World Football Club Crests

Viva el Betis manque pierda – ‘Long live Betis even when they lose’. Thus goes the motto of Real Betis, and it says a lot about the club. In 1943, a couple of years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Real Betis crashed out of the top division, not to return for another 15 years. In between, the club spent eight seasons in the Segunda División (the Spanish second division) and seven seasons in the third. The motto comes from this period which, though tough from a footballing point of view, saw Betis become one of Spain’s most popular clubs. Even in the third division their home matches were often sold out and the club’s travelling fans, the marchas verdes (‘green marchers’), were becoming well known.

The club retains loyal support today and Real Betis are always one of the teams with the highest average attendances in Spain. The 2017/17 season was no exception: the club drew average crowds of 46,387, a figure surpassed only by the giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

It is lucky for the green and white club from Seville that the fans keep the faith. How many other supporters would have stuck with a club through all that Real Betis has suffered? Having played nearly half of its total number of seasons outside La Liga, the club has been close to bankruptcy several times. Deals like the acquisition of the dribbling phenomenon Denílson haven’t helped. The Brazilian midfielder was bought in 1998 for around £21.5 million, which made him the world’s most expensive player at the time. Two years later both he and Betis went out of La Liga. To add insult to injury, their local rivals Sevilla have surpassed them since the turn of the millennium. But what does all this matter when supporters turn up anyway?

CLUB: Real Betis Balompié

NICKNAMES: Béticos, Los Verdiblancos (the Green and Whites), El Glorioso (the Glorious), Los Verderones (the Great Green Ones) and Heliopolitanos

FOUNDED: 1907

STADIUM: Benito Villamarín, Seville (60,720 capacity)

HISTORIC PLAYERS: Julio Cardeñosa Rodríguez, Hipólito Rincón, Antonio Prats, Alfonso, Denilson and Joaquín

1907–1914. Real Betis was founded as Sevilla Balompié. Although Balompié means ‘football’, this was an unusual name compared to the word borrowed from English: fútbol. One of the first emblems shows the name of the club inside a belt. Another early variant has the initials painted within a blue circle.

1915–1922 and 1922–1925. After the merger with Betis FC, new crests were designed and the reference to real (‘royal’) meant the inclusion of a crown. After a couple of years the shape of the emblem was changed.

1932–1941. After the Spanish king had been forced to flee in 1931, sports associations were forbidden from using royal symbols, and Real Betis reshaped its emblem. The shield became triangular and the club’s initials were placed in a square at the top. Although the club won their first and so far only league title in 1935 with this crest, it was regarded with widespread scepticism because of the 13 stripes. The number 13 symbolises life, death and change which may be the reason why the club has adopted a number which is otherwise seen as bringing bad luck.

2012–present. In 1941, when football resumed after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the crown returned to the club crest. Since then it has been made smaller and the initials have been placed in a circle as a kind of fusion of the earlier emblems. The name Betis comes from Baetis, the Latin name for the river Guadalquivir, which flows through Seville.

Real Betis broke the world-record transfer fee when they paid £21.5 million for Denilson. Despite the significant investment, Betis were relegated a couple of years later.