Isco tries to lead Real Betis to its 1st European title in Conference League final vs. Chelsea
WROCLAW, Poland (AP) — It's been a breakthrough season for Francisco 'Isco' Alarcon with Real Betis, and it could culminate with him leading the Spanish club to its first European title.
The Betis captain could be the one lifting the historic trophy on Wednesday if his team defeats Chelsea in the Conference League final.
'Chelsea and ourselves are two good teams with some great players. The game tomorrow is very important for everybody, but I believe what Betis has is a lot of excitement, and the opportunity to win a first final is something historic for us,' Isco said Tuesday.
The Seville club won the Spanish league in 1934-35, as well as three Copas del Rey — most recently in 2022 — but it is yet to triumph at the European level, where it had never gone past the quarterfinals in any competition.
'Believing is the first step to victory,' the 33-year-old playmaker said. 'It is going to be a very difficult game, but we trust our squad. We have proved that we are capable of beating any team, and we are looking forward to this final and bringing joy to our fans, who have deserved it the most.'
Isco's superb season with Betis earned him a spot back in Spain's national team after a long absence. He was called back to Spain's national team by coach Luis de la Fuente on Monday for the Nations League semifinal against France on June 5 in Stuttgart. He hadn't been with Spain's squad since 2019.
After nearly a decade with Real Madrid, where he won five Champions League titles and three Spanish league titles, Isco returned to his roots in southern Spain, first with Sevilla in 2022-23 and then with Betis, where he has been thriving for the last two seasons.
Betis also has the experience of coach Manuel Pellegrini, who won the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2014 and later was in charge of West Ham at a time when now-Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was his assistant.
Betis also has a Conference League winner in its squad: midfielder Pablo Fornals, who won the competition with West Ham in 23.
'When you are close to a final," Isco said, "you always visualize what might happen, but you have to focus on the game at hand. This is Betis' first final, and it would be a dream to win it, but it will be very difficult.'
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newcastle shift focus to West Ham star in £75m summer move
Newcastle Eye Kudus as Summer Heir to Right-Flank Ambitions Positive EFL Cup bounce brings transfer momentum Newcastle United's return to relevance has been measured in more than just silverware. Their EFL Cup success and top-four finish have reignited belief at St James' Park, prompting the board and recruitment team to prepare for a proactive and targeted summer transfer window. Advertisement According to Football Fancast, the club are working through a four-player wish list: a new goalkeeper, a right-sided centre-back, a right-winger and a versatile forward. As journalist Keith Downie explains, the additions are deemed essential unless Newcastle are forced into reactive deals in the event of high-profile exits such as Bruno Guimarães or Anthony Gordon. Photo: IMAGO While Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo has long been viewed as the frontrunner for the right-wing slot, recent developments have brought a new name into sharper focus — West Ham's Mohammed Kudus. Kudus now seen as viable alternative to Mbeumo Pete O'Rourke, speaking to Football Insider, claims Newcastle 'can afford' Kudus' £75 million release clause, though there's belief they can negotiate a reduced price, particularly due to West Ham's financial position and Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules. Advertisement 'Newcastle can afford a deal for Kudus,' O'Rourke said. 'As it stands, Bryan Mbeumo is their top target for that right-sided forward position. Kudus is on their list and has admirers within the Newcastle hierarchy.' Photo: IMAGO With Manchester United reportedly in pole position for Mbeumo, Newcastle have shifted attention towards Kudus. While stylistically different, both players offer dynamic attacking attributes. Kudus, who has been praised for his dribbling, explosiveness, and power, may lack Mbeumo's consistency, but certainly matches his ceiling. Player profile makes Kudus a compelling fit Kudus is no unknown quantity in Premier League circles. His performances at West Ham have prompted widespread recognition, with teammate Aaron Cresswell once remarking: 'He's a top, top talent and I think we haven't seen the best of him yet… You just can't get near him. He's so strong, so quick, so sharp.' Advertisement This versatility and raw athleticism make Kudus a compelling fit for a Newcastle system that thrives on transitional moments and physical intensity. He is more than just a stopgap solution; he could be the cornerstone of a restructured attack. Photo: IMAGO Market realities could make deal feasible With Newcastle's Champions