Sweat and blood cost Betis to defeat Celje. Literally: Natan had to be substituted, with a huge gap and his head bleeding, after scoring 1-0 in the 75th minute and hitting his skull with the defender. In the 81st minute, the Spanish full-back of the Slovenian team, Juanjo Nieto, equalized with an acrobatic shot, worthy of a center forward. Celje was on the verge of taking the victory, when Betis seemed defeated, in mood and spirit. But in the last play of the match, a few seconds before the referee blew the final whistle, Juanmi scored 2-1 on a counterattack, chipping the ball over the goalkeeper. Betis won, but did not convince their fans, a good part of which whistled and booed them during and after the game. The ancient Romans considered considered judgment, balance, and just reward as essential values of their civilization. The consul who achieved a resounding victory against a fierce enemy had the right to expect that the Senate would give him permission to celebrate a ‘Triumph’ (‘Triumphus’), that is, a victorious entry into Rome, in which the general, with his army, was acclaimed as he paraded in a chariot, displaying the loot and, sometimes, the enemies taken prisoner. Of course, the ius triumphandi – the rules that determined the granting of triumph – specified that the defeated enemy must be of magnitude. Many generals and their armies were not granted such honor because the adversary was small or because the losses in the enemy hosts did not exceed 5,000 soldiers. If there were doubts, the consul could always be awarded a consolation prize, the ‘triumphus minor’, a ‘minor triumph’, without the paraphernalia or recognition of a true triumphal parade. If the ancient Romans had to judge the merit of the Betic victory over Celje, they would have no doubts. The Slovenian city, of the same name, does not reach 38,000 inhabitants, the same population as the municipality of La Rinconada. NK Celje is fourth in a league of only ten teams. Most of their players are Slovenian. Juanjo Nieto, the scorer of the visiting goal, has played in Spain mostly in First RFEF and Second Division teams. Celje has a level equivalent to a Second League in our League. But Betis almost lost the game, because they once again lacked intensity, especially in the first half. He won, but he didn’t deserve the applause. In tennis, if the Spanish Jaume Munar, who is ranked number 62 in the ATP ranking, defeats the Slovenian Bor Artnak – ranked 392 -, no one congratulates the winner: it is assumed that he has done his job, nothing else. Betis is ranked 48th in the world, compared to Celje’s 295th, just ahead of Como 1907 and Sporting de Gijón on the list. The differences between the Betic squad and that of the Slovenian team are simply abysmal. Celje’s market value does not reach 15 million euros, compared to 192 for the green and white squad. Some Betis players, like Cardoso, surpass the 22 Slovenian players in market value. Obviously, we must congratulate ourselves because—finally!—Betis has won in the Conference. But, honestly, Celje is not a good yardstick to measure the commitment of the green and white players in Europe. They needed a goal in extremis and resorted to epic, for not having presented a European match for what it is: a battle in which the rival cannot give up. You have to be happy for every victory in Europe. Of course. But no applause or recognition. The Romans would have only granted a ‘minor triumph’, without any further fuss.
#Minor #triumph
