The History of Real Betis Balompié
Commonly known as “Los Verdiblancos” or “Verderones”, Real Betis Balompié is a Spanish soccer club which will reach 112 years of existence on September 12th.
Founded in 1907, the team plays in Seville, more precisely in the autonomous community of Andalusia. All the home games are being played at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, which is located in the south of Seville. Although it may not have the astonishing achievements or FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, Real Betis has plenty of loyal fans, which had been close to the team, even during the dark periods.
The beginnings
Its name “Betis” is actually derived from the Roman name for the Guadalquivir river “Baetis” passing through Seville. Founded in 1907, two years after the city rivals Sevilla FC, Real Betis had been a project initiated by students from the local Polytechnic Academy, being recognized since 1909.
In 1932, at the anniversary of 25 years of existence, the club managed to win the Segunda Division title and became the first Andalusia club to play in La Liga. Three years later, with the Irish Coach Patrick O’Connell, Betis reached its highest milestone, by winning the only La Liga title in its history.
Other major achievements of the club had been to win the Copa del Rey twice, in 1977 and 2005.
Recent periods
During the past ten years, the Spanish soccer club had to face serious challenges, but after winning the Segunda Division during the 2014-2015 season, it managed to keep its ground in La Liga. During the past season, it even managed to get past through the UEFA Europa League Group stages, reviving the fans’ enthusiasm that the team can achieve more than it did recently.
Still, the financial instability at the club made the management to take some drastic measures. The former coach had been sacked in June, while more recently, Real Betis had announced a new important sponsorship contract with easyMarkets, a regulated broker operating at a global scale.
Finishing the previous season of La Liga on the tenth place had been a disappointment and now the club starts with much greater expectancies, aiming to reach a European competition once again. Under the lead of Joan Rubi, the former Espanyol coach, and with signings like Emerson and Nabil Fekir, Real Betis must improve its performance and achieve much greater results this year. Challenges lie ahead, but the club is now able to face them.
