Real Betis won the league title in1935 and theCopa del Rey in1977,2005 and2022. Given the club's tumultuous history and many relegations, its motto is¡Viva el Betis manque pierda! (Long live Betis even though they lose!).[5]
The name "Betis" is derived fromBaetis, the Roman name for theGuadalquivir river which passes through Seville and which the Roman province there was named after.Real ('Royal') was added in 1914 after the club received patronage from KingAlfonso XIII.
Real Betis, 25 December 1913The grounds of the Estadio de la Exposición (now Benito Villamarín) in 1929
Betis' city rivalsSevilla were the first club in Seville, founded in October 1905, while a second club,España Balompié were established in September 1907. "Balompié" translates literally as "football", as opposed to the most commonly adopted anglicised version, "fútbol". Balompié was founded by students from the local Polytechnic Academy, and were in operation for one year before being officially recognised in 1909 asSevilla Balompié; despite this, 1907 remains the official foundation date of the club.
Following an internal split from Sevilla FC, another club was formed, Betis Football Club. In 1914, they merged with Sevilla Balompié. The club received its royal patronage in the same year, and therefore adopted the nameReal Betis Balompié. Fans continued to refer to the club asBalompié and were themselves known asLos Balompedistas until the 1930s, whenBetis and the adjectiveBéticos became common terminology when discussing the club and its followers.
Real Betis originally played in all blue jerseys and white shorts, for no other reason than the easy availability of such plain colours.[citation needed] However, one of the club's founders and team captain, Manuel Ramos Asensio, was keen to take advantage of his relationships made while studying in Scotland, contactedCeltic (whose green and white colours matched the Andalusian regional flag) and obtained the same fabric to make kits for his own club. Ramos had the lines re-orientated from horizontal 'hoops' into vertical stripes to make the shirts (no other Spanish club used the combination at the time). There is no mention of Celtic or Scotland in the history of Betis on the club's official website,[6] but in 2017 the club officially acknowledged the link by producing a special hooped kit to coincide withAndalusia Day.[7] The blue colour is still often used in away kit designs.[8]
On 28 April 1935, under the guidance of Irish coachPatrick O'Connell, Betis wonLa Liga, to date their only top division title. They topped the table by a single point overMadrid FC. A year later Betis went down toseventh. This was due to the dismantling of the championship-winning team because of the club's poor economic situation and the arrival of the Civil War, meaning that just 15 months after winning the league title only two players who won in 1935 were left: Peral and Saro. No official league was held during the Civil War between 1936 and 1939, until its resumption for the 1939–40 season and the first year back highlighted Betis' decline as exactly five years after winning the title the club wasrelegated.
Despite a briefreturn to the top division which lasted only one season, the club continued to decline and in 1947 an all-time low was reached when the club were relegated toTercera División. Many fans see the ten years they spent in the category as key to the "identity" and "soul" of the club. During this time, Betis earned a reputation for filling its stadium and having massive support at away matches, known as the "Green March".[citation needed]
When the side returned to the second level in 1954, it gained the distinction of being the only club in Spain to have won all three major divisions' titles. Much of the credit for guiding Betis through this dark period and back into theSegunda lies with chairman Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez.
In 1955, Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez stepped down from running the club believing he could not offer further economic growth, he was replaced by Betis most famous former president, Benito Villamarín. During his reign Betis returned to the top division in1958–59 and finished in third place in1964. His purchase of theEstadio Heliópolis in 1961 is seen as a key point in the history of the club – the grounds were named after him asEstadio Benito Villamarín. In 1965, Villamarín stepped down from his position after ten years at the helm of the club.
Just one year after Villamarín's departure, the club would again be relegated to division two, then rising and falling almost consecutively until consolidating their place in the top level in1974–75.
First Copa del Rey Title and European Qualification
The following year, Betis returned to the top flight and ushered in a period of "good times" for the club, with the next three seasons seeing three top-six finishes, as well asUEFA Cup qualification in1982 and1984.
Chart of Real Betis league performance 1929–present
In 1992, Betis found itself subject to new league rules and regulations due to its restructuring as an autonomous sporting group (SAD), requiring the club to come up with 1,200 millionpesetas, roughly double that of all the first and second division teams, despite being in level two at the time.
In just three months, the fans raised 400 million pesetas with then vice-presidentManuel Ruiz de Lopera stepping in to provide an economic guarantee while himself becoming majority shareholder as the team narrowly avoided relegation.
On 11 September 1994, Real Betis played its 1,000th game in La Liga.
Incidentally,Barça was the club Serra Ferrer would leave Betis for that summer, to be replaced by former playerLuis Aragonés. Aragonés would only lastone season with the club, leading the side to the eighth position and tothe quarter-finals in the Cup Winners' Cup, where they would lose 2–5 on aggregate to eventual winnersChelsea.
