Sevilla-Betis

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Clashes like these are usually heated, passionate, and most of all, extremely exciting. This weekend should be no different, as both Sevilla and Betis are in need of some points to get their seasons back on track.

Stuttering Sevilla

After a couple of weeks of some shaky form, Sevilla come fresh out of a 2-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, placing them in a solid position for the away leg.

While things might be going well in the Spanish Cup, the same cannot be said about their performances in the Primera Division. Manolo Jimenez's men have been terrible lately, succumbing to an embarrassing defeat against minnows Sporting Gijon, which was preceded by another humiliating loss against Racing Santander, in front of their own fans.

The Spanish press have suggested that the lack of transfer activity is the cause for the Rojiblancos' recent decline, while others believe that at this point of the season, Jimenez has begun to falter tactically and is not able to get his men to reproduce their impressive early-season form.

Despite their poor performances, Sevilla are in third place, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

The fact that direct rivals Valencia, Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid have all slipped up as well means that Sevilla still retain their position, but have little breathing space as they are one point above Valencia, and a massive six points behind Real Madrid.

Whatever the issue, Jimenez must pull his men together and find the solution, before he finds himself in a seat that gets hotter and tighter as each week comes by.

Betis Blues

The same can be said for Betis. After crashing out of the Copa del Rey at the hands of Mallorca, Betis have had their fair share of troubles in the league.

Last week's horrific display against Getafe, which saw Betis fall to a draw after holding a two goal advantage, demonstrates the need for a powerful and reliable centre-back to stabilise the defence.

16th place is hardly a position that suits Betis, as they are considered to be one of the top-half teams, but coach Paco Chaparro's have been poor and his men are looking less and less inspired as the gruelling season wears on.

Betis haven't beaten their cross-town rivals in almost three years now, but another loss could mean that the Verdiblancos hover a dangerous two points above the relegation zone, a prospect that Chaparro will have to avoid at all costs.

FORM GUIDE

Sevilla

Feb 4 Sevilla 2-1 Athletic Bilbao (Copa del Rey)

Feb 1 Sporting Gijon 1-0 Sevilla (La Liga)

Jan 29 Sevilla 2-1 Valencia (Copa del Rey)

Jan 25 Sevilla 0-2 Racing Santander (La Liga)

Jan 21 Valencia 3-2 Sevilla (Copa del Rey)

Real Betis

Feb 01 Betis 2-2 Getafe (La Liga)

Jan 22 Mallorca 1-0 Betis (Copa del Rey)

Jan 18 Valladolid 1-3 Betis (La Liga)

Jan 4 Betis 1-0 Real Unión (Copa del Rey)

Jan 18 Betis 1-2 Malaga (La Liga)




TEAM NEWS

Sevilla

Manolo Jimenez should make no changes to the side that beat Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Striker Luis Fabiano is yet to return to full fitness, which means Kanoute could partner with either Chevanton or Renato up front.

Star pair Diego Capel and Jesus Navas have impressed in recent weeks and should retain their places across the flanks. Otherwise, giagantic midfielder Romaric will be thrown into the centre in an attempt to block down any Betis attacks.

Probable Line-Up (4-4-2): Palop – Mosquera, Squillaci, Escude, Navarro – Navas, Duscher, Romaric, Capel – Renato, Kanoute

Real Betis

Paco Chaparro will be without Mariano Pavone, who suffered a serious injury a couple of weeks back. Capi is out for the rest of the season with a broken leg and will be in the stands for this game.

Edu and Nelsón are yet to return to the squad full-time and will probably make appearances coming off the bench. New signing Ricardo Olivera could be given a run for his money, but that's up to Chaparro.

Probable Starting XI (4-3-3) - Ricardo - Ilic, Juanito, Rivas, Vega - Arzu, Aurelio, Rivera - Olivera, Xisco, Sergio García

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sevilla - Jesus Navas is in excellent form and has found a very positive amount of playing time this season. His ability to beat full-backs and create open play means that he will be the direct threat for Sevilla throughout.

Real Betis - New signing Ricardo Olivera could make his Betis debut, and will want to make it a memorable one for that matter. Getting on the scoresheet would be the best way to kick-off his new start with a bang.

