A Good Start but Nothing more…

By: wan | August 30th, 2009

Finally! After weeks of speculations, and in general a spate of bad news, the focus has finally returned to purely what happens on the field and in that regards, Betis’s 3-0 win over Cordoba is as resounding as it can be under the prevailing circumstances.

Not to put down what was an accomplished and, as it turns out, confident display but a win against a side whose main focus is to remain in Segunda really isn’t that much to crow about. Thus I would reserve judgement on what can be drawn from just a single match.

What can be said though is that Antonio Tapia is the perfect coach for Betis – I never thought I would be saying this – but his clam demeanour and even-tempered personality coupled with an insistence on distancing himself from issues such as transfer speculations and backroom politics mean that he has thus far been able to rise above the dark clouds that have been surrounding the club.

Another great thing that he has done has been to up the fitness level of the players and his determination to get back to the basics of team building is starting to pay off. Betis was nervous to start off during this game but once the first goal went in, they started to play like what many have already annointed them to be – the favourites for the Segunda title.

This was the line-up that started the game: Goitia; Damia, Carlos Garcia, Melli, Fernando Vega; Juande, Sunny; Juanma, Sergio Garcia, Odonkor and Pavone. Both Juanma and Pavone were complete departures from their own pale selves last season, combining to score the first with Pavone involved in all three goals. (The others were scored by substitute Caffa and Sergio Garcia). Both Juande and Sunny were full of running, dominating the middle of the field while Tapia pulled off a masterstroke by playing Sergio Garcia as the defacto attacking midfielder/cum playmaker of the team.

In my last post, I discussed about the frustrating situation of Betis being a team without a conventional playmaker and wondered if that could have been the source of all their troubles. Based on this one match (and I must admit that this is only one game), it seems that Garcia may be the answer to all the troubles. Looking like a class act throughout the game, Garcia seems happier to have left behind the confined spaces of the penalty box and the physical battles with the defenders. Liberted with space and time, he was able to link between midfield and attack, as well as use his vision to maximum effect. While it seems premature, if Garcia can be convinced to stay, I dare say Betis looks certs for promotion back to La Liga next season.

Which brings me to my most important point – with two days still to go before the end of the transfer window and knowing how Betis functions – there may still be more movements before an accurate analysis can be made of the squad and its potential.

And again in this we can see the genius of Tapia at work – knowing the players who have been attracting the most speculation and interest, the coach has wisely chose to build and rely on players that he can be fairly certain who will be staying with the club (even during friendlies). This has allowed for some form of understanding and momentum to be built. Like I mentioned, the only question mark revolves around the future of Garcia.

In my opinion, I fully expect Emana (Bolton), Arzu (Zaragoza), and Ricardo (unknown) to leave the club meaning that at least half of last season’s first team has already been sold. (Edu, Gonzalez, Oliviera and Juanito are the rest). Thus this is going to be a brand-new team and hopefully they will have a brand new attitude and work ethic instilled by Tapia.

Having said that, class as the saying goes is permanent, and if Garcia leaves then we are truly heading for the unknown – I for one will not be so optimistic to believe that promotion is automatic. Ironical as it seems, Betis’s season hinges on what happens when it strikes 12 on 2 Sept. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best…