Best of the Segunda

By: wan | September 21st, 2009

Even the backroom uncertainties (the situation with Emana for example) and the usual antics of Lopera (his treatment of Lima is a joke) could not disguise the fact that Real Betis are proving themselves to be the class of the Segunda Division.

For any Betis fan, this has to be the best news so far and it is all credit to Tapia that he has managed to forge a close-knit side that refuses to allow things happening off the field to affect things taking place on it. For a while, it looked like Betis was going to fall into the Frankensteinian trap they faced last season – one where their attacking proficiency could not make up for their disjointed defensive weaknesses. Despite the efforts of some fans to defend the state of the team’s defence, it was becoming all too familiar. There is no excuse for not being able to defend properly – unlike flair and talent, this is something that can be achieved through organisation, hard work and just pure concentration.

Thus kudos have to be given to the coach for the subtle changes that he has made that has allowed for the team’s play to flourish. As I have mentioned previously, one of Betis’s biggest weakness was that the flanks were often left too exposed when both the wingers and the full backs bomb forward.

To solve this, Tapia has chosen to sacrifice style for substance, introducing Nacho and Juanma with the instructions for them to tuck in closer to the middle. This strengthens the midfield (almost to the point of having a flat four strung across the field) and gives space for the full backs to attack knowing that there is defensive cover should the attack break down. To do this well, the two wingers would need to be more disciplined and backtrack constantly – and in this area, Juanma and Nacho are stronger than Caffa and Odonkor.

Even at full back, a subtle change of Daima for Nelson on the right has worked out perfectly for Tapia. Nelson is obviously the more talented player but Daima offers greater size and strength plus a less adventurous streak moving forward. Added together, this has given the whole team a more solid base from which to base their attacking play.

The other change that Tapia has done is to deploy Garcia in the hole behind Pavone and he has blossomed into that role. With a mobile big man now as the decoy and occupying the attention of defenders, Garcia has been able to exploit the space and time he has been given to great effect, with his vision and creativity coming to the fore. This has also allowed him to drift in more a deeper position to catch defenders off-guard. To date, this partnership has accounted for 7 of the 11 goals that Betis have scored (Garcia 4, Pavone 3). The 11 also makes Betis the highest scoring team in the Segunda by far.

Even the injury to Garcia in the last game against Albacete may have a silver lining to it…while I have made my stand on Emana clear, there are no doubts that he is a good player when put in the right position and asked to do just what he is good at. By playing him in a semi-attacking role, he can put his attacking instincts to good use while Tapia can exploit his goalscoring abilities. This way his lack of discipline and unwillingness to play defense will not become a liability as there are more than enough players covering behind him.

Truly, Tapia’s 4-2-3-1 (or more accurately 4-2-2-1-1) seems very differnt from the 4-2-3-1 that Chaparro used last season (which was more like a 4-3-3). The evolution does not seem to have cost the team attacking-wise and this can only bode well for the coming months ahead.

Viva Betis!!!