Ramos was gone after just one season, however, being replaced by former Cup Winners' Cup-winning managerVíctor Fernández. He led the team toeighth andninth in the league and thethird round of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, being knocked out byAuxerre (1–2 on aggregate), during his two-year reign.
For 2004, Fernández was replaced by the returning Serra Ferrer, who guided the team to thefourth position in the top flight. They also returned to the Vicente Calderón on 11 June 2005 for theCopa del Rey final, lifting the trophy for only the second time after an extra-time winner by youth graduateDani in a2–1 win againstOsasuna.
The league finish meant Betis became the first Andalusian team to compete in theUEFA Champions League, and it reachedthe group stage after disposing ofMonaco in the last qualifying round (3–2 on aggregate). Drawn in Group G, and in spite of a 1–0 home win against Chelsea,[11] the club eventually finished third, being "demoted" to theUEFA Cup, where it would be ousted in theround of 16 by Romanian clubSteaua București with a 0–3 home loss.[12] Compared to the previous season, theleague campaign was disappointing, with the club finishing in 14th place, just three points off the relegation zone.
Betis celebrated theircentenary year in 2007. The festivities included a special match against Milan, thereigning European Champions, on August 9, with the hosts winning 1–0 thanks to aMark Gonzálezpenalty early in the second half. Seven days later, the club won theRamón de Carranza Trophy held in neighbouringCádiz, beatingReal Zaragoza on penalties in the final, having defeated Real Madrid in the semi-finals.[13]
Surrounding the celebration, it was a time of great change in terms of the playing and technical teams, with eight new signings replacing 14 departures. In the summer of 2006, Serra Ferrer was replaced byLuis Fernandez for the2006–07 season. However, the two seasons that encompassed the centenary year (2006–07 and2007–08) were disappointing, with the club having four different managers and barely avoiding relegation in both seasons.[14]
After many years of staving off relegation, Betis'2008–09 season culminated with a 1–1 draw againstReal Valladolid at home. As a result, the club finished 18th in the table and consequently was relegated to the second division on goal difference.[15]
On 15 June 2009 over 65,000Beticos, including icons such asRafael Gordillo, Del Sol,Hipólito Rincón,Julio Cardeñosa and others, joined the protest march in Sevilla with the slogan "15-J Yo Voy Betis" to let the majority owner Ruiz de Lopera know that it was time to put his 54% share of the club on the market for someone, some entity or the Betis supporters to buy those shares and remove Lopera from the day-to-day operations of the club.
Despite the protests, no upper management changes were made duringthe season, which would ultimately see Betis fail to gain promotion back to the top level.[16]
Seville judge Mercedes Alaya was investigating links between Betis and other Ruiz de Lopera-owned businesses, leading to him being formally charged with fraud. On 7 July 2010, one week before the start of preliminary court proceedings, Lopera sold 94% of the shares that he owned (51% of Betis total shares) to Bitton Sport, fronted by Luis Oliver, for the surprisingly low figure of €16 million, leaving Lopera with only minor shares; Oliver had already reportedly taken two football clubs,Cartagena andXerez, to the brink of bankruptcy.[17]
Before the sale could be officially sanctioned, however, Ayala froze Lopera shareholdings. Left with nothing, despite putting down a €1 million deposit, Oliver hastily bought a nominal number of shares from a third party and was voted onto the board of directors by the existing members (all former cohorts of Lopera), allowing him to carry on running the club. In response to this, the judge appointed well-respected former Betis, Real Madrid and Spain national team legendRafael Gordillo to administer Lopera's shares to ensure Lopera was not still running the club and that decisions made were for the benefit of the club not individual board members.[18]
Deportivo de La Coruña vs. BetisCaptainJoaquín before an away Europa League fixture in Saint Petersburg in February 2022
Again underPepe Mel, Betis started2011–12 with four wins in as many games, withRubén Castro retaining his goal scoring form fromthe previous season, where he scored 27 goals. Betis finished 13th in their first season since returning to La Liga.
In the2017–18 season, underQuique Setién, Betis finished sixth in La Liga and earned a spot in the Europa League. The 2018–19 campaign was very positive; the club reached theCopa del Rey semi-finals and topped their group in the Europa League, before eventually being knocked out byStade Rennais in theround of 32.
On 9 July 2020,Manuel Pellegrini was appointed as Betis manager ahead of the 2020–21 season. Pellegrini guided Betis to a sixth-place finish and a Europa League spot, an improvement since the previous season (2019–20) which saw Betis finish 15th.
