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Real Betis
Full nameReal Betis Balompié, SAD
Nickname(s)Béticos (Betis)
Betis Guadalquivir
Béticos del Universo (Betis Supporters of the Universe [implying there are many throughout the world])
Los Verdiblancos (The Green-and-Whites)
Verderones
Heliopolitanos (Heliopolitans)[1]
Founded12 September 1907; 116 years ago (12 September 1907)
GroundBenito Villamarín, Seville,
Andalusia, Spain
Capacity56,500
ChairmanManuel Platas
ManagerPepe Mel
LeagueSegunda División
2013–14La Liga, 20th (relegated)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Real Betis Balompié, SAD, more commonly referred to as Real Betis (pronounced [reˈal ˈβetis]), is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in the La Liga Segunda Division, having been relegated from the Primera Division in the 2013-14 season. It holds home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín in the south of the city.

Among other titles, the club – which in 1932 became the first Andalusian team to play in La Liga – won the Primera División in 1935 and the Copa del Rey in 1977 and 2005.

Both the King of Spain Juan Carlos I and his son Felipe VI are honorary members of the club. Maintaining an historic city rivalry with Sevilla FC, its motto is Viva el Betis manque pierda! ("Long live Betis even when they lose!").[2]

History

The name is derived from Baetis, the Roman name for the Guadalquivir river which passes through Seville. Betis initially attracted support from the working classes although a large number of aristocrats, including the King of Spain also supported the team. Real was added in 1914 after the club received patronage from King Alfonso XIII.

Foundation

Real Betis, 25 December 1913.

Betis' city rivals Sevilla Football Club were the first club in Seville, founded in October 1905, while a second club, Sevilla Balompié, were established in September 1907. Balompié translates literally as football, as opposed to the most commonly adopted anglicised version, futbol. Balompié was founded by students from the local Polytechnic Academy, and were in operation for two years before being officially recognised (in 1909), despite this 1907 remains the official foundation date of the club.

Following an internal split from Sevilla FC, another club was formed, Betis Football Club. In 1914 they merged with Sevilla Balompié. The club received its royal patronage in the same year, and therefore adopted the name Real Betis Balompié.

Fans continued to refer to the club as Balompié, and were themselves known as Los Balompedistas, until the 1930s when Betis and the adjective Béticos became common terminology when discussing the club and its followers.

1930s: promotion, championship and relegation

Betis' 1934-35 La Liga title is commemorated by this sculpture in Seville.

During the Spanish Second Republic (1931–1939), royal patronage of all organisations was nullified, and thus the club was known as Betis Balompié until after the Spanish Civil War when it would revert to the full name. The club reached the Copa del Presidente de la República final for the first time on 21 June 1931, when it lost 3–1 to Athletic Bilbao in Madrid.[3] Betis marked their 25th anniversary year by winning their first Segunda División title in 1932, finishing two points ahead of Oviedo FC,[4] thus becoming the first club from Andalusia to play in La Liga.

Under the guidance of Irish coach Patrick O'Connell on 28 April 1935 Betis won the La Liga, to date their only top division title. They topped the table by a single point over Madrid FC.

A year later Betis went down to seventh. This was due to the dismantling of the championship-winning team because of the club's poor economic situation and the arrival of the Civil War, meaning that just 15 months after lifting the league title only two players who won in 1935 were left: Peral and Saro. No official league was held during the Civil War between 1936 and 1939, until its resumption for the 1939–40 season and the first year back highlighted Betis' decline as exactly five years after winning the title the club was relegated.

Darkest period

Despite a brief return to the top division, which lasted only one season, the club continued to decline and in 1947 the worst fears were reached when they were relegated to Tercera División. Many fans see the ten years they spent in the category as key to the 'identity' and 'soul' of the club, a time that saw it win sympathies all across Spain. During this time Betis earned a reputation for filling its stadium and having a massive support at away matches, known as the Green March.

