REAL BETIS HIRE CLUB'S LEADING GOALSCORER RUBÉN CASTRO
AS PLAYER/COACH

Following Real Betis' 2013/14 disappointing 20th place finish relegating them back down into League Adelante they have decided to promote 33 year old striker Rubén Castro to the role of Head Coach following the short term rein of Gabriel Calderòn.

Castro has been at the Estadio Benito Villamarín since 2010 making 158 appearances thus far scoring 82 goals in that time. He recently told the Media how happy he is to be trusted with this role and looks forward to getting the club back into the top flight to compete with the best Spanish football has to offer. He also ensured the fans that he had the ability to lead the team to success both on and off the field.

Supporters are expressing mixed feelings over this appointment, with a number of them concerned the club have not hired a more experienced man for the job. Others do not believe he will be able handle the stressful situation of being a player-manager. However others are very pleased at having one of their favorites, who knows the club and its methods, in charge. We will see how this decision turns out in the future and if Castro will make major changes to the club.

Ooh good start! Good luck, love a Spanish story.

2015-01-08 10:59#205691 ManchesterRed : Ooh good start! Good luck, love a Spanish story.

Thanks, hope you enjoy it!

Preseason and Transfers

Real Betis did not have the best of seasons last year having been relegated from LIGA BBVA meaning their transfer budget is very restrictive. A positive for them is their ability to hold onto a large number of their players from last season. Even though last season was very disappointing head coach Castro claims that the players have the ability to be successful when playing in the right system. A few players are reported to have asked to leave to play at a higher level, but Castro has been able to get them to stay (at least for now).

Betis has only brought in 2 players in this transfer window, both of whom will be primarily used as cover in case of injuries. Joseph Yobo, the former Nigerian international, has joined on a free transfer having played the majority of his career at Everton and Fenebahce.


Betis' only other signing is former Barca youngster Spaniard Edu Campabadal on loan from Cordoba. Campabadal is a right back who will provide cover for Francisco Molinero, who recently joined Betis himself from Murcia.

PRESEASON

Betis' only tough preseason match came against Udinese in which they managed to win 4-2. Betis also won against Coria 4-1, Santa Andreu 8-0, and Huracan Valencia 3-1, while drawing against Sevilla Athletico 2-2.





Despite not being one Castro's signings, Betis' Preseason MVP is a new player, having left Osasuna on a free transfer this summer. In the 5 preseason games the right winger scored 4 goals and had 4 assists leading the team to success. Betis will be hoping he can continue this form into the regular season and become one of their stars.

PLAYER/COACH PROVIDES THE DIFFERNCE FOR REAL BETIS IN SEASON OPENER

During the opening match of the season, Real Betis traveled to Sabadell, who since their promotion to this division in 2010 have improved every season finishing in 10th last year. After a tight match in which Betis had narrowly edged out in possession and chances created, Rubèn Castro decided to enter the game himself in the 70th minute. In the 89th Minute he proved his quality by scoring the game winner during his first official match in charge. In a press conference afterwards, he expressed his delight with his team's performance, but was quick to add that much work was ahead if the season was to be successful.

CASTRO IN CHARGE!

Rubèn Castro has shown his ability to lead on and off the pitch by scoring both goals in Real Betis' 2-0 win over Numancia to end August with 2 wins out of 2. Betis' supporters are relieved to see that Castro's on field form has not suffered from his new role. Betis did not concede a single goal in their first two games, while Castro has scored all 3 of their own. The next few months will show if Castro can continue this early season form on and off the pitch.

Good start to the season, good luck on promotion this year!

SEPTEMBER IN BETIS

Ponferradina 1-0 Real Betis
LIGA adelante
Real Betis started out September with a disappointing away performance against Ponferradina. Castro's men came out of the gate slow and were on the back foot the entire first half. They conceded what would be the only goal of the game in the 38th minute. Although the second half was slightly better from Betis, they never looked like scoring and it was a day to forget for the green and whites.