League campaign secured, there's every incentive to add proven quality. While £75 million may be excessive in this market, there's growing confidence that West Ham will listen to offers significantly below that threshold. Ultimately, if Mbeumo ends up at Old Trafford, Kudus becomes more than just Plan B — he is a statement of intent. A signing that signals Newcastle's continued ambition and confidence in the recruitment model that helped them climb from mid-table stagnation to European contenders. Photo: IMAGO Our View – EPL Index Analysis Missing out on Mbeumo would hurt, no question — he's a proven Premier League performer. But Kudus? He feels like the sort of wild card who could blow the doors off this project. Advertisement What's exciting is how well he'd slot into Eddie Howe's system. We've seen what the coaching staff have done with players like Joelinton and Isak — give Kudus that kind of attention, and the sky's the limit. His close control in tight spaces and that burst of acceleration? Perfect for unlocking deep defences, something Newcastle have struggled with when teams sit back at St James'. And let's be honest, they're past the point of shopping small. If they want to compete with the best, they need players who believe they belong at the top. Kudus has that swagger. He's got Champions League-level flair. This would be a proper signal to the rest of the league that Newcastle aren't just here for the ride — they're building something serious.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Didier Deschamps on the brilliance of Doue and Yamal – and why he can't ‘copy and paste' PSG's success
Didier Deschamps had a hard enough job as it was fitting all the extravagantly gifted attacking players at his disposal into France's starting XI. Then Desire Doue came along. During the most recent international break, in March, Deschamps found himself grappling with the three-sided conundrum of how to grant his captain, Kylian Mbappe, the attacking freedom he desires, how to somehow harness Ousmane Dembele's remarkable form as a false nine with Paris Saint-Germain, and how to devise a system that would enable Michael Olise to fully express himself in a France shirt for the first time. Advertisement The two legs of France's Nations League quarter-final win over Croatia yielded only partial success on those fronts. The deployment of Dembele in a free central role in the first leg, a 2-0 defeat in Split, proved underwhelming, while Mbappe extended his run of international appearances without scoring to seven over the two matches. But Olise shone at No 10 in the return leg, opening his France account with a sumptuous free kick at the Stade de France that paved the way for a jubilantly celebrated penalty-shootout success. Doue successfully netted his spot kick after coming on as a 66th-minute substitute, but that was all before his man-of-the-match display in PSG's historic 5-0 demolition of Inter in the Champions League final. Having torn the Inter defence to shreds in Munich, becoming the first player to have produced three goal contributions in a final in the Champions League era, when he reported for France duty at Clairefontaine on Monday evening, it was with a status that had been spectacularly enhanced. There will be clamour now for Deschamps to find a way to include Mbappe and Dembele and Olise and Doue in his starting XI. But for the time being, he is simply pleased to be able to call upon a dazzlingly talented young player who showed at the Allianz Arena that he is already in the thrilling first flush of full sporting maturity. 'I wasn't surprised,' Deschamps tells The Athletic. 'He went from Rennes, where he was doing good things, to PSG, where there were various steps to take and he took them all. 'I brought him into the France squad. I knew he had the potential and I've obviously picked up information on his personality and things like that. Being capable of doing that at his age in a Champions League final… Bravo. And it means he'll turn up with a big smile on his face!' Advertisement Invited to pinpoint Doue's most impressive qualities, Deschamps makes a point of mentioning the dedication and level-headedness that have impressed the winger's coaches right from the earliest days of his career in the academy at Rennes. 'He has the ability to beat people,' the France coach says. 'He has the ability to cover a lot of ground, which isn't always the case (for players with his profile). That's why he's able to play in attack and in midfield. 'And he's young. He turns 20 on Tuesday (June 3). Things haven't happened by accident for him. Everything has been planned and mapped out. And you need that. You can't do without it at a big club. 'He does everything he needs to, but he doesn't rest on his laurels. He's made a very good start. Now it's up to him to sustain it over time.' Doue's emergence also means there are now two DDs in the France setup. 