, Béticos (as we like to be known) had been anticipating promotion back to Primera for several months, but it wasn’t until Alcorcón scored their second goal against Granada (at 6.52pm on Sunday etc) that the matter was put 100 per cent beyond doubt. And boy, was the moment sweet. The players (and several hundred fans) were on a high-speed train back from a game that morning up near Barcelona when they heard the news; the vigour of their celebrations even interfered with the running of wheels on the tracks and delayed their arrival by half an hour.

By the time they got to Seville’s Santa Justa station, a crowd of 10,000 were waiting to greet them. After a crazy open-top bus trip around the city, they were met by a further 20,000 in front of a stage outside the Estadio Benito Villamarín. Cameroonian striker Achille Emaná painted his head green and white. Adored coach (and former Betis striker) Pepe Mel told the crowd sheepishly, “I’m embarrassed that you love me so much.” There was singing. There was dancing. There was clapping. There was scarf-waving. Mucho alegría, mucho Betis.

A week later, the euphoria had died down, but the gentler feeling that replaced it was probably even dandier. Before the next home game, a 6pm Saturday kick-off against Huesca, the atmosphere in the bars and streets around the Betis stadium was one of perfect contentment. Hyperactive kids in full verdiblanco kit were running everywhere, mingling with chuckling grandmothers in green blouses, and snuggly couples in brand new matching his-n-hers “Siempre de Primera” T-shirts. It reminded me of Northern Soul club night I was taken to in London back in the early 1990s; after I naively remarked to my friend how super-friendly everyone was, he gently pointed out that Ecstasy was pretty big with this particular crowd. Ah.

But there’s nothing artificially induced about the happiness of Béticos right now. We’re just high on goals. If promotion with three weeks of the season still left wasn’t enough, Pepe Mel’s side just need to score three more times in their last two games to break the Segunda record for a season. Emaná, Rubén Castro and Jorge Molina have more Liga goals between them (55) than half the teams – yes, entire teams – in the division. Betis this season have played with joy and verve and poetry; take away one bizzarely inexplicable five-game losing run and it’s just been a dream.

And there’s more to it all than simply what’s happened on the pitch. Last summer, Sevillana judge Mercedes Ayala decided that Manuel Ruíz de Lopera, the club’s eccentric owner for the last 18 years, should answer charges of embezzlement and so froze his 51 per cent shareholding. By Christmas Betis was being run by a passel of good guys, including new president Rafael Gordillo, the club’s single most popular ex-player, who man led a 60,000-strong march against Lopera through Seville two years ago. Betis may still be burdened by €80million-worth of debts – Lopera’s most damning legacy – but at least the club is free from dictatorship at last.

In fact, the financial problems may yet be a blessing in disguise because at least the technical staff can’t be tempted to break-up 2010/11’s much-loved team. They simply can’t afford to. And anyway, there’s every chance Pepe Mel’s Betis will do well back in Primera.

The current squad comprises mostly decent players in their late 20s who have simply never had a chance to show what they can do at the top level. Names like Chechu Dorado (a supernaturally composed central defender), Salva Sevilla (the best midfield passer in Segunda for two seasons now); and Jorge Molina (a classic No 9 in every sense, except the “19” on his back), won’t mean much to the man on the Getafe omnibus right now, but I’m betting they will in six months’ time. Add a smattering of interesting youngsters - like our own mini Xavi, 23-year-old Beñat – and the future looks bright. Realistically, Béticos would settle for a comfortable mid-table position and four points from the two Seville derbies, but Pepe Mel is already talking about aiming for Europe in the not-too-distant future. That shouldn’t be out of the question.

Nor will it only be on grass that Betis could make their mark in Primera. One of the more remarkable aspects of their two seasons in Segunda has been the away support they are capable of attracting. In the last month or two it has not been uncommon for visiting Béticos to outnumber home fans, not just in places near at hand like Córdoba, but as far afield as Barcelona as well. Every Monday YouTube braces itself for another avalanche of Bético fan videos. Watching every clip of Betis fans singing along to the accordian riff on Euro dance athem Stereo Love would pretty much take you to the start of next season on its own.

Traditionally, Real Betis have always been thought of as everyone in Spain’s “second” team, so it was sad to see this accolade being lost somewhat in the last few years, while Lopera’s rule grew increasing antagonistic, the in-fighting got nastier and the players became ever more over-paid and under-performing.

But Béticos would like it to be known that we’re ready to be liked again. Crazy fans? Check. Humble footballers who “get” it? Check. A management team that understands what the club is about? Check. A place at Spanish football’s top table? Check. See you in August.