Manuel Pellegrini next August will be the first coach in the history of Real Betis who began directing the team for a fourth consecutive season in the First Division, something no one had achieved to date.
The Chilean is the third coach in the history of the Verdiblanco club to have managed three consecutive campaigns in the First Division, something that has so far only been accomplished by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer -in the 1994/95, 95/96 and 96/97 campaigns , after which the Spaniard went to FC Barcelona- and the Irish Patrick O’Connell -in the 1932/33, 33/34 and 34/35 campaigns- went to FC Barcelona after making the Verdiblanco team champion of the League in 1935.
The coach who led Real Betis in the most consecutive seasons was the Hungarian Ferenc Szusza -six, although only four were complete-, who arrived in the middle of 1971/72 and stayed until the eighth day of 1976/ 77. Betis, along with Szusza, were relegated to the Second Division in 1973 and promoted again in 1974, so he only had two full campaigns in the First Division. Pepe Mel did start at Real Betis for four consecutive seasons, from 2010 to 2013, although he did the first in the Second Division and midway through 2013/14 he was dismissed.
The ranking of coaches with the most official matches led in the history of Real Betis is led by Lorenzo Serra (263), followed by Pepe Mel (202), Freenc Szusza (198), Antonio Barrios (176) -he leads him up in three stages- , Patrick O’Connell (160) and Manuel Pellegrini (148), who is the only manager in the history of the Verdiblanco club to qualify the team for European competitions for three consecutive seasons. No coach has done it twice in a row before.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
