Real Betis - Villarreal

[joaquin17ireland]

Game: Real Betis Balompié - Villarreal Club de Fútbol
Previous Match Thread: Villarreal Club de Fútbol 2-1 Real Betis Balompié
Nicknames: Los Verdiblancos - El Submarino Amarillo
Venue: Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
Competition: La Liga
Round: 25
Date: Sunday 1, March
Time: 20:00 GMT

The view from Real Betis Balompié:

by joaquin17ireland.

Form

So, I'm guessing you've all heard about our trip to Madrid. Well, I'd like to forget that, but it's likely that our confidence will have taken a huge hit and should we go down 0-1 to Villarreal early on then it could be interesting. Weird thing is, we were actually doing well prior to that game. Our last five games, including three away from home, ended with 2 wins, 2 draws and just one loss. 9 goals scored and 6 conceded, so I think we can expect more goals from this game.

Team News

Juanito is still injured but has not yet been ruled out of the game. Sergio Garcia will return having missed out on the trip to Madrid because of the flu. And that's pretty much that. No suspensions or injury concerns - except Edú and Capi who may not be back until the end of March. Odonkor may feature too.

Memories

The last time we beat Villarreal at home was in 2004 when, you guessed it, Oliveira knocked a beautiful brace past Pepe Reina. That record isn't good, well, it's good enough for Villarreal but not us. In 2005 we lost 3-2 in one of the worst refereed games of footballer... ever. One Edú goal disallowed for nothing. One Riquelme re-taken penalty (following a save from Toni Doblas) for nothing. Joaquin sent off for - and this was part of the official referees report - saying, "That wasn't a corner." Yellow card. "You can give me as many yellow cards as you like, it still wasn't a corner." Yellow card. Red card. Then Melli gets, what I remember being a straight red, for disagreeing with the penalty decision. (Granted, Melli may have called his mother a prostitute or he may have said he was going to shit of the referee's dead ones. However, I like to complain.) Oh, and it wasn't a penalty to begin with either.

In 2007 the game ended in stunning fashion. Villarreal had taken the lead on three separate occasions throughout the game but captain Juanito saved the day with an injury time equaliser, to make it 3-3, following a scramble in the box. This game didn't occur at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera due to a certain Coke bottle incident against Sevilla a few weeks earlier. *cough*Juande Ramos faked it*/cough* Instead, it took place at Cartuja, the Olympic stadium in Seville. So, our only good result in the last three years at home wasn't even at home. Last year will be remembered for possibly the goal of the season from Senna. A sensational attempt from the halfway line that glided over Casto with pure precision. We fought hard in that game, but to no avail.

Possible XI

Ricardo - Nelson, Melli, Arzu, Monzon - Aurelio, Juande - Sergio Garcia, Emana, Gonzalez - Ricardo Oliveira

Prediction

Real Betis 3-2 Villarreal

Villarreal will score, but then so will Betis. It'll be another exciting game and maybe some fortune will go our way such as a penalty incident. Ricardo Oliveira scored three goals in two games at home to Villarreal for Betis and I do expect that trend to continue. It's been a long time since Emana has contributed anything so I guess it's only a matter of time. Hopefully Villarreal's Champions League expeditions will help us out in this regard.

[tarteso]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

impressive summary joaquin17ireland. in spain we would say : "te lo has currao"
but ... you really want to see melli and arzu as center backs after the madrid game? i would prefer the starting eleven that played against the other team of our city, with juanito in defense and arzu as midfielder.

let's see if emana recovers in time from his cold, have you heard that he had to go to the hospital even? honestly, i wouldn't mind too much if he can't make it, as his performances have been really pathetic lately. instead, i would go with sergio behind oliveira and juanma or damià as right winger.

by the way... how come you are betis fan? i guess our team colours play a role...

cheers

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

impressive summary joaquin17ireland. in spain we would say : "te lo has currao"
but ... you really want to see melli and arzu as center backs after the madrid game? i would prefer the starting eleven that played against the other team of our city, with juanito in defense and arzu as midfielder.

let's see if emana recovers in time from his cold, have you heard that he had to go to the hospital even? honestly, i wouldn't mind too much if he can't make it, as his performances have been really pathetic lately. instead, i would go with sergio behind oliveira and juanma or damià as right winger.

by the way... how come you are betis fan? i guess our team colours play a role...

cheers

Oh, I didn't know Juanito was back. I thought Arzu and Melli were terrible against Madrid, but Rivas is worse and I think Lima is injured too. That'll be good news if Juanito is back.