When the side returned to the second level in 1954, it gained the distinction of being the only club in Spain to have won all three major divisions' titles. Much of the credit for guiding Betis through this dark period and back into the Segunda lies with chairman Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez.

Benito Villamarín

In 1955, Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez stepped down from running the club believing he couldn't offer further economic growth, he was replaced by Betis most famous former president Benito Villamarín. During his reign Betis returned to the top division in 1958–59 and achieved a best-ever third position in 1964. His purchase of the Estadio Heliópolis in 1961 is seen as a key point in the history of the club – the grounds were called the Estadio Benito Villamarín until 1997.

Villamarín is also credited with helping launch rising star Luis del Sol, who would go on to earn 16 caps for Spain, but also had to make unpopular decisions such as selling him. Villamarín would step aside after 10 years at the helm and would die of cancer one year later, in 1966.

Just one year after Villamarín's departure the club would again be relegated to division two, then rising and falling almost consecutively until consolidating their place in the top level from 1974–75.

Copa del Rey success and Europe

On 25 June 1977, Betis played Athletic Bilbao at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, in the Copa del Rey final. The match finished 2–2, with Betis winning 8–7 after a staggering 21 penalties. This rounded off a solid season in which the club finished fifth in the league.

After that triumph, Betis competed in the European Cup Winners' Cup: after knocking out A.C. Milan 3–2 on aggregate in the first round, the side reached the quarterfinals where they lost to FC Dynamo Moscow. In spite of a good overall performance in Europe, the team suffered league relegation.

The following year Betis quickly returned to the top flight and a period of good times for the club. The next three seasons saw three top-six finishes, and UEFA Cup qualification in 1982 and 1984. 1982 saw a first round defeat to S.L. Benfica, who would go on lose in the final, and the next participation also ended in the first round, on penalties against FC Universitatea Craiova.

During the summer of 1982, the Benito Villamarín hosted two matches as part of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and also witnessed the Spanish national team's famous 12–1 hammering of Malta in order to qualify for UEFA Euro 1984.

In 1986, Betis lost in the final of the soon-to-be defunct Spanish League Cup, against FC Barcelona.

Economic crisis and Manuel Ruiz de Lopera

Betis again returned to a club rising and falling from the First almost every season until 1992 when it was forced to meet new rules and regulations, meaning the club was required to cover a capital of 1,200 million pesetas, roughly double that of all the first and second division teams, despite being in level two at the time.

In just three months the fans raised 400 million pesetas, an equivalent to between 60–100% of most top division teams, and vice-president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stepped in providing economic guarantee while himself becoming majority shareholder as the team narrowly avoided relegation.

Serra Ferrer success

After another three seasons in the second division, with the club managed by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, Betis returned to the top flight for the 1994–95 season, subsequently achieving a final third position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup.

In the European campaign, Betis knocked out Fenerbahçe SK (4–1 on aggregate) and 1. FC Kaiserslautern (4–1) before losing to defeated finalists FC Girondins de Bordeaux (3–2). In 1997, thirty years after winning the trophy for the first time, the club returned to the final of the Spanish Cup, again in Madrid, although this time at the Santiago Bernabéu, losing 2–3 against Barcelona, after extra time.

Incidentally Barça was the club Serra Ferrer would leave Betis for that summer, to be replaced by former player Luis Aragonés. Aragonés would only last one season with the club leading in to the eighth position, and to the quarterfinals in the Cup Winners' Cup, losing 2–5 on aggregate to eventual winners Chelsea.

Aragonés was followed by the controversial reign of Javier Clemente, who spat on a fan and implied Andalusia was another country! The team slipped down the table, finishing eleventh and being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Bologna F.C. 1909 in the third round. For the next couple of seasons Betis went through numerous managers, a relegation and a promotion, after which the team finished sixth in the league, with Juande Ramos at the helm.

