When the leaders of La Liga announce the schedule of matches for the next season at the beginning of July, most football fans will first look in the calendar for the date of the “El Clasico.” Some may be more interested when the city derbies of Madrid and Barcelona are played, but only the most ardent fans of Spanish football will look first when “El Gran Derbi” is on the program. This, of course, does not apply to the residents of Seville. Whether they belong to the red or green part of the city, a marker will circle the date of the city derby, which the capital of Andalusia lives for throughout the year. 

The rivalry between Sevilla and Betis has been going on for more than a century. 

Older even than the one between the two biggest Spanish clubs. It all started in 1890, when the British, mostly Scots, together with the local population celebrating Burns Night, thus glorifying the life and poetry of the Scottish poet Robert Barnes, founded the Sevilla football club, whose first president was Edward Johnson, the deputy British consul in the main city of Andalusia and the owner of a shipping company that sailed between Spain and Great Britain. 

The two directors parted ways due to disagreements. In 1907, a new club, Betis, was created, which seven years later would merge with the local team of Sevilla Balopmi, thus officially creating Real Betis Balompié as a representative of the working class. 

After numerous official and unofficial matches in lower competitions, Betis and Sevilla met in the second league, better known today as Segunda, in the 1928/29 season, and Betis won both.

The Verdiblancos were also the first to climb into La Liga. They were the first to win it in 1935, the only one in history. A decade later, Sevilla also grabbed their only one. Their controversial owners followed the turbulent history of the clubs. That’s how Manuel Luiz de Lopera came to head Betis in 1992 and immediately provided the club with the world record holder, the Brazilian Denilson. He even named the stadium after the person he considered the most important in the club’s history – himself – but the fans later corrected that “mistake.” Both stadiums are named after famous club president Ramon Sánchez Pishuan, who is located in the Nervion district, which is the financial and business center of the city. At the same time, Benito Villamarin is stationed in the less exclusive part of the city, Heliopolis.

Years passed, but the hatred never disappeared. 

Moreover, the clubs were constantly looking so that they could harm the other.

If, in the initial years in Betis, they could boast of being “first in everything,” more recent history belongs to Sevilla. However, if you think their club has fallen into the shadow of its biggest rival, Betis fans will turn their backs on their team, you are sorely mistaken. 

The club’s slogan, which is one of the most loyal fan bases in Spain, is clear and sewn on the top of the jersey: ‘Manque Pierda,’ translated as ‘Even when it loses.’

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