Will the Real Betis fire sale happen?

 

Roar Pro

By David V., 8 Aug 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro

Tagged:

 football, La Liga, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, Real Betis, World Football

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The catastrophic relegation of a talented Real Betis side at the end of last season fuelled growing anger among their vast legions of support, calling for the removal of club owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

Inevitably, there were some player departures, but most of the squad has stayed.

Stalwart defender Juanito, a tough player who was part of Spain’s triumphant Euro 2008 squad, joined Atletico Madrid. Brazilian winger/forward Edu has been released – though everyone will agree he was better value for money than his countryman Denilson ever was.

Indeed, the Denilson debacle can be cited as what went wrong – a player who never lived up to the hype that came with his world record fee.

Players like Arzu, Capi and David Rivas are still around, as are Emana, Juanma and Mehmet Aurelio.

This may surprise some, maybe less surprising to others who expect them to form the nucleus of a side that should bounce back. It also leads us to question whether the Betis fire sale will ever take place, assuming Premiership and La Liga clubs are willing to pick players up.

Nobody can blame Betis fans for being restless.

Enormous sums of money have been spent over fifteen years, and while this has brought some success, it has also brought two relegations, the most recent of which drew inevitable comparisons to that of Newcastle United.

One hopes they’ll have an easier time getting back up. Just like the last time.

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