Ramos was gone after just one season, being replaced by former Cup Winners' Cup-winning manager Víctor Fernández. He led the team to eighth and ninth in the league and the third round of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, being knocked out by AJ Auxerre (1–2 on aggregate), during his two-year reign.

For 2004, Fernandez was replaced by the returning Serra Ferrer who guided the team to the fourth position in the top flight. They also returned to the Vicente Calderón, on 11 June 2005 for the domestic cup final, lifting the trophy for only the second time after an extra-time winner by youth graduate Dani, in a 2–1 win against CA Osasuna.

The league finish meant Betis became the first Andalucian team to compete in the UEFA Champions League, and it reached the group stage after disposing of AS Monaco in the last qualifying round (3–2 on aggregate). Drawn in Group G, and in spite of a 1–0 home win against Chelsea, the club eventually finished third, being "demoted" to the UEFA Cup, where it would be ousted in the round of 16 by defeated FC Steaua Bucureşti (0–0 away draw, 0–3 home loss).

Centenary celebrations

Betis' shirts in 2007 bore an emblem for their centenary.

Betis celebrated their centenary year in 2007. The festivities included a special match against AC Milan, the reigning European Champions, on 9 August, with the hosts winning 1–0 thanks to a Mark González penalty early in the second half. Seven days later, the club won the Ramon de Carranza Trophy held in neighbouring Cádiz, beating Real Zaragoza on penalties in the final, after defeating Real Madrid in the semi-final.[5]

Surrounding the celebration, it was a time of great change in terms of the playing and technical teams, with eight new signings replacing fourteen departures. During the two seasons (2006–07 and 2007–08) that encompassed the centenary year Betis had four different managers. During the latter campaign, the club was the 37th-best followed team in Europe regarding average attendances.

Segunda División

After many years of staving off relegation, Betis' 2008–09 season culminated with a 1–1 draw against Real Valladolid at home. With this outcome, the club finished 18th in the table and consequently was relegated to the second division.

On 15 June 2009, over 65,000 Beticos including icons such as Rafael Gordillo, del Sol, Hipólito Rincón, Julio Cardeñosa and others joined the protest march in Sevilla with the slogan "15-J Yo Voy Betis" to let the majority owner Ruiz de Lopera know that it was time to put his 54% share of the club on the market for someone, some entity or the Betis supporters to buy those shares and remove Lopera from the day-to-day operations of the club."

Despite the protests, no upper management changes were made during the season, which would ultimately see Betis fail to gain promotion back to the top level.[6]

Lopera court action and sale

Rafael Gordillo, Betis player and president

Sevilla judge Mercedes Alaya was investigating links between Betis and other Ruiz de Lopera-owned businesses leading to him being formally charged with fraud. On 7 July 2010, one week before the start of preliminary court proceedings, Lopera sold 94% of the shares that he owned (51% of Betis total shares) to Bitton Sport, fronted by Luis Oliver, for the surprisingly low figure of 16 million, leaving Lopera with only minor shares; Oliver had already reportedly taken two football clubs, Cartagena FC and Xerez CD, to the brink of bankruptcy.[7]

However, before the sale could be officially sanctioned Ayala froze Lopera shareholdings. Left with nothing, despite putting down a €1 million deposit, Oliver hastily bought a nominal number of shares from a third party and was voted onto the board of directors by the existing members (all former cohorts of Lopera), allowing him to carry on running the club. In response to this, the judge appointed well-respected former Betis, Real Madrid and Spain legend Rafael Gordillo to administrate Lopera's shares to ensure Lopera was not still running the club and that decisions made were for the benefit of the club not individual board members.[8]

La Liga return

Again under Pepe Mel, Betis started 2011–12 with four wins in as many games, with Rubén Castro retaining his goal scoring form from the previous season, where he scored 27 goals. Betis finished 13th in their first season since returning to La Liga.