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

I predict a shock win for Betis.

Sevilla-Betis 1-2

Vamos Betis!!

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

This game is going to be really, really tough but I'm confident we'll pull a surprise and maybe sneak a win or a draw.

[Puma Rodriguez]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Win or die.

No excuses tonight.

[Anfield]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

We have not won since 1996, now we have a good chance with players as Mehmet, Oliveira or Sergio Garcia but is a hard job.

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Spanish Inquisition: Sevilla & Betis - A Bit Of Healthy Competition

This is the most heated of derbies, the Sevilla versus Real Betis clash.

Around the rest of the world, this weekend marks another typically exciting round of Primera Division football, but this Saturday, in Spain, the atmosphere is distinctly charged. The bars are getting ready. Extra bottles of Rioja will be uncorked for another round of Calimochos, a Spanish drink consisting of 50 per cent red wine and 50 per cent Coca Cola (after a few tentative sips, it becomes much better than it sounds), and a few more links of ******* will come up from the cellar. Saturday night will be packed to the hilt for a match few in Spain miss. Ask any Spaniard to choose between Barca and Real Madrid and, without a moment’s hesitation, you will have an answer. The same is the case for Sevilla Futbol Club and Real Betis Balompie.

Behind El Clasico, the Seville derby is the most anticipated in Spain. The Andalusian capital is inevitably consumed by one of the most rabid and violent rivalries in sport - riots are not uncommon. In Spain, as this column has explicitly discussed, football is married to the country’s politics and culture, but unlike the well-known historical background and bad blood between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the root of the civil unrest among the citizens of Seville remains relatively enigmatic. It is, however, no less venomous.

“¡Sevilla arriba, comiendo palomitas! ¡Betis abajo, comiendo escarabajos!” —Sevilla above, eating popcorn! Betis below, eating beetles!— The chant rises up over the din of schoolchildren playing a pickup match of football at recess. From an early age, when children across the whole of Spain divide themselves into teams, the sides often split into Sevilla and Betis. In Seville, the rivalry starts at an even younger age, as some particularly zealous fans will register their yet-unborn children for club membership, either as Sevillistas or Beticos. As these children grow to become adolescents, the relatively innocuous playground chants become far more vulgar with certain words emphasised by gestures that effectively drive the point home a bit further.

The rivalry continues to be just as pervasive in the adult world, to the point that it taints trade and commerce. It is not uncommon for taxi drivers who are hinchas (fans) of one team to refuse to drive to the other club’s stadium. The workweek after the match is marred by bouts as the winning team’s fans heckle their unfortunate counterparts in the office; some ardent supporters do not even bother to go to work on the following Monday. In 1999, the city of Seville built a brand new 50,000-seat stadium for the World Track and Field Championships, intending that Sevilla and Betis could eventually come to share the same pitch, but both clubs refused, remaining true to their traditions and staying in their own relatively outdated stadiums on opposite sides of the city. More recently, in the year 2000, Betis President Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, who single-handedly brought the club out of a financial tailspin in the early 90s, opted to build a new stadium over the old one (the structure just so happens to be named after the local businessman).

Unlike the well-hashed-out underpinnings of the Madrid - Barca rivalry, the roots of the deep-seated derision in Seville are far more obscure. Sevilla Futbol Club was founded in 1905 by Spanish aristocracy, but all was not well in the fledgling club’s boardroom. Two years later, in a row over the refusal to sign a player who came from a poor socioeconomic background, two directors of the club decided to break away and founded Betis Futbol Club. Naturally, Betis FC attracted the working classes and took on a left-wing reputation (a liberal reputation it retains to this day), but curiously enough, the club also gained the support of the then King of Spain, Alfonso XIII. Thus, when Betis FC merged with another club, Sevilla Balompie, in 1914, the club adopted the prefix ‘Real’ (royal) to become Real Betis Balompie. For much of the 20th century, Sevilla was the much wealthier and established club, but such economic disparities do not adhere to modern times.

