Betis is already preparing the visit to Barcelona this Saturday at 4:15 p.m., in which it aspires to take another qualitative leap if it is able to beat the dubious team that Xavi Hernández now trains: a victory can boost him to the zone of Champions and, in addition, leave the Verdiblancos, with 30 points already, only four from that Betis trained by Pepe Mel who maintains the club’s record of points in a first round in this 21st century, with the 34 that he did in the first 19 days of the 2012-13 campaign.
Right now, Pellegrini’s team, with its 27 points in 15 games after eight victories, three draws and four defeats, equals the records of the second best Betis of this century, that of Juande Ramos from the 2001-02 season. The difference lies in the fact that that formation, which had just been promoted to the First Division, was supported by its enormous defensive strength: only 8 goals had conceded in 15 games, for the current 18.
That Betis de Juande added only 4 points from the last 12 of the first round to reach the equator with 31, three less than that of Pepe Mel nine seasons ago. Both ended their campaigns in European posts. Even Juande’s arrived in the last two months with well-founded hopes of finishing in Champions League spots, although he ultimately had to settle for the UEFA Cup.
With seven points out of the twelve that remain at stake in the first round against Barcelona away, Real Sociedad at home, Athletic away and Celta at home – not an easy schedule – the Verdiblancos will match the fantastic record of that surprising team of Pepe Mel , in which Rubén Castro was the great offensive reference with Jorge Molina as an effective complement.
The challenge will have the added difficulty of the two week-long matches that Pellegrini’s team must undertake, next Thursday at Celtic Park, in which it will rotate even more than the Chilean usually does, since it will be inconsequential for the final classification of the group, and that of the second round of the Copa del Rey, which is embedded in the calendar between the visit of the Real to Seville and the trip to Bilbao.
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