On 23 April 2022 Betis won theCopa del Rey final againstValencia after drawing 1–1 after 120 minutes and winning 5–4 on penalties. It was the first trophy after 17 years, since they won their secondCopa del Rey on 2005 againstOsasuna (2–1).
The club displayed consistency under Pellegrini's management by qualifying for theUEFA Europa League for three consecutive seasons, finishing fifth and sixth in the2021-22 and2022-23 seasons, respectively. The club qualified for theConference League after a seventh-place finish in2023-24 season and reached the club's first ever European final thefollowing season. However, theylost toChelsea 1-4.
Betis have a long-standing rivalry with city neighboursSevilla FC.[5] The two have met 114 times in official competition, with Sevilla holding a 45% win ratio over Betis (31%).
The first match between the two clubs took place on 8 February 1915, with Sevilla winning 4–3. The match was not completed, as high tensions led an aggressive crowd to invade the pitch, forcing thereferee to abandon the match.
In 1916, the firstCopa Andalucía was held, this being the first official derby of the Sevilla area. Of the 17 runnings of the cup, Sevilla were victorious 14 times, to Betis' one sole conquest; this included a 22–0 routing after the latter sent their youth team, in 1918.
The first time the teams met in league, inSegunda, happened in 1928–29, with both teams winning their home matches (3–0 and 2–1). They played for the first time in the Spanish top division during the 1934–35 season, with a 0–3 home defeat for Sevilla and a 2–2 draw at Betis, with the latter winning the national championship.
On 17 January 1943, Betis lost 5–0 at Sevilla, eventually being relegated. In the first game held at theRamón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, on 21 September 1958, theVerdiblancos won it 4–2.
In later years, several matches were also marred by violence, including: a security guard attacked by a Sevilla fan with a crutch (that he did not require to walk), BetisgoalkeeperToni Prats being attacked and Sevilla manager Juande Ramos being struck by a bottle of water;[22] the latter incident led to the2007 Copa del Rey match being suspended, being played out three weeks later inGetafe with no spectators.
On 7 February 2009 Betis won 2–1 at the Pizjuán, but was eventually relegated from the top flight, while Sevilla finished in third position.
On 9 November 2019 more than 10,000 Betis fans visited the team training before the last derby in 2019.[23]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Board members: José Montoro Pizarro, Tomás Solano Franco, Ernesto Sanguino Gómez, José Maria Pagola Serra, Adrián Fernández Romero, María Victoria López Sánchez, Rafael Salas Garcia, Ramón Alarcón Rubiales, Cayetano García de la Borbolla Carrero[25]
Upon Real Betis' formation, the club played at the Campo del Huerto de Mariana. In 1909, Betis moved to the Campo del Prado de Santa Justa, moving to the Campo del Prado de San Sebastián, sharing the site with rivals Sevilla two years later. In 1918, Real Betis moved to theCampo del Patronato Obrero, with the first game at the ground coming against rivals Sevilla on 1 November 1918, resulting in a 5–1 loss for Real Betis. During the 1920s, the ground was redeveloped numerous times by club presidentIgnacio Sánchez Mejías. After the construction of the Estadio de la Exposición, the former name of Betis' current home, in 1929, Real Betis moved into the site officially in 1936, after playing a number of games at the stadium since its construction.[28]
With a 60,720-seat capacity, theEstadio Benito Villamarín is the home ground of Real Betis. It was namedEstadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera during the 2000s after the club's owner, who decided to build a new stadium over the old one.
Despite much planning, the stadium's renovation plans were constantly postponed, and half of it remained unchanged. On 27 October 2010, it returned to its first denomination after a decision by the club's associates.[29]
Due to a major renovation on Estadio Benito Villamarín, Real Betis will play their home matches atEstadio de La Cartuja from the2025-26 season until 2028.[30]
Betis' green-and-white vertically striped shirts are based on those worn byCeltic when an early player was studying in Scotland.
In its initial years, Sevilla Balompié dressed in blue shirts with white shorts, which represented the infantry at the time. From late 1911, the team had adopted the shirts ofCeltic,[31] at that time vertical stripes of green and white, that were brought over fromGlasgow by Manuel Asensio Ramos, who had studied inScotland as a child. On 28 February 2017, on the 37thAndalusia Day, Real Betis wore Celtic-inspired hoops againstMálaga CF.[32]
When the team became Real Betis Balompié in 1914, various kits were used, including: yellow and black stripes; green T-shirts and a reversion to the blue top and white shorts uniform. By the end of the 1920s, Betis was once again sporting green and white stripes, around this time the Assembly of Ronda (1918) saw the Andalusian region formally adopt these colours, not being known how much the two are linked.
Since then, this remained Betis' shirt, despite several versions (including wider stripes).
Together with the basic green-and-white shirt, Betis has wore both black and green shorts in addition to white shorts.[33]
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