'That's why I picked him!' jokes the other one. Deschamps is sitting in a light and airy meeting room on the first floor of Clairefontaine's training and conference centre, a modern four-storey building of stone, steel and glass that looks down a grassy slope towards the Terrain Michel Platini training pitch. Somewhat incongruously, a gigantic inflatable green obstacle course is being erected on the lawn outside in preparation for a visit from the children of French Football Federation employees. It is the day after PSG's thrilling dismantling of Inter, but in the tranquil wooded surroundings of France's national football centre, which lies near the town of Rambouillet, 30 miles southwest of central Paris, the riotous celebrations that overtook the French capital the night before could not feel further away. As coach of the French national team, Deschamps was pleased to see a French club prevail in Europe's biggest club competition for only the second time after his own Marseille side's conquest of the continent in 1993. 'Whether you're a PSG supporter or not, they're a Ligue 1 club,' he says. 'And you can't say that Ligue 1 receives much consideration around the world today.' Advertisement But he is sceptical when it comes to any potential positive consequences for Les Bleus. For all the acclaim that Luis Enrique's side have received for their tactical synchronicity or the aggressiveness of their pressing, Deschamps believes it would be too difficult to replicate elements of the Spaniard's approach with France — not least because, as he points out, the only front line PSG players at his disposal are all forwards. 'I'm not complaining about the players I have, but (Achraf) Hakimi is not French, Marquinhos is not French, (Willian) Pacho is not French, Vitinha is not French, none of the (first-choice) midfielders are French. (Khvicha) Kvaratskhelia is Georgian,' he says. 'You can't copy and paste things, even though what they've done is very good. It works very well and it proves Luis Enrique right. Is it possible (to replicate)? Yes. Is there as much time? No. There's much less time. 'If you have seven or eight players, or an entire midfield, who all play for the same club, so much the better. I'd prefer to have 10 players from two clubs than 10 players from eight clubs. They have an automatic understanding and what they do with their clubs serves the national team, but it's not always the case. 'And even with the players I can pick — if we take the example of Desire Doue and (Bradley) Barcola — they're in competition! Sometimes they play together, but sometimes one starts and the other one comes on. It's difficult to transpose things. 'In a club, you have the whole week and you're playing matches together one after the other. So it's not the same.' Doue may be the name on everyone's lips this week and Dembele may be the leading French contender for the Ballon d'Or, but Deschamps takes care to make sure his skipper is not overlooked. Asked during a pool interview with journalists from several European publications if Dembele is a credible candidate for the sport's ultimate individual prize, the France coach replies in the affirmative, but then immediately brings up Mbappe, who he believes has had a 'great season' despite Real Madrid's failure to win a major trophy. Deschamps pays a generous tribute to Lamine Yamal and identifies the 17-year-old Barcelona winger as the principal threat to French hopes in Thursday's Nations League semi-final against Spain in Stuttgart, yet again his thoughts quickly turn to Mbappe, who came in from the cold during the March international break after six months without playing for his country. Advertisement 'Yamal is one of those extraordinary players,' says Deschamps, whose side fell to a 2-1 defeat against a Yamal-inspired Spain in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. 'You only ever get two or three of them at the same time. He does it match after match and he's still young. 'But to take the example of other players, Kylian is older, but at 18, he was doing things like Yamal. They're the fuoriclasse, as the Italians say, the hors categorie players, and they're able to make a mark on football very young with what they do.' Deschamps, 56, is approaching the final 12 months of his tenure as France coach, having announced in January that he will step down after next year's World Cup following 14 years at the helm. His tenure has included a World Cup triumph at the 2018 tournament in Russia and victory in the Nations League in 2021, along with runners-up finishes at Euro 2016 on home soil and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But he has often faced criticism over the stodgy quality of France's football, having notably steered Les Bleus to the semi-finals at last summer's European Championship in Germany without a single one of his players scoring a goal in open play. Although he tends to dismiss the impact of such criticism upon himself, he reveals that his decision to announce his departure was partly motivated by a desire to prevent his players from being caught in the crossfire. 'Everything that is external, it has no importance and no influence on me,' Deschamps says. 