In the 2012–13 season Betis finished 7th in La Liga and qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, the first European qualification for the club since the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. This European campaign ended in the quarter-finals after losing on penalties to local rivals Sevilla.[9] Betis were relegated from La Liga with three games still to play in the 2013–14 season.[10]

Seville derby

Betis and their city rival Sevilla FC also compete in an annual rowing race on the Guadalquivir river.

Betis have a long-standing rivalry with city neighbours Sevilla FC.[2] The two have met 114 times in official competition, with Sevilla holding a 45% win ratio over Betis (31%).

The first match between the two clubs took place on 8 February 1915, with Sevilla winning 4–3. The match was not completed, as high tensions led an aggressive crowd to invade the pitch, forcing the referee to abandon the match.

In 1916, the first Copa Andalucía was held, this being the first official derby of the Seville area. Of the 17 runnings of the cup, Sevilla were victorious 14 times, to Betis' one sole conquest; this included a 22–0 routing after the latter sent their youth team, in 1918.

The first time the teams met in league, in Segunda, happened in 1928–29, with both teams winning their home matches (3–0 and 2–1). They played for the first time in the Spanish top division during the 1934–35 season, with a 0–3 home defeat for Sevilla and a 2–2 draw at Betis, with the latter winning the national championship.

On 17 January 1943, Betis lost 5–0 at Sevilla, eventually being relegated. In the first game held at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, on 21 September 1958, the Verdiblancos won it 4–2.

In later years, several matches were also marred by violence, including: a security guard attacked by a Sevilla fan with a crutch (that he did not require to walk), Betis goalkeeper Toni Prats being attacked and Sevilla manager Juande Ramos being struck by a bottle of water;[11] the latter incident led to the 2007 Spanish Cup match being suspended, being played out three weeks later in Getafe with no spectators.

On 7 February 2009, Betis won 2–1 at the Pizjuán, but was eventually relegated from the top flight, while Sevilla finished in third position.

Statistics

La Liga

Team Wins Home Away
Betis 28 18 10
Sevilla 38 26 12

Played 84, with 18 draws.

  • Betis have scored 101 goals against their rivals, but have conceded 118.

Segunda División

Team Wins Home Away
Betis 4 2 2
Sevilla 6 3 3

Played 14, with 6 draws.

Copa del Rey

Team Wins Home Away
Betis 4 4 0
Sevilla 7 5 2

Played 16, with 5 draws.

Team statistics

Season to season

Season Division Place Copa del Rey
1929 6th Round of 32
1929–30 9th Round of 16
1930–31 6th Runner-up
1931–32 1st Round of 16
1932–33 5th Quarter-finals
1933–34 4th Semi-finals
1934–35 1st Quarter-finals
1935–36 7th
1939–40 11th Round of 16
1940–41 7th Round of 16
1941–42 1st
1942–43 14th Round of 16
1943–44 7th Round of 32
1944–45 8th
1945–46 11th
1946–47 14th Round of 16
1947–48 2nd
1948–49 8th
1949–50 3rd
1950–51 2nd
1951–52 3rd
1952–53 5th
1953–54 1st
Season Division Place Copa del Rey
1954–55 5th
1955–56 2nd
1956–57 6th
1957–58 1st
1958–59 6th Quarter-finals
1959–60 6th Round of 16
1960–61 6th Semi-finals
1961–62 9th Round of 16
1962–63 9th Quarter-finals
1963–64 3rd Quarter-finals
1964–65 12th Round of 32
1965–66 16th Semi-finals
1966–67 2nd Round of 16
1967–68 15th Round of 16
1968–69 7th
1969–70 4th Round of 16
1970–71 1st Round of 16
1971–72 13th
1972–73 16th Quarter-finals
1973–74 1st Round of 16
1974–75 9th Round of 16
1975–76 7th Semi-finals
1976–77 5th Winners
Season Division Place Copa del Rey
1977–78 16th Quarter-finals
1978–79 3rd
1979–80 5th Quarter-finals
1980–81 6th
1981–82 6th
1982–83 11th Round of 16
1983–84 5th
1984–85 14th Semi-finals
1985–86 8th
1986–87 9th Round of 16
1987–88 16th Round of 16
1988–89 18th Round of 16
1989–90 2nd Round of 16
1990–91 20th Round of 16
1991–92 4th Round of 16
1992–93 5th
1993–94 2nd Semi-finals
1994–95 3rd Round of 16
1995–96 8th Round of 16
1996–97 4th Runner-up
1997–98 8th Quarter-finals
1998–99 11th Round of 16
1999–2000 18th
Season Division Place Copa del Rey
2000–01 2nd Round of 64
2001–02 6th Round of 64
2002–03 8th Round of 16
2003–04 9th Round of 16
2004–05 4th Winners
2005–06 14th Quarter-finals
2006–07 16th Quarter-finals
2007–08 13th Round of 16
2008–09 18th Quarter-finals
2009–10 4th Second round
2010–11 1st Quarter-finals
2011–12 13th Round of 32
2012–13 7th Quarter-finals
2013–14 20th Round of 16
2014–15 Round of 32

