Nelson returns - and how

[Pelusa97]

Why don't we start this recap of last night's game with a little reintroduction to the hero of the hour, Mr Nelson Augusto Tomar Marcos, whom some of you might even have forgotten still existed until this week. Nelson joined Betis from Benfica (aged 25) in August 2008 and over the next two seasons earned himself a reputation as a talented but somewhat inconsistent right-back - not a star exactly, but certainly not the biggest culprit in Betis's relegation and subsequent disappointing first year in Segunda. In the summer of 2010 he was loaned out to Osasuna to offload his hefty salary, and enjoyed such a solid campaign with the Pamplona club that they were all set to make the switch permanent - until he suffered a serious ankle injury in the third-last game of last season.
He came back to Betis to recuperate, and was on the verge of a first-team recall when, at the beginning of December, he was caught by Canal + cameras giving advice to his former coach at Osasuna about the Betis line-up in the Liga game between the two sides. It probably wasn't a serious misdemeanour, but it looked bad and made his life uncomfortable for a day or two. Perhaps because of this, he looked very nervous in his subsequent seasonal debut - in the Copa del Rey against Córdoba - and was widely expected to be loaned out again in the transfer window. But then his father died back in his native Cape Verde Islands around Christmastime and Nelson returned home to help sort things out, which cost him yet more training time and the window opened and closed without a bid.
Which brings us to last night. A succession of unconvincing performance in his position by both Isidoro and Javi Chica gave Pepe Mel little choice but to give him another chance, and I think we can say he took it with both hands. Although uncharacteristically hesitant at times, he caused plenty of problems for the Athletic defence with his pace down the right wing and defended sensibly enough. And what a goal - not just well timed, but requiring no little skill as he had to manoeuvre himself over the bouncing ball and yet still direct it with enough power to beat the keeper.
I think it's true to say there's a lot of goodwill towards Nelson among the Betis faithful - I remember his name being chanted at the end of the 2009/10 season, for instance - and at his best he's a truly exciting player, so let's hope last night's fun helps him refind the form we know he's capable of. He could turn out to be the "signing" that helps turn the season around.
Some more quick notes...
l You've already seen what Pepe Mel had to say, but it's worth pointing out that Athletic coach Marcelo Bielsa had absolutely no complaints. "The victory was deserved, it was fair," he said afterwards. "The fact the winning goal came right at the end is neither here nor there. It could have come at any time. They were better than us."
Bielsa isn't just a good loser, he's also turning this Bilbao side into real contenders. With a bunch of good ball-players in midfield, and the ever-impressive Fernando Llorente leading the forward line, even in defeat they looked a tidy outfit. What's more, I thought they indulged in less time-wasting and play-acting than any visiting side I've seen at the Benito Villamarín lately, even though with a man less for half an hour, 1-1 would have been a respectable result. It's easy to wish them well.
l Talking of Llorente, I must just mention what a great game his marker Paulao had. It's not just that the new Brazilian centre-back is strong and competitive, but also that he somehow radiates calmness - on and off the ball. And how about the little swerve he managed to avoid Nelson's shot? That was absolutely crucial. Kudos to the Betis scouts for finding him.
l Really the only minus point from the evening was a yellow card for Iriney, which will earn him a ban from next weekend's visit to Zaragoza. But assuming Pepe Mel sticks with the same sort of team, Cañas will replace the Betis skipper without too much disruption.
l Have we finally found the tactical recipe to bring out the best in this squad? It certainly looked like it, and there seems no particular reason to change things too much in the next few weeks. If Betis play anything like as well in the next three games - Zaragoza away, Getafe at home and Levante away - as they did last night, they should be well on the way to safety by the time Real Madrid roll into town at the beginning of March.
l I've noticed that almost all the Betis-related websites are now offering galleries of pictures from home games, some of which are really excellent. You can find photos from last night here, here, here, here and here, just for starters.
l Finally, and at the risk of embarrassing her, can I just offer a personal note of thanks to Theresa (somewhere in America) for her enthusiastic commenting in the live threads throughout this season. She captures the attitude of this blog so perfectly that I'm sure I'm not the only person who has a look after every game to see exactly how excited/depressed she got. Theresa, if there were medals for Beticismo I'd be proposing you for the shiniest one available - thanks for all your contributions.
Posted by Adam on Sunday, 12 February 2012 at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What they said

There's a good reason I've never done this sort of thing before - because it feels a bit too much like a Spanish homework exercise - but I thought you might like to see these: clips from post-game interviews with Pepe Mel and Nelson, with rough and ready translations to help you along.

