Real Betis-Real Sociedad: Two of LaLiga’s finest prepare for preseason finale

LaLiga‘s Summer Tour brings to an end a busy preseason for some of Spain‘s elite clubs. The series concludes Saturday at Oracle Park, when Atletico de Madrid will battle Sevilla FC and Real Betis will play Real Sociedad at the home of Major League Baseball‘s San Francisco Giants.

Before the game on Saturday, Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini and La Real counterpart Imanol Alguacil spoke to the media deep within Oracle Park, and a player accompanied each coach for the press conferences – right-back Hector Bellerin joined Pellegrini, while center-back Robin Le Normand sat alongside Alguacil.

La Real hope to end preseason in a good rhythm

UEFA Champions League football returns to San Sebastian this season after a 10-year absence. Real Sociedad finished fourth in LaLiga EA Sports a season ago, and fans are anxious to see what the Txuri-Urdin — Copa del Rey winners in 2020 — can accomplish next.

Many expect former Real Madrid playmaker Take Kubo to lead the way for La Real this season, especially in light of David Silva‘s surprise retirement. The 22-year-old scored nine goals last year and is poised to take another step in his development this coming season.

“Take not only last year, but before that showed his capacity, talent and quality. Last year he had a great season, but we are not just going to find that out now, because he has a lot of talent,” Alguacil told the media. “And apart from that, he is a worker, he likes football, lives for football, and he’s adapted very well. He works a lot and he has grown.”

Le Normand, who has established himself as one of the top center-backs in Spain in recent years, was pleased with the “visibility” that the summer tour has provided La Real. But he’s looking forward to the new Champions League challenge come September.

“We have been playing European competitions for three years, in the end it will be high-level matches every three days. I think that we have been getting used to that rhythm over the years,” he said. “This year, it will be one more step. It will be taking care of ourselves as usual, as we do every year, before each game, rest as much as possible and try to give our best performance in each game.”

Pellegrini’s preseason focus is on process, not results

The 2023/24 campaign will see Real Betis compete in the UEFA Europa League for the third season running. For Manuel Pellegrini, that shows the process is working — and preseason success is not necessarily a predictor of a strong season.

“I have always said it, in the preseason the results are important but they are not the objective,” Pellegrini said Friday. “We have tried to give a similar load of minutes to everyone in the squad. Tomorrow, we will see what the starting 11 is, we will try to manage it.”

Meanwhile, Bellerin — who rejoined Betis this summer after spending last season at FC Barcelona and Sporting Clube de Portugal — spoke glowingly of the talent coming to Major League Soccer and said the American top flight is becoming a stronger competition.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve played (in the United States), we’ve always been received well, and we had some lovely days in Mexico,” Bellerin said. “Many Spanish players are coming here (like) Riqui Puig. And now with Leo Messi‘s signing, Busi (Sergio Busquets) and (Jordi) Alba, this league is gaining a lot of strength.”