Alcorcón 0-3 Real Betis
Spanish cup second round
Betis rebounded from their first defeat of the season to win their Spanish Cup game against fellow LIGA adelante side Alcorón 3-0. 25 year old Italian striker Vincenzo Rennella stole the show with his hat trick. Castro's Real Betis will face Osasuna in the 3rd round on October 15th.


Real Betis 5-1 Albacete
LIGA adelante
Real Betis returned to league action with a 5-1 win with Player/Coach Rubén Castro scoring a hat trick, with others goals coming from the Spanish Cup hat trick hero Rennella. Substitute Dani Pachecho came on to replace Castro in the 82nd minute. Castro received a standing ovation from the Betis supporters and 5 minutes later Pachecho added his name to the score sheet. Albacete's Iker Hernandez gave a small positive for his side in the 86th minute on what was not a result Albacete fans will want to remember.

Girona 1-0 Real Betis
LIGA adelante
Girona managed to grab a shock win against Real Betis, Despite Betis' domination of the game, Grona scored a free kick in the 38th minute and parked the bus in the second half. Betis' job was not made any easier by Edu Campabadal's red card in the 66th minute. The game ended with Betis having 57 percent possession and 22 shots compared to Ginona's 8.

Real Betis 2-0 Mirandes
LIGA adelante
Real Betis returned home to the Estadio Benito Villamarín to beat Mirandes
2-0, with goals coming from Lorenzo Reyes and player/coach Rubén Castro in the 6th and 59th minutes respectively. Mirandes never looked like winning. Frustration set in in the 76th minute when Alvaro Corral lashed out and was sent off. Real Betis ended September with 3 wins and 2 loses putting them in 2nd place behind Las Palmas.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

RUBÉN CASTRO
The player coach continued his early season form in September scoring in each of Betis' wins. Castro is currently the league's top goal scorer with 7 league goals this season.

Great start with Betis, mate! Keep up that home form and you should get promoted!

OCTOBER IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Valladolid 5-5 Real Betis
LIGA adelante
October Started off with a game that will be remember for a long time. Vallodolid were slightly favored to win and showed that in the first half scoring 4 goals before half time. Rubén Castro must have said some angered, but inspired words to his team at halftime and within 2 minutes of the restart he sparked the comeback himself with a goal from the spot. Xavi torres and Vincenzo Rennella completed the comeback to level the scores at 4-4. Within 10 minutes of each other both sides had one of their central defenders sent off leaving both sides with 10 men. Real Betis thought they had made the comeback even sweeter with central midfielder Lorenzo Reyes scoring what they believed as the winner. However with both sets of players starting to cramp up the game opened up and Valladolid equalized just 4 minutes later.


Real Betis 1-0 Las Palmas
LIGA adelante
This fixture pitted league leaders Las Palmas against 4th place Real Betis. This tight affair was decided in the 74th following a change of formation from Betis from their changed 4-3-3 to their more familiar 4-4-2 following an injury to midfielder Matilla in the 72nd minute. The tactical change from Castro, which saw him enter the game had an immediate impact with the Italian Vincenzo Rennella scoring just 2 minutes later. Las Palmas did all they could to equalize, but the green and whites' defense held strong to secure victory.

Carlos Delgado 1-5 Real Betis
LIGA adelante
Real Betis outclass Carlos Delgado in dominating win. Rubén Castro continues to show his on field ability with 3 goals in the 1st half with his strike partner Rennella also getting on the score sheet. Center back Jordi Figuras also scored from a corner in the dying minutes of the game. Castro decided to not play in the second half and sent on Jorge Molina on in his place, giving him time to concentrate on his managerial duties. This win makes it 4 games undefeated for Real Betis.

Rubén Castro shines with his first half hat trick against Carlos Delgado. His second goal is shown above.

