Dawn of A New Age

By: wan | July 9th, 2009

The reality of life as a second class citizen in the Spanish League is both harsh and brutal and as Real Zaragoza has shown, there is no guarantee of an immediate return to the big time just because you were once a “big club”. (In 1995, Zaragoza were UEFA Cup champions and even just 5 years ago, they won the Copa Del Rey). Despite their pedigree, Zaragoza needed two seasons to make their return to La Liga.

So for those who believe Lopera’s words that “Betis will be the Real Madrid of the Segunda Division” had better splash themselves with cold water and wake up fast.

Since our relegation, a whole list of players have either made their intentions clear to leave for greener pastures or have been targeted by clubs all over Europe. Assuming that all of them leave (and there is no reason why financially as well as morally we should bind them to what Arzu’s agent has called “an impossible situation”), we could potentially lose almost 80% of our first team squard.

Shocked? Leme list down how this could possibly pan out

Ricardo – Portuguese goalkeeper made surplus to requirements

Monzon – Argentine on-loan has returned to Boca Juniors

Juanito – Veteran defender has already signed for Atletico Madrid

Arzu – Target of fans’ ire and not expected to stay

Emana – Betis’ best player last season and target for Bundesliga clubs and PSG

Mehmet Aurelio – Major disappointment and surplus to requirements

David Odonkor – Major disappointment and long rumoured to leave this season

Mark Pavone – Expressed desire to move back to Argentina with San Lorenzo or River Plate

Mark Gonzalez – Clause in contract that allows him to leave if club is relegated – Olympiakos?

Ricardo Oliveira – Attracting attention from Lazio and Arsenal

Sergio Garcia – Betis’s only remaining Spanish international – no lack of suitors

That is just a short list of those that I know are attracting attention from buyers; we haven’t even taken into account of those whom Betis would want to drop or get rid of. So to expect a stroll to the title and a triumphant return to La Liga is really nothing but a pipe dream. So is there no hope at all?

I have taken the liberty to do a short analysis of how the Betis team would look like in the new season assuming that all of the above mentioned players are transferred out. And while it make take a while to get used to it, I am suggesting that perhaps the future is not as bleak as once thought.

For a start, I believe that we now have the right man in charge – Antonio Tapia looks like a quiet, distinguished coach who has shown in the past an amazing ability to mould a team together without sacrificing their attacking instincts. From all the research that I have done, it seems that Tapia is a convert to the traditional 4-2-3-1 formation, sometimes morphing it into a 4-3-3 if his team is on the ascendency. Despite being an open-minded coach, Tapia also has a realistic streak that recognises the need sometimes to put results before style; thus he is no stranger to having his players move back into a 4-5-1 if necessary. His Malaga team last season was a great example of a team that managed to fuse an attacking sensibility with pragmatic discipline.

This is already a huge improvement on the last season where the team could only line up in a 4-3-3 formation with an all-out attacking style even when it was obvious that they were (1) overmatched, or (2) taking unnecessary risks.

Additionally, for the first time, it looks like the team building process has been well thought through – rather than buying players based on reputation or to create media buzz, it seems like players are now brought in to be part of a bigger picture, to fit into holes that may appear. For now, it looks like the following players have already been brought in: Inaki Goitia (gk), Carlos Garcia (df), Iriney (dm), and Sunny (dm). Additionally it appears that South African duo – striker Bernard Parker and defender Nasief Morris – are also on their radar.

Assuming that these are the only players coming in this season, potentially this could be the new Betis team: Goitia; Vega, Garcia, Lima, Nelson; Iriney, Sunny; Xisco, Capi, Daima; Segura.

Tapia has already mentioned that he wants Iriney to form a defensive foundation through the middle together with the defensive pairing that will feature Garcia as the main pillar replacing Juanito. With Betis still in the market for another central defender, whoever coming in will likely compete with Lima for the other position.

Now that the team has Iriney’s passing ability and distribution, the movement of balls out of defense is expected to be much smoother and hopefully cut out the wasteful habit of hitting aimless long balls that were a main feature of last season. In midfield, the combative Sunny is expected to take over Emana’s role while Capi will resume his duties to prompt the Betis attack.

With the future of all the Betis strikers still up in the air, I have a feeling that Deigo Segura will be given his chance in the first team. He has impressed whenever given the chance and should the likes of Garcia, Oliveira and Pavone leave the fort, he will get the chance to shine. It is likely though that Betis will try to bring in another more established striker to compete for the starting job but in any case, the pressure to get goals will be on regardless of who the main frontman may be.

It is interesting that Daima has become a lot more vocal and seems to have taken on a leadership role since the club’s demise. Rather than hearing from more established players, Daima seems to have taken it upon himself to represent the players and this development can only be a positive move. I have always been supportive of his hardworking style and believe that this season is his chance to shine. Finally on the other flank, I think Xisco should be given his chance – Betis could certainly do with his speed and skills in this new formation.

So in final analysis, the potential new team seems to be a solid, compact and hardworking unit that may not be as swashbuckling as last season, but they definitely look better equipped for the battle ahead. This is just one Betis fan’s projection of course. I would gladly like to hear from any other Betis fans out there on what they think the new team should be.