Recent La Liga seasons

Real Betis were relegated during the 1999–2000 season from La Liga, but promoted back on their first attempt.

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
2008–09 18 38 10 12 16 51 58 42
2011–12 13 38 13 8 17 47 56 47
2012–13 7 38 16 8 14 57 56 56
2013–14 20 38 6 7 25 36 78 25

Current squad

As of 3 February 2015[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Dani Giménez
2 DF Spain ESP Francisco Molinero
3 DF Spain ESP Álex Martínez
4 DF Spain ESP Bruno González
5 MF Spain ESP Javier Matilla
6 DF Spain ESP Jordi Figueras
7 MF Spain ESP Álvaro Vadillo
8 FW Italy ITA Vincenzo Rennella
11 MF Algeria ALG Foued Kadir (on loan from Olympique Marseille)
12 DF Italy ITA Cristiano Piccini
13 GK Spain ESP Antonio Adán
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Spain ESP Xavi Torres
16 MF Spain ESP Álvaro Cejudo
17 FW Spain ESP Dani Pacheco
18 MF Senegal SEN Alfred N'Diaye
19 FW Spain ESP Jorge Molina
21 MF Chile CHI Lorenzo Reyes
22 MF Spain ESP Francisco Portillo (on loan from Málaga)
23 DF Spain ESP Jorge Casado
24 FW Spain ESP Rubén Castro
25 DF Spain ESP Héctor Rodas
46 MF Spain ESP Dani Ceballos

Youth players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF Spain ESP Eder Vilarchao [i]
31 GK Spain ESP Javi Montoya
33 DF Spain ESP Francisco Varela
No. Pos. Nation Player
36 DF Spain ESP José Caro
41 GK Spain ESP Pedro
52 MF Spain ESP Fabián
  1. ^ Can't play for Betis B neither for the main squad.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Spain ESP Juanfran (at Deportivo La Coruña)
MF Spain ESP Nono (at SV Sandhausen)
MF Spain ESP Sergio (at Gimnàstic)
FW Uruguay URU Braian Rodríguez (at Numancia)
FW Spain ESP Chuli (to Leganés)

Retired numbers

26 Spain Miki Roqué (deceased) (2009–12)

Personnel

Board of Directors

  • President: Manuel Domínguez Platas [13]
  • Vice-President: Fernando Casas Pascual [13]
  • Board Members: Antonio J. Sánchez Pino, Diego García León, Tomás Solano Franco, Francisco Estepa Domínguez, José Montoro Pizarro [13]
  • Ambassadors: Rafael Gordillo

Coaching Staff

Medical Staff

  • Head of Medical Services: Tomás Calero [18]
  • Physiotherapists: Fran Molano, José Manuel Pizarro, Manuel López, Manuel Alcantarilla [19]
  • Nurse: José María Montiel [20]

