An Offseason of Discontent

By: wan | August 27th, 2009

It has been a trying few weeks as a Betis fan with all the backroom shenanigans that have been taking place completely overshadowing what happens on the playing field. The worst would be the fact that even until today, there is still no certainty as to who are the players that are going to make up the squad for this season. From last season’s team, Juanito (A Madrid), Edu (Internacional), Lima (Flamengo), Mark Gonzalez (CSKA Moscow), Oliveira (Al Jazira) have all gone while the status of Emana, Sergio Garcia and Arzu remains unresolved.

It is no wonder that coach Antonio Tapia has not been able to fashion a compact team and warned that it will only be in December that the team will finally come together as a unit. We can only hope that the gap from the top will not be too far for Betis to chase and that the amount of natural talents remaining in the squad is enough to get by for the first few matches.

It truly is a joke that Tapia has not been given the players that he has asked for with only 4 new arrivals that don’t really improve on what he has already inherited. As one of the prominent dailies have explained, the current composition of the team with three goalkeepers and only two forwards, four right backs and one left-back, countless defensive midfielders and one playmaker, it’s a joke to expect Tapia to do miracles.

Interestingly one other major daily has gone on to do an analysis of the squad, which I feel would be worthwhile to examine. The views expressed below are a combination of my own opinions plus those from the column.

Goalkeeper: It was obvious with the signing of Goitia that he would be the first choice keeper come opening day and that Ricardo would be surplus to requirements. So it was with considerable surprise that Lopera decided to bring him back after he looked like joining Las Palmas. Now Betis has the most overpaid third choice keeper in the whole division. Add to that the fact that Casto has been in excellent form in the friendlies and we now have a potential player conflict on our hand.

Defense: This is the weakest department in the whole team and the problems that plagued Betis last season remains evident. There has only been one new arrival (Carlos Garcia) with one departure (Lima), while other redundant players like Ilic still remains. Nelson has been plagued with injury problems while the likes of Rivas, Nano and Oscar Lopez have not been playing regularly for the last two seasons. Melli and Fernando Vega offer continuity but the former has been largely ineffective while there is no real substitute for the latter. Nacho looks like coming in before the transfer window closes and will provide the cover that Tapia desperately needs. Another option could be to move players like Arzu and Damia to the back and also to throw in loyal foot soldiers like Alex Ortiz and Toni but question marks remain whether the solution would work.

Midfield: The standout player this season could be Arzu who has demonstrated some versatility in shifting between defence and midfield. New signings like Iriney and Sunny only strengthens what already is a crowded defensive midfield zone. It seems that with Tapia’s preference for the 4-2-3-1 formation that the likes of Juande and Capi will have to fight for a place in the attacking unit.

Attack: Another area of the team made complicated by transfer rumours. It is no secret that Sergio Garcia and Pavone have both asked to leave in the past but it looks like they will both start the season in Andalucia. Tapia had not expected to count on Xisco and Odonkor but the German has been a real standout during the friendlies and appears to have played himself back into the team. There is no real threat on the left since Gonzalez left, with only Xisco and Caffa being left-sided players but ultimately Nacho could be the answer to Tapia’s problems. Juanma has gone off the boil in recent seasons but looks in much better shape during the pre-season matches and could be a factor as well.

Oliveira was Tapia’s favourite player and the person that he wanted to lead the line but with him gone, the whole attack could hinge on the form of Garcia. The problem with Garcia is that his cerebral qualities are most effective playing off with a centre forward and that means Tapia would be forced into playing Pavone in attack, with Garcia just behind him. Whether this is the ideal tactic for his formation remains to be seen but it looks like this pairing will be the striking duo expected to fire Betis back to the La Liga come opening day.