Impossible to look away from Gran Derbi

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This article was published 14/01/2022 (1666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, at least outside the country and certainly the city — and that’s a pity.

Because the Derbi Sevillano, or Gran Derbi, just happens to be one of world football’s best rivalry matches, and progression to the next round of the Copa del Rey will be hotly contested on Saturday when Sevilla make the three-mile journey south — about a 25-minute bus ride — to face Real Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Given the positions of the Andalusian pair in La Liga, this showdown will be even more colourful, deafening, and ferocious than usual.

Through 20 rounds, or slightly more than half the campaign, both Betis and Sevilla are in the top three, and both will also dispute the knock-out portion of the Europa League, which begins next month. (Incidentally, Sevilla’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan will host the final on May 18.)

It’s not always like this. In fact, it’s become quite rare for El Gran Derbi to feature teams that happen to be very good at precisely the same time.

Not that it matters.

This, after all, is an enmity that goes back more than a century and continues to expose a fissure that most fans, most people, would find familiar.

Situated in the posh Nervion neighbourhood, Sevilla trace their roots to British mining personnel and the Andalusian elite. Betis, on the other hand, play in the rather more hardscrabble environs of Heliopolis and were formed to represent the working classes — to directly oppose Sevilla.

It’s a social divide seen time and again, here there and everywhere in world football — from River Plate-Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires to Partizan-Red Star in Belgrade. One way or another, everyone can identify. And when identity is what makes the split to create a rivalry, well, you get the explosion that is El Derbi Sevillano.

And while Saturday’s showdown will be capped at 75 per cent capacity, owing to the pandemic, the 26,250 in attendance will raise a ruckus worth 10 times their number.

Real Betis will be looking to imitate that intensity.

Bookended by a 2-0 loss at home to Celta Vigo and a disappointing draw at Rayo Vallecano, a 3-0 triumph at Valladolid in the previous round of the Copa del Rey remains the sole win for Los Verdiblancos in 2022. They could use a shift in momentum, and a run of seven wins from nine in the Spanish top flight between October and December shows what they can do when they get it.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini has his side pressing aggressively and attacking directly. Winger Juanmi is among La Liga’s goal-scoring leaders, with playmaker Nabil Fekir and one of Cristian Tello, Diego Lainez and Sergio Canales alongside, strikers Willian Jose and Borja Iglesias are rarely without service.

It’s on the defensive side of the ball that Betis tend to struggle, as their 24 goals conceded — the second-most in the top half of the table — demonstrate.

Sevilla, meanwhile, have the best defensive record in La Liga and are genuine title contenders because of it. Should they win their game in hand, they’ll be just two points back of leaders Real Madrid.

That said, Los Rojiblancos have a hard time finding the back of the net. They haven’t scored more than twice in a match since late October and have done so just three times this term in all competitions. Their game-scores read like binary code.

But good luck scoring on them.

Central defender Jules Kounde is one of the most coveted players in Europe, and former Manchester City midfielder Fernando provides a reliable screen in front of he and Diego Carlos. Joan Jordan and Ivan Rakitic complete one of the best midfields in Spain. Lucas Ocampos and Papu Gomez stretch the field. Only Barcelona keep the ball more. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid pass it more efficiently.

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In other words, Sevilla will be looking for any Betis mistake on Saturday, probing for openings. And Betis will want to create turnovers and counterattack with speed. It should be a fascinating strategical battle, but tactics and systems tend to go out the window in the fiercest of confrontations.

And that’s what Saturday’s Gran Derbi will be. It’s what it’s always been.

Real Betis-Sevilla has never been only about the football. But amidst the societal friction and duelling histrionics, football happens. And it’s impossible to look away.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter @JerradPeters