Osasuna 2-1 Real Betis
Spanish Cup round 3
Real Betis fans will be disapointed after dominating the majorityt of the game and taking the lead in the 63rd minute. A lapse in concentration allowed Osasuna to equalize a few minutes later. Late in the game after making all their substitutions Jordi Figueras picked up and injury leaving Betis a man down for extra time. After the match it was repoted that he pulled his hamstribg snd will be out for around a month. While continuing to create chances in extra time the Betis players grew increasing tired and the man advantage for Osasuna showed in the 120th minute when Fernando Rubio scored a controversial game winner in the dying seconds of extra time. The Real Betis players sprinted towards the Assistant Referee with complaints of offside, but the referee was having none of it and Josheph Yobo recived a yellow card for dissent. Figueras' injury is the only major injury apart from right back Francisco Molinero, who's knee tendinitis keeping him out for the rest of the calender year.

Real Betis 1-0 Recreativo
LIGA adelante
Jorge Molina's 93rd Minute game winner brings joy to Betis fans. After a closely contested match that looked like it was going to end goalless Betis player/coach Rubén Castro left the field to be replaced by Jorge Molina. Molina scored in the dying seconds of the game showing fans that Castro's coaching ability is as great as his on the field. Betis finishes October in 2nd place 5 points behind Mallorca in 1st. Betis fans seem to have jumped onto the Castro bandwagon and have faith he can lead them back into the top flight.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Italian Striker Vincenzo Rennella has been named as Real Betis' Player of the Month scoring 4 goals and providing 2 assists. Renella has formed a lethal partnership with his manger up top with the two of them combining for 19 goals in all competitions this season.

Undefeated, but not all smiles in Betis

Real Betis started November with 3 straight league draws.

Osasuna 1-1 Real Betis
Real Betis 1-1 Barca B
Real Betis 2-2 Alaves

It has been an uninspiring first half of the month at the Estadio Benito Villamarín with fans hoping to see their team return to winning ways following their 1-1 draw with Osasuna the previous week, but being disappointed by two more ties against Barcelona's B team and promotion contenders Alaves. Castro was openly questioned for his team's lapses of concentration which has cost them several points so far this season. He responded by agreeing that it was an issue that needed to be worked on, but that it wasn't something that he had too many worries about fixing.

Doubt is starting to creep into the minds of Betis fans, and a poor result against Zaragoza, who had not won in 7 league matches, could have fans seriously questioning Castro's coaching ability. They currently sit at the bottom of the play-off places in 6th, however only 4 points currently separate them from 2nd.

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Relief for Lethal Betis!

Zaragoza 1-7 Real Betis
Zaragoza were helpless as Rubin Castro showed critics what his team can do. The game started out looking like Castro could be out of a job soon with Zaragoza scoring from a corner in the 3rd minute. Castro decided to take control of the game and scored the equalizer in the 10th minute and assisting Cejudo's goal just 2 minutes later. Castro then added his 2nd goal of the game in the 36th minute giving Betis a 3-1 lead at halftime. Betis started the second half just as they had ended the first and Torres scored in the 50th minute from a superb assist by Castro. 7 minute later Castro would score his hat-trick in style with a left footed volley just inside the box. With the win intact Castro left the field to a standing ovation from the small set of away fans in the corner of the stadium. Center back Bruno and Italian striker Rennella would go on to each get a goal of their own before the night ended. Betis seem to have recovered from their slight dip in form, and Castro continues to show his class.

Betis closed out the month with a routine victory at bottom of the table Llagostera, who have to be credited with a strong defensive performance that was only broken down once, by Vadillo's 21st minute strike. Betis have ended the month in 3rd place, trailing Las Palmas and Mallorca by a single point. Betis play host to Mallorca in their next match, which could seem them rise into 1st if Las Palmas don't win their match.

Termoil in Betis

Inside sources from Betis have reported that a few of the players are unhappy with Rubin Castro's un-kept promise to give Alfred N'Diaye more playing time. N'Diaye has only made 6 appearances this season, with all but one coming from the bench. It is unclear how big of an issue this is, but N'Diaye may be leaving The Estadio Benito Villamarin in January, when the Transfer window opens. N'Diaye spent last season on loan from Sunderland and joined this past summer, however he does not seem to be fitting into Castro's plans.

With one of the most important times of the season coming up Castro will need to do something to ensure that his players keep their faith in him. Castro will be helped out by the fact that he knows the majority of these players on a more personal level than most managers do now adays.