Technical Staff

Honours

Official

Friendly

Individual

Pichichi Trophy

Zamora Trophy

Notable former players

Managers

Manager Year Notes
Spain Manuel Ramos Asenio 1911–14, 1914–15
England Herbert Richard Jones 1914, 1916 Also first president
England J.P. Bryce 1917
Spain Carmelo Navarro 1918
Spain Basilio Clemente 1918
Spain Salvador Llinat 1920
Spain Andrés Aranda 1922, 1939–40, 1943–46, 1949–52, 1965
Spain Ramón Porlan y Merlo 1923
Spain Alberto Álvarez 1924
Spain Carlos Castañeda 1925
Spain Juan Armet "Kinké" 1927–30 First year of league competition (1929)
Spain Emilio Sampere 1930–32 Copa del Rey runner-up 1931
Segunda champion 1932
Ireland Patrick O'Connell 1932–36, 1940–42, 1946–47 La Liga champion 1935
Spain Cesáreo Baragaño 1942–43
Spain Francisco Gómez 1942–43, 1953–55 Tercera champion, 1954
Spain Pedro Solé 1944–45
Spain José Suárez "Peral" 1946–47, 1948–49
Spain José Quirante 1947–48
Spain Manuel Olivares 1952–53
Spain Sabino Barinaga 1955, 1960, 1968–69
Spain Pepe Valera 1955–57, 1967–68
Spain Carlos Iturraspe 1957
Spain Antonio Barrios 1957–59, 1967, 1969–72 Segunda champion 1958 and 1971
Spain Josep Seguer 1959
Uruguay Enrique Fernández 1959–60
Slovakia Fernando Daucik 1960–63, 1968–69
Spain Ernesto Pons 1963, 1965, 1966
Spain Domènec Balmanya 1963–64
France Louis Hon 1964–65
Brazil Martim Francisco 1965–66
Spain Luis Belló 1966–67
Spain César 1967–68
Spain Miguel González 1969–70
Spain Esteban Areta 1971–72
Hungary Ferenc Szusza 1972–76 Segunda champion 1974
Spain Rafael Iriondo 1976–78, 1981–82 Copa del Rey winner, 1977
Spain José Luis Garcia Traid 1978–79
Spain León Lasa 1979–80
Spain Luis Cid 1979–81, 1984–86
Spain Luis Aragonés 1981, July 28, 1997 – June 30, 1998
Spain Pedro Buenaventura 1982, 1988–89
Hungary Antal Dunai 1982
France Marcel Domingo 1982–83
Spain Pepe Alzate 1983–85
Spain Luis del Sol 1985–87, 2001
England John Mortimore 1987–88
Spain Eusebio Ríos 1988
Paraguay Cayetano Ré 1988–89
Spain Juan Corbacho 1989
Spain Julio Cardeñosa 1990
Spain José Luis Romero 1990–91
Spain José Ramón Esnaola 1991, 1993
Slovakia Jozef Jarabinsky 1991–92
Argentina Felipe Mesones 1992
Argentina Jorge D'Alessandro 1992–93
Croatia Sergije Krešić 1993–94
Spain Lorenzo Serra Ferrer 1994–97, July 1, 2004 – June 8, 2006 Copa del Rey winner 2005
Portugal António Oliveira 1998
Chile Vicente Cantatore Aug 26, 1998 – Oct 26, 1998
Spain Javier Clemente Oct 27, 1998 – June 30, 1999
Argentina Carlos Griguol 1999–00
Bosnia and Herzegovina Faruk Hadžibegić Jan 2, 2000 – June 30, 2001
Netherlands Guus Hiddink Feb 1, 2000 – May 31, 2000
Spain Fernando Vázquez July 1, 2000 – March 19, 2001
Spain Juande Ramos July 1, 2001 – May 16, 2002
Spain Víctor Fernández July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2004, Jan 26, 2010 – July 12, 2010
Spain Javier Irureta July 1, 2006 – Dec 22, 2006
France Luis Fernández Dec 27, 2006 – June 10, 2007
Argentina Héctor Cúper July 14, 2007 – Dec 2, 2007
Spain Paco Chaparro Dec 3, 2007 – April 7, 2009
Spain José María Nogués April 7, 2009 – June 30, 2009
Spain Antonio Tapia July 1, 2009 – Jan 25, 2010
Spain Pepe Mel July 12, 2010 – Dec 2, 2013, Dec 19, 2014 – Segunda champion, 2011
Spain Juan Carlos Garrido Dec 2, 2013 – Jan 19, 2014
Argentina Gabriel Calderón Jan 19, 2014 – May 19, 2014
Spain Julio Velázquez Jun 16, 2014 – Nov 25, 2014
Spain Juan Merino Nov 25, 2014 – Dec 19, 2014

