Real Betis have finished sixth and they return to the Europa League for the first time since 2013/14.
They are a club with an ambitious project, with new directors brought in last summer, with significant money invested in last summer’s transfer window, and with Quique Setien having been hired from Las Palmas. Known for his attractive and possession-based style, it was a major coup for Real Betis to land Setien and it has paid off.
It did, though, take some time for Setien’s methods to take hold and to be successful. By the Christmas break, Real Betis were in 14th place and had already been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second division side Cadiz. There was even talk of Real Betis considering firing Setien, but they stuck with him and brought in a top-class centre-back to help Setien with the team’s defensive issues in the January window, with Marc Bartra arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
With Bartra anchoring a back three, Real Betis were much more balanced and much better in defence and they even put a run of six consecutive clean sheets together through March and April, with five of those matches won and with the other being a draw away at Atletico Madrid. This propelled them up the table and saw them finish in sixth place, earning Europa League qualification.
The future is very bright for Real Betis, who are clearly a team on the up. Setien now knows his squad and they know what he wants; they have completed the remodelling of their stadium and they boast one of the best atmospheres in the division and they are expected to bring in some new players in the summer from smaller LaLiga clubs.
