Real Betis Balompié's youth academy continues to deliver success, this time at the LaLiga FC Futures tournament in Orlando. The verdiblanco youth team knocked out Real Madrid with a 2-0 victory in the quarter-finals on Saturday 3 October, thanks to goals from Candelá and Javier Secano.
The match, played at 23:30 Spanish time, showed the strength of a generation of players born in 2014 that coach Lucas Ferrer describes as "especially good". Ferrer, who currently works in Seville after stints at the Barça Academy in Hungary and New York, explained that "the playing idea of the green-and-white team is the one they have been demonstrating across the whole club for some time: one based on attacking, direct and personality-driven football".
Alongside the goalscorers, Jesús Heredia and pivot Lucas Bermúdez, a player with strong character despite his short stature, stood out. This international triumph comes at an excellent time for the club, whose first team sits third in La Liga with 16 points from seven games.
In the other quarter-final bracket, Atlético de Madrid, Betis's semi-final opponent, eliminated Barcelona on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with Adrián scoring the decisive spot-kick. The colchonero captain is Pablo. Meanwhile, River Plate thrashed Boca Juniors 4-1 and Flamengo beat Orlando City 3-0, setting up the other semi-final between the Brazilian and Argentine sides.
The semi-final between Betis and Atlético de Madrid is scheduled for Sunday 4 October at 15:45 Spanish time. The third-place match and final will be played at 17:00 and 17:30 respectively. This academy success shows the strength of Betis's sporting project, which aims to compete at the highest level both in the present, with a senior team unbeaten in its last five matches, and in the future.
Read the full report at Mundo Deportivo
