Will the real playmaker please stand up?

By: wan | August 27th, 2009

One of the main problems that Betis faced last season was the fact that the team was one dimensional and probably lacked a real playmaker who can control the tempo of the game as well as direct his teammates on the field. So has the problem been solved now for the start of the Segunda season? Let’s examine.

The plans that were planned for Betis all went up in smoke last season when they struggled and ultimately failed to beat the drop. One of the problems identified was that the team lacked a playmaker; in fact I would argue that the team had NO playmaker last season. Not since the days of Asuncao has Betis had a player that was capable of controlling and influencing the play of the team.

For many years, it can be argued that the main channels for Betis’s attacking play came from the wings rather than through the middle and when you have players like Joaquim, that was a sound strategy. However when there is a drop in quality and when your key wingers are plauged by injuries like those that happened to Mark Gonzalez and Odonkor, then you are in a world of trouble.

I suspect Chaparro last year made a tactical error when he tried to shoehorn strikers like Oliveira and Garcia to fill the role on the right hand side instead of using a real out-and-out winger. This made the team lopsided and tactically things began to go awary when Nelson had to fill this role from his rightback position, thus leaving the defense vulnerable.

To give Chaparro his due, I think his intention last season was really to use Mehmet Auerlio as the playmaker from just in front of the defence, just like how he did for Turkey and how Marcos Senna similarly does for Spain. However a loss of form and inability to adapt, plus major injuries rendered Auerlio totally ineffective and thus the plan had to be shelved.

Now in the new season, it appears that Tapia has had a different viewpoint – he intends to employ two players instead of one in front of the defence to use as a base to launch offensive manoeuvres. But with the current set up of the squad, I feel that Tapia may be better off using these two players as his playmakers instead just like the way Iniesta and Xavi operate for Barcelona. Iriney was obviously brought in for that job with his range of passing abilities and if Auerlio can finally find his form, then we may have two players who are capable of controlling the game.

Moreover, Odonkor has been in sparkling form during the preseason and his attacking play could prove to be Betis’s strongest attacking weapon come the new season. And with reinforcements seemingly coming in (e.g. Nacho), the left flank could be covered as well. This will give the team balance and hopefully make it stronger.

I never thought I would arrive at this conclusion but it appears that Betis’s season could lay in the hands of the holy trinity of Iriney, Mehmet Auerlio and David Odonkor.