Like Real Madrid and Barcelona, Sevilla and Betis seem to have an inverse relationship - that is to say, when one side experiences success, the other finds itself in the footballing doldrums. This only tends to add fuel to the already sweltering inferno, as the team doing well in a given year is always eager to rub salt in the unsuccessful team’s wounds, while the underachiever is given extra motivation to rain on the successful team’s parade. A win for either side is tantamount to winning La Liga. In terms of actually winning La Liga, Betis have only won La Primera once in their history, in 1935, just as civil war began to grip Spain. Similarly, Sevilla’s only La Liga title came 11 years later in 1946. Sevilla have faced abject humiliation from their southern counterparts by being demoted to the second flight twice in the late 90s, but in 2000, both Betis and Sevilla were forced to swallow the bitter pill of relegation, only to earn promotion to the top flight the following year.

In recent years, Sevilla’s success in the Copa del Rey and on the European stage in the UEFA Cup has taken the rivalry to new heights and, regrettably, violence has stained the derby. Few have forgotten the brutal botellazo - the glass bottle that was thrown by a Betis fan that struck then-Sevilla coach Juande Ramos in the head, knocking him unconscious. Some joke that Ramos sustained a bump so severe, he was concussed into believing he could manage a Premier League team. A ‘healthy’ rivalry, indeed.

But the unfortunate (although admittedly, too frequent) outbreaks of violence aside, the Seville derby is a uniquely spirited rivalry in Spain. During the 10-months of La Liga, football becomes a lifestyle and the passion becomes palpable. In a strange way, the Sevilla-Betis duality creates a unified sense of community as fans that share the same city share an equally ardent love for the game. Beneath all the heckling, lies an underlying sense of respect as supporters of both teams cordially tolerate each other’s presence, rubbing shoulders on the buses and, as Seville’s subterranean mass transit system becomes operational, packed together on the metro. In a truly beautiful instance of irony, the people are pulled together around a common and fervent sense of identity - a balanced yin and yang, each unable to exist without other. However, readers take heed; for the peaceful metaphor, as this columnist quickly learned, football does not make for a good topic of conversation to strike up with the barbers of Seville.

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Real Betis can beat Sevilla - Rivera

The Real Betis midfielder believes that in the derby there will not be a favourite.
Alberto Rivera was in a determined mood as he spoke about his side's chances in the Sevilla derby this weekend.

Real Betis come into the match as undoubted underdogs, but in typical derby fashion, Rivera does not believe there is a favourite.

"We always go out to win, and besides, I do not believe, at all, that we have a worse team than Sevilla," he told Marca.

"In derbies there are rarely favourites, and this is not an exception."

Earlier in the week Javier Chevanton declared that his side were a few levels above Betis, but Rivera disagreed today, saying his side can "play a great game and win".

"In reference to the team, I do not envy anyone of Sevilla, although it is true that in the results there is a difference," he mused.

Rivera could well start against Sevilla in the match, which takes place on Saturday evening, and with his contract running out this year, it could be his last derby game.

However, he says that he is not thinking about that yet, and is only focused on the encounter this weekend.

"My priority is the game on Saturday, later I will think about Betis and June 30 and nothing else. Then I will see," he concluded.

Due to heavy storms in Sevilla, Betis were forced to carry out training on astroturf today, but hopefully the pitch at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan will be better than it was in the Copa Del Rey last night.

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Official:

Sevilla side:
Palop - Mosquera, Squillaci, Escude, Navarro - Duscher, Romaric, Navas, Capel - Acosta, Kanoute

Betis side:
Ricardo - Nelson, Juanito, Melli, Vega - Arzu, Aurelio - Sergio Garcia, Emana, Gonzalez - Oliveira

[gui]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Melli is dangerous.

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Sevilla 1-2 Real Betis



:D

[gui]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

Oliveira is back

[Urchail]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

And the winner is... Real Betis Balompié!!!!

Saludos.
Urchail.

[Verdiblanco de Holanda]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

YESSSSSSSSSSS 1-2 Beeeeeeeeeetissssss

Garcia and Oliveira

Welcome home Oliveira in the Betis family

[beticonoruego]

Respuesta: Sevilla-Betis

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES, we won, 1-2 and Goliveira is back