'But I felt that despite the results we'd achieved, there was a media environment that was too negative and it could have had an impact on the players. 'I don't think they deserved that. I don't know if it (his announcement) will help with that — it wasn't the fundamental objective — but that's what we've done.' Deschamps used France's Nations League group games in the autumn to enact what he has repeatedly described as a 'reoxygenation' of his squad, with Olise, Barcola and Roma midfielder Manu Kone among the young players to have been granted opportunities. They were decisions that he thinks his eventual successor will likely benefit from even more than he will. 'I made choices during the Nations League qualifiers that were definitely detrimental to me, but I felt that it was the moment to give playing time to younger players in order to prepare them,' Deschamps explains. 'After the World Cup, it will no longer concern me, but I consider that it's my duty to prepare for the near future rather than the distant future.' Advertisement Zinedine Zidane, who has been out of work since the end of his second stint as Real Madrid coach in 2021, is widely seen as the overwhelming favourite to succeed Deschamps. Zidane recently gave his strongest indication to date that he wants the job, telling guests at an event organised by his sponsor, Adidas, last week (as reported by L'Equipe): 'Of course, it's a dream, I can't wait.' But not for the first time, Deschamps stopped short of giving his former Juventus and France colleague a ringing endorsement, saying only that he was 'obviously a natural and legitimate candidate'. Deschamps is already guaranteed to step away from the France fold as both the longest-serving and the most successful men's national team coach in the country's history. But with a place in Sunday's Nations League final against either Germany or Portugal on the line, and a World Cup qualifying campaign to then begin planning, he bats away talk of what kind of legacy he hopes to leave. 'That's not a motivation for me,' Deschamps says. 'It's never been a motivation. I give everything I have for the France team. I did 11 years as a player and if I go to the end, it'll be 14 years as coach. Twenty-five years of my life, you know. 'I'm tied to the blue, white and red jersey, which is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I'll leave what I leave. Nobody, not even my worst enemies, can take away the results I've had.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'There's No Incentive': Sounders Protest MLS's $1M Club World Cup Cap
'There's No Incentive': Sounders Protest MLS's $1M Club World Cup Cap originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Seattle Sounders players have unleashed chaos, by sporting "Club World Cash Grab" T-shirts before their clash with Minnesota United yesterday. They're demanding a fair cut of the $9.55 million in Club World Cup prize money ( MLS's particularly stingy payout rules have ignited this fiery revolt. Advertisement The Sounders, Inter Miami, and LAFC will battle in the 32-team Club World Cup, hosted across the U.S. from June 14 to July 13, 2025. Each club secures $9.55 million, though MLS caps player payouts at $1 million per team ( This clashes with global norms. Related: Is FIFA's Club World Cup the Biggest Flop in Soccer History? The MLS collective bargaining agreement, locked in 2021, predates the tournament's expansion. The MLSPA says players pushed for equitable talks, but MLS clings to the outdated deal ( Sounders' Stefan Frei told The Seattle Times, 'There's no incentive' with a 90-10 split. Sounding the alarm, players are calling out the MLS and asking for a fair share of the prize-pot.© Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Globally, players often pocket 50-70% of FIFA prize money. European clubs like PSG and Atlético Madrid, in Seattle's Group B, follow fairer models ( The Sounders' protest targets MLS's refusal to align with global norms, leaving players feeling cheated. Advertisement The MLSPA declared: 'Players elevate MLS globally' (MLSPA). FIFA's $1 billion prize pool, with $475 million performance-based, demands better splits. MLS's silence, citing ongoing negotiations, only stokes player fury. Seattle's 'Fair Share Now' T-shirts weren't just for show. Fans, including Emerald City Supporters, roared in support. MLS valuations soar—LAFC at $1.25 billion, Inter Miami at $1.2 billion ( yet player payouts stay miserly. This gap fuels the unrest. The Club World Cup, spanning seven MLS stadiums, is a global spotlight. Seattle faces Botafogo, Atlético Madrid, and PSG at Lumen Field, starting June 15 ( Unfair pay could sour this showcase. This clash could reshape MLS's future. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup looming, addressing player demands is critical. Will MLS evolve, or will the rebellion grow? Next: Is FIFA's Club World Cup the Biggest Flop in Soccer History? This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