Wow! That result away against Zaragoza is impressive! Keep up the good work and you'll back in the top flight in no time

Ending the year strongly

It was a short month for Betis with the winter break coming at the end of the month. Here are how the matches went.

Real Betis 4-0 Mallorca

Betis showed their class by dominating fellow promotion candidates Mallorca 4-0. Castro's possession oriented style of play seems to be working wonders so far this season, with this victory temporarily putting them in first, at least until Las Palmas play in 3 days time. Xavi Torres controlled the game from his role in the heart of midfield, scoring 2 goals and setting up Cejudo's goal. The leagues leading goal scorer and Betis player/coach scored from the spot as well ensuring victory.

Xavi Torres in action against Mallorca


Lugo 2-1 Real Betis

Betis suffered their first league defeat since the end of September against Lugo. Betis did take the lead through Rennella in the 9th minute and the neither side created a threatening chance the rest of the first half. Betis came out during the second half flat and complacent and were punished for it. Lola equalized for Lugo in the 50th minute and again in the 86th minute to win it for the home side.

Real Betis 3-1 Racing

Real Betis finished out 2014 with a victory against Racing putting them top of the league going into January. Ruben Castro once again stole the show after Racing took an earlier lead through Javi Soria. Castro's equalizer came in the 41st minute with a poachers effort 6 yards out. He added with 2 penalties in the 45th and 62nd minute.

Player of the Month

Rubin Castro is Real Betis' Player of the Month with 4 goals, including the game winners in both their wins. Castro remains LIGA adelante's top scorer with 19 goals and has lead the team to success with his coaching and playing abilities.

New Year, Same Betis

Alcoron 0-3 Real Betis
Cejudo 19
Castro 37
Pacheco 50
Betis returned to league action with a 3-0 away win at Alcoron. Cejudo who leads the league in assists, starting off the scoring with a fantastic strike from just inside the box in the 19th minute. Castro scored his 20th goal of the season in the 37th minute ensuring the lead going into half time. In his first start since November left winger Dani Pacheco scored his second goal of the season, ending the rout for Casto's men in the 50th minute.

Real Betis 2-2 Tenerife
Ruben Castro 6, 11

After taking an early lead through Ruben Castro it looked like Betis would cruise to another victory. Tenerife were however not prepared to give up without a fight, and showed great resilience to score two late goals, stunning the home fans. The pulled back to within one goal of leveling the match in the 63rd minute. Tenerife continued to push for the equalizer and found it in stunning fashion in the dying seconds of the stoppage time. It seems that Betis' lapses in concentration are still there, which could be concerning next season if they do achieve promotion.

Real Betis 0-0 Sporting

A drab match in which neither team could break the other down. Betis had the majoity of the chances but the sporting defense held strong, while when Sporting did counter they were wasteful with their chances. Betis will have thought they should have won the match, but should at least be satisfied with the clean sheet.

Summer Signing Leaves!

Nigerian Joseph Yobo joined Betis this past summer as cover, however he has found a way into the squad only featuring in 2 matches at his time in Spain. There was also a reported fall out with Ruben Castro, forcing Castro to move him on.
Yobo has joined Dutch side Utrecht for 100k Euros.
This departure will give Castro some funds to reinvest in new signings, or improved contracts for his players, with a large number of their contracts coming to an end this summer.

Real Betis 2-1 C.E. Sabadell
Chuli 25
Rennella 45+1
Casto decided to rotate the squad with many of the players needing a rest, with only 3 main starters featuring. Chuli will be hoping that his performance will earn him more playing time in the future, scoring in the 25th minute. In the dying seconds of the first half Italian striker Rennella scored his 11th goal of the season. Sabadell midfielder managed to give his side some hope with a goal in the 80th minute, but were not able to produce anything else in the last 10 minutes. This win means that Betis move into second place just a point behind Las Palmas.

Player of the Month

Xavi Torres

The minefield man has been the pivot in Betis' undefeated month despite not scoring or assisting. He is one of the most underrated players in the league and has finally received some of the recognition he deserves