Presidents

Records

Club records

Player records

Stadium

Estadio Benito Villamarín.

With a 56,500-seat capacity, the Estadio Benito Villamarín is the home ground of Real Betis. It was named Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera during the 2000s (decade) after the club's owner, who decided to build a new stadium over the old one.

Despite much planning, the stadium's renovation plans were constantly postponed, and half of it remained unchanged. On 27 October 2010, it returned to its first denomination after a decision by the club's associates.[22]

Colours

Evolution

Betis' green-and-white vertically striped shirts are based on those worn by Celtic when an early player was studying in Scotland.

In its initial years, Sevilla Balompié dressed in blue shirts with white shorts, which represented the infantry at the time. From late 1911 the team had adopted the shirts of Celtic,[23] at that time vertical stripes of green and white, that were brought over from Glasgow by Manuel Asensio Ramos, who had studied in Scotland as a child.

When the team became Real Betis Balompié in 1914, various kits were used, including: yellow and black stripes; green t-shirts and a reversion to the blue top and white shorts uniform. By the end of the 1920s Betis was once again sporting green and white stripes, around this time the Assembly of Ronda (1918) saw the Andalusian region formally adopt these colours, not being known how much the two are linked.

Since then this remained Betis' shirt, despite several versions (including wider stripes).

References

  1. ^ http://www.estadiodeportivo.com/betis.php?id=32602&pg=26
  2. ^ a b "Real Betis, 100 years of passion". FIFA.com. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. ^ http://rsssf.com/tabless/spancup1931.html
  4. ^ http://rsssf.com/tabless/spanhist2839.html
  5. ^ "Todos los partidos de la pretemporada 2007–08" (in Spanish). Real Betis. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Lopera sigue mudo y ultras lo amenazan: 'Vende o muere'" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Oliver: "Ni los nazis hacían lo que hace esta loca"" (in Spanish). Marca. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ La venta se cierra en 16 millones a pagar en 5 años (Sold for 16 millions to be paid in 5 years); El Desmarque, 7 July 2010 Template:Es icon
  9. ^ "Spot-on Sevilla get the better of Betis". UEFA. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Ronaldo brace sends Real second, Betis relegated". FIFA. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  11. ^ "This was no isolated incident". The Guardian. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  12. ^ "Mínimos cambios y cuatro vacantes, que serán seis" (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  13. ^ a b c Real Betis Official http://www.realbetisbalompie.es/en/club/the-club/board-directors/. Retrieved 28 June 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Board of Directors" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  15. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  16. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  17. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  18. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  19. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  20. ^ "First Team". Real Betis Official. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  21. ^ Siesta azulgrana (Azulgrana nap); Marca, 29 March 2008 Template:Es icon
  22. ^ "De Ruiz de Lopera a Benito Villamarín: el estadio sin nombre" (in Spanish). Marca. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ http://www.lapalanganamecanica.com/2011/08/los-colores-del-real-betis-balompie.html