Seville vs Betis – The real derby of Spanish football for real supporters
For most football supporters the two biggest derbies in Spanish football are El Clasico and El Derbi Madrileno. Ok, maybe not the two biggest, but probably the two that bring the most attention to the football world. Barcelona and Real Madrid (El Clasico) are two biggest clubs in Spanish football for many, many years.
Two clubs with the most money, the most trophies, tons of football stars in their squads, and when you have all of that you simply must be on the cover pages. On the other hand, you have two fierce rivals from Madrid in Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid (El Derbi Madrileno). Maybe ten or fifteen years ago the gap between these two rivals was big and this match doesn't grab attention like nowadays, but now the situation is much different. Atletico became the much stronger team in the last decade and matches with Real Madrid are more entertaining now. But, under the surface, Spain has much more to give to the football fans. These two teams maybe don't have the world stars in their teams, don't have money or trophies like Barcelona and Real Madrid, but this derby is one of the most passionate in Spain.
Two same-city rivals. Green vs Red. Rich vs Poor. This is El Gran Derbi. Seville vs Real Betis.
Seville is the capital and the largest town in autonomous community Andalusia. The population of the town is about 700,000 people and about 5% of that are Seville or Betis season ticket holders. Seville is founded 130 years ago, in 1890, and is 17 years older than Betis who is founded in 1907.
The first derby between them was played on 8th October 1915 and it's won 4-3 by Seville. In history, both clubs have their own success. Seville has one domestic title from 1946 and five Copa del Rey's. In the last 15 years, Seville is probably the most successful club in Europe. They are Europe League experts with six titles in this competition from 2005. Betis also have one domestic title from 1935 and have won Copa del Rey two times. But Los Verdiblancos don't have European success.
Seville is a true football capital. This derby is one of the fiercest in Spain and whenever these two teams are playing together there is a big tension between fans. The opposing fan groups hate each other. The atmosphere is electric, there is a pyro, flags, and most time, especially in the 90s, there is fans fight. One tragic moment from 2007 change that and make both fans more connected. That year Seville's player Antonio Puerta has died from a cardiac arrest suffered on the pitch during the match against Getafe. Players from both clubs united and attend his funeral a couple of days later and from that point violence between fans is much less.
Fans of Betis and Seville not only divide on green and red but on rich and poor. Most of the Betis fans are people from the working class, besides Seville's fans who are from wealthier families.
From the first match in 1915 to today, they play against each other 131 times. Betis have won 38, Seville has almost double victories with 62, and 31 matches ware finished with a draw. Many times in recent history they don't share the same division. Even nine times in the last 30 years they were in different divisions, one of them was in first, another one in second. Season 2000/01 was special because both of them were in Second Division and fight for the first place. Seville grabs it with 80 points, five more than Betis who finished second with 75 points. Only one time during the history they meet in European competition. That wasn't too long. In 2013/14 season draw for Round of 16 in Europe League has merged them and both matches were unbelievable. Betis won away at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán with 2:0, and only need not to lose at home with two goals or more. But, as we said, Seville is a Europe League expert in the last 15 years. In the second match, a week later, Seville won with the same results – 2:0 at Estadio Benito Villamarín and the match goes to penalties. Seville won 4-3 on them, go to quarterfinals and later win competitions with victory over Benfica in the final.
The player with the most appearances in El Gran Derbi is goalkeeper Jose Ramon Esnaola who played 24 times for Betis, and legendary Seville's striker Jose Antonio Reyes is the leading goalscorer with five goals.
A couple of months ago when La Liga publish a calendar for this year's competition, every football fan was looking for dates when will Barcelona and Real meet, or Real and Atletico. But, for true passionate lovers of this beautiful game, the dates which must be rounded off are 3rd January 2021 and 14th March 2021 - the days when El Gran Derbi is going to play.