In one sense I'm hopeful that Emana recovers, but he has played poorly lately. Sometimes he'll turn a defender and he'll push forward and make us more threatening, but he doesn't shoot or assist any chances. Maybe he needs to refresh himself for a couple of weeks.

I love Sergio Garcia, so I'd play him anywhere. Behind the main striker is really his favourite position, right? I like Damia but it'd be nice to give Juanma a chance on the right-wing. I think it was the Espanyol game where he played brilliantly out there.

Fingers crossed we beat Villarreal. We really do need three points as quickly as possible.

As for being a Betis fan, here's a summary I wrote up on another website.

- - -

Ever since I've followed football my favourite type of footballer has never been the goalscorer, but the winger. The first winger I remember being a fan of (outside of England) was Denilson - having learnt about him through such reputable sources as Match Magazine and Championship Manager 97/98. :specool: I learnt that he moved from Sao Paulo to Betis for then a record fee and I got interested in Betis from here, but never followed them to the extent I do now. Then came my interest in Joaquin as a footballer. Coupled with Denilson I looked into them a little further. I started to properly follow them in the late stages of the 2003-2004 season. A season full of Assuncao classics, and Joaquin and Denilson skills. Good times. From them on I caught them everytime I could on TV, downloaded highlights, followed them through live updates on AS and Marca, got my first Betis shirt in Spain during the summer prior to their Champions League expedition - and eventually got to see them live against Liverpool at Anfield, at the Kop end. (I was buzzing when they drew Liverpool and Chelsea - not so much when Chelsea trounced them 4-0 though. BUT, we did win 1-0 with a Dani goal. Amazing. I stayed up really late one night to watch that on a TV3 repeat. Classic stuff.)

[center]
My picture from the Kop end. You can see Joaquin is the furthest on the right.


Love this video! Especially when the Betis fans burst into "Muscho Betis" at the end, and their appreciation for You'll Never Walk Alone also.[/center]

According to friend, Colm, and I had to go by his answer because I couldn't remember, my first Betis games to see on TV were a 3-2 win over either Deportivo or Sociedad (a game Betis won with two goals in the final 5 minutes), and a 1-1 draw with Barcelona. I can't remember these to save my life but supposedly, according to Colm's strange but often correct footballing memory, I was really into it and celebrating. Back then he had Sky Sports and I didn't. If I had known then what I know now I may have changed my mind as regards my La Liga team, but there will be better times ahead I'm sure. Even when we lose it's worth supporting Real Betis. The eventual highs are worth it.

[Thorgal Aegirsson]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Kewl!. That picture and the Anfield´s Video are amazing!.

On the other side, following the leiv motiv of this post, we must pray because Villarreal have a good coach, very good players and even more. Maybe this match could be decisive in our aspirations; we must win at all cost (for moral and for the 3 points).

[tarteso]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

i get goose bumps when i watch that video...

[Thorgal Aegirsson]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

i get goose bumps when i watch that video...

Lol, me too!.

[alfonsopm11]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

This match is very important to decide if we fight to be up or down.

C'mon to the victory!


I'm Small, i started to follow you
little by little, i fell in love with you
when you play, always be by your side
don't miss me my Betis, i'm never failed you

Oh!Great Song!

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Oh!Great Song!

Do you guys sing that at games?

I know this is a little off-topic, but what chants do you have during the games? I'm thinking of going to a game this year and it'd be nice to know a couple of the songs.

[sueco]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

The video was really cool, especially the last half minute of it.

I also agree to what some of you guys said about emana, the last game against Madrid he looked dead after 3 minutes. Lass totally owned him. But we all now that Emana is a class player and he will do many good things for Betis.

This game against villareal is the end of the difficult matches we've gone through and I would be satisfied with a draw, but of course I hope for 3 points. This game could also be a morale booster and it seems like we would need that and it would be very usefull against the poorer team we are to face.

Just a question does anyone know if it's musho betis or mucho betis? I know that mucho means much but it's that what they are trying to say?

Saludos !

[tarteso]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Just a question does anyone know if it's musho betis or mucho betis? I know that mucho means much but it's that what they are trying to say?

Saludos !

yes, they sing mucho betis, but here in andalusia, we pronounce the "ch" softer... actually we tend to skip the 's' too, so it's rather musho beti.

[beticonoruego]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

The video was really cool, especially the last half minute of it.