"I'm tremendously proud of the Betis squad. It's been a very difficult week for all of us and I think they've demonstrated that they really are a good professionals, that they really do love this team, and that they can do things well. Sometimes things don't work out and sometimes we make mistakes - that's normal - but the today we found the right path. So I'm very proud of the squad because they've shown that they're with their coach, that they're with their fans and with their club...What we have to do is look beyond the result - and actually the result didn't matter so much as the fact that, I think, against a huge club like Athletic, we were the better side. Taking into account that player for player, including the coach, we're not better than anyone, it's still true that with the intensity we brought to today's game, with that desire, going for every 50:50 ball - with this attitude we can beat anybody. Athletic are the most in-form side in Spain, a team that lots of people look up to, and for us to beat them both in San Mamés and then today - that has to be our reference... We're really happy for [Nelson]. We've been waiting for him with open arms ever since the summer. He's had a lot of problems, including a very serious injury, which is very difficult. With this type injury you first have to overcome your fear and it's been tough for him. On top of that his father died not long ago and he went back to Cape Verde, and missed a couple of months' training, which set back the process. This is a lad that we all admire, who everyone loves, and I've made a bet with him that if he carries on at this level he'll be in the Portugal European Championship squad."

"I know you're not going to believe this but two days ago I dreamt about this. I dreamt about scoring a goal and I even told my team-mates how I was going to celebrate. And I think things worked out perfectly - the dream, the reality - so I'm really happy, for myself, for my team, to get a really important result, so we can go forward with lots of confidence. Ever since I arrived [back] here [the squad] have been great with me, and although I'm not a difficult person to communicate with, they've shown they like me a lot and I also really appreciate the way they've helped me integrate with the group. It's not easy after nine months not playing, but with their trust - and the coach's - everything has worked out well, thank God, so I feel very emotional about everything that's happened today."



Posted by Adam on Sunday, 12 February 2012 at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)


How it happened


Betis 2 Athletic 1 por acosart


Posted by Adam on Sunday, 12 February 2012 at 01:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)


Real Betis 2-1 Athletic Bilbao


Has there been a more complete Betis display this season? On the walk home from the stadium I've been mentally scrolling through the 22 games we've seen since August and I honestly can't think of one. Tonight Pepe Mel's side put in a superb all-round performance - right from the opening minute, with every one of the 14 players contributing - and ran out convincing winners against very decent opposition. We might have had help from a sending off (which was about the only decision the referee got right all evening), and it's true the winning goal was agonisingly late arriving, but there's little doubt this was a thoroughly deserved three points. Betis are headed back in the right direction once again.
Before last week's match in Mallorca, some guys in the bar where I watch away games were joking that it felt like an endless pre-season because Pepe Mel still hadn't finished experimenting with his line-ups. You could possibly have said the same before tonight - except that this time the whole thing clicked nicely into place. With Beñat and Iriney anchoring midfield and Salva Sevilla floating around just ahead of them (ie, not lost on the left like he sometimes is), Betis finally had the right balance of steel and creativity in the centre of the pitch. Upfront, Jefferson Montero (not Jonathan Pereira as had been anticipated) and Rubén Castro worked either side of an energetic Jorge Molina, ably supported on the flanks by Nelson and Nacho. In truth, Nelson still looked some way short of his very best, but his exceptional pace makes him an automatic upgrade on both Isidoro and Chica and even on the evidence of 90 minutes it's clear he's the answer to one of Pepe Mel's more pressing problems.
And so, with round pegs in rounds holes for once, Betis locked into a groove right from the start. And before 10 minutes had passed they'd scored arguably their best goal of the season so far, when a sweeping move started by the magisterial Paulao stepping confidently out of defence ended up with clever interplay between Montero and Molina, which created a half-chance for Rubén that he curled brilliantly past Iraizoz from the left-hand side of the area. Even at that early stage is was no more than Betis deserved.
Athletic tried to wrest back the initiative - and did enough on the ball to show that they'll be serious contenders for fourth place - but were mostly restricted by full-pelt Betis pressing to long shots that Fabricio could deal with easily - at least until some sloppy defending at a 21st minute corner allowed Javi Martínez to head home without even jumping. And if that was annoying, then Jefferson Montero's six-yard shot that slammed against the crossbar just before half-time was positively excruciating. Betis were playing too well to only be drawing.
Happily, for once they managed to maintain their rhythm into the second half. Llorente evaded Paulao just once to bring a good save from Fabricio, but mostly it was the home side who had the upper hand, and when a 63rd minute a foul on substitute Jonathan Pereira earned Javi Martínez a clear seccond yellow card, it seemed only a matter of time before the winner arrived. If anything, however, Betis started to play a little too cautiously at this point, although the chances gradually began to pile up. Rubén should have scored with a shot that Salva Sevilla eventually forced home from an offside position and a looping Beñat short very nearly beat Iraizoz, but even so, by the time the fourth official raised the sign for just two minutes of injury time, we were all preparing to head off into the chilly night with rueful shrugs.
And then a corner was cleared as far as Nelson on the edge of the box, and the Cape Verde Islander, making his first league start for Betis for almost 20 months, cleverly manufactured a low skidding shot that flew into the bottom right-hand corner. It was a very satisfying end to a terrific game of football.
More tomorrow.
Betis: Fabricio; Nelson, Paulao, Dorado, Nacho; Iriney, Beñat, Salva Sevilla (Pozuelo, m. 68); Jefferson Montero (Jonathan Pereira, m. 54), Rubén Castro, Jorge Molina (Santa Cruz, m. 74).
Goals: 1-0, min.10: Rubén Castro. 1-1, min. 22: Javi Martínez; 2-1, min. 90, Nelson

http://oohbetis.typepad.com/balompie/2012/02/index.html