I also agree to what some of you guys said about emana, the last game against Madrid he looked dead after 3 minutes. Lass totally owned him. But we all now that Emana is a class player and he will do many good things for Betis.

This game against villareal is the end of the difficult matches we've gone through and I would be satisfied with a draw, but of course I hope for 3 points. This game could also be a morale booster and it seems like we would need that and it would be very usefull against the poorer team we are to face.

Just a question does anyone know if it's musho betis or mucho betis? I know that mucho means much but it's that what they are trying to say?

Saludos !

You can use both.

PD: By the way, are you swedish? If you want I can send you a private message about the mucho betis. Cause Im from Norway and I can express myself much better in norwegian that in English

[beticonoruego]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Oh, I didn't know Juanito was back. I thought Arzu and Melli were terrible against Madrid, but Rivas is worse and I think Lima is injured too. That'll be good news if Juanito is back.

In one sense I'm hopeful that Emana recovers, but he has played poorly lately. Sometimes he'll turn a defender and he'll push forward and make us more threatening, but he doesn't shoot or assist any chances. Maybe he needs to refresh himself for a couple of weeks.

I love Sergio Garcia, so I'd play him anywhere. Behind the main striker is really his favourite position, right? I like Damia but it'd be nice to give Juanma a chance on the right-wing. I think it was the Espanyol game where he played brilliantly out there.

Fingers crossed we beat Villarreal. We really do need three points as quickly as possible.

As for being a Betis fan, here's a summary I wrote up on another website.

- - -

Ever since I've followed football my favourite type of footballer has never been the goalscorer, but the winger. The first winger I remember being a fan of (outside of England) was Denilson - having learnt about him through such reputable sources as Match Magazine and Championship Manager 97/98. :specool: I learnt that he moved from Sao Paulo to Betis for then a record fee and I got interested in Betis from here, but never followed them to the extent I do now. Then came my interest in Joaquin as a footballer. Coupled with Denilson I looked into them a little further. I started to properly follow them in the late stages of the 2003-2004 season. A season full of Assuncao classics, and Joaquin and Denilson skills. Good times. From them on I caught them everytime I could on TV, downloaded highlights, followed them through live updates on AS and Marca, got my first Betis shirt in Spain during the summer prior to their Champions League expedition - and eventually got to see them live against Liverpool at Anfield, at the Kop end. (I was buzzing when they drew Liverpool and Chelsea - not so much when Chelsea trounced them 4-0 though. BUT, we did win 1-0 with a Dani goal. Amazing. I stayed up really late one night to watch that on a TV3 repeat. Classic stuff.)

[CENTER]
My picture from the Kop end. You can see Joaquin is the furthest on the right.


Love this video! Especially when the Betis fans burst into "Muscho Betis" at the end, and their appreciation for You'll Never Walk Alone also.[/CENTER]

According to friend, Colm, and I had to go by his answer because I couldn't remember, my first Betis games to see on TV were a 3-2 win over either Deportivo or Sociedad (a game Betis won with two goals in the final 5 minutes), and a 1-1 draw with Barcelona. I can't remember these to save my life but supposedly, according to Colm's strange but often correct footballing memory, I was really into it and celebrating. Back then he had Sky Sports and I didn't. If I had known then what I know now I may have changed my mind as regards my La Liga team, but there will be better times ahead I'm sure. Even when we lose it's worth supporting Real Betis. The eventual highs are worth it.

Great video.

When it comes to the match we need the 3 points, to get out of the bottom as fast as possible.

[sueco]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

You can use both.

PD: By the way, are you swedish? If you want I can send you a private message about the mucho betis. Cause Im from Norway and I can express myself much better in norwegian that in English

Yeah i'm from sweden

Tarteso up there answered the question pretty good, but if you have something to add to what he said, feel free to pm me !

Can't wait to saturday!

[joaquin17ireland]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Fantastic effort again by our side. Sergio Garcia had a splendid game and Oliveira is priceless. We had enough chances to secure all three points but the right back was worth it for the fans. Hopefully not that our hard patch of games is over we can go from strength to strength.

[Thorgal Aegirsson]

Respuesta: Real Betis - Villarreal

Fantastic effort again by our side. Sergio Garcia had a splendid game and Oliveira is priceless. We had enough chances to secure all three points but the right back was worth it for the fans. Hopefully not that our hard patch of games is over we can go from strength to strength.

Yep. Indeed, all the team, in general, have fighted until the end of the match. That is the good way to climbing onto higher positions.