Golden Chechu arrived at Betis in 2010 to command the defense of the team then led by Pepe Mel. Everything went according to plan for the Córdoba defender, who spent two and a half “magnificent” years in Heliópolis enjoying a “unique” hobby, as he recalled in his interview with ABC. “And I have a son from Seville who has joined Real Betis Balompié!” he points out. Nobody better than Dorado to analyze the qualifying round King’s Cup between the Huesca and Betis in El Alcoraz. They are the two teams in which he played the most: 121 games with the Huesca team and 81 with the Verdiblancos. Dorado hung up his boots a year and a half ago. Now he is 42. He lives in Ejea, where he met his wife when he played for the Zaragoza youth team. They have a clothing store and when time allows, Chechu plays soccer to kill the itch. He also coaches his son’s team.
Which Huesca will Betis be in and how do you remember your years there?
«The Huesca that we know today is not the one from that time, when the club was hanging around Third or Second B and began to work seriously to professionalize the entity. When I arrived they presented a solid project and we are lucky to go up to the Second Division 55 years later… I don’t forget, people thanked you on the street. Many of them had not even seen Huesca in the silver category. Furthermore, that same year the circumstance occurred that Zaragoza was relegated from First Division and a derby was able to be played after a long time. That first year in Second Division was spectacular for us. “They were three years in which I enjoyed a lot, because of the family atmosphere that was felt in the club and in the locker room.”
And Betis arrived and signed him…
«It was taking another step forward in my career. Seek new challenges. My arrival at Betis was curious. Everything indicated that he was going to continue at Huesca. We were in the tug of war for the renewal… but the call from Betis appeared and everything came to a standstill. It was what I was looking for. A project like this, with new aspirations. I went from a club in which we were fighting for permanence to a Betis whose only objective was to return to the First Division. There were no doubts. Signing for a team like Betis is what everyone dreams of. Progress, fight for big goals. That door was opened for me by Jesús Paredes, who was Betis’ physical trainer and who already knew me well because we had had him before at Huesca. Everything went as planned. “We had a great year and we finished it off with Betis’s promotion to Primera.”
So, did you fulfill a dream?
«At 29 years old I achieve the challenge of debuting in the First Division. It seemed like it wasn’t going to arrive, but it did. We started in Los Cármenes against Granada with a victory, with a goal from Rubén Castro. I remember that debut in the top category with great affection. “It was what I dreamed of when I was little and one was already getting started in this sport, knowing the enormous difficulty that it entailed.”
Dorado, in an interview with ABC in the sports city in 2011
Do you have good memories of Betis?
«Yes, very much. Because of the history, because of how everything is experienced there, because of the feeling that the fans show. No matter where we played there were always Betis people cheering. It is a historic club. Being able to defend this shirt is an honor. We were also lucky, as I say, to have been able to achieve promotion and experience a quiet period compared to what the club was going through. I have many memories. “And I have a son from Seville who has joined Real Betis Balompié!”
You know the two places well. Does Betis have to be careful in El Alcoraz?
“Yeah. Huesca is better since Antonio Hidalgo arrived and it can be seen in the classification. He is a good, established coach. It is going to make it difficult for Betis, who also cannot find the consistency they are looking for in the results. You also have to be careful with these games in which you come back from Christmas and even lost something of your routine. It is a game that brings a double-edged sword. “Huesca is not going to give anything away.”
What is the key to your strength?
«They do not have recognized players perhaps at the level of names, but they have a very solid block that has understood the coach’s idea very well. In a competition as difficult as LaLiga Hypermotion is today, getting up there is not an easy task. This speaks very well of the work they are doing; “They have known how to rebuild the teams with an economy that is not exactly very buoyant.”
From Hidalgo to Pellegrini. Do you understand that there are those who criticize Pellegrini, who has put Betis in Europe four consecutive years?
In the end, football does not understand the past. Understand the present, which is determined by the results. People lose patience quickly. Then there is a background. It is very difficult to maintain such a high level year after year. The squads are changing and the footballers are getting older, in addition to injuries, which of course influence. Pellegrini has not changed the way he plays, it’s just that we fans get impatient quickly. I think that now with Isco Betis will improve. It is not an easy task to maintain a high level in three competitions either. The Betis coach has a lot of credit but, like everyone, it depends on the results.
«I have many memories. “And I have a son from Seville who has joined Real Betis Balompié!”
Golden Chechu
Former Betis and Huesca player
What do you think of Betis’ lack of goals despite being a team that generates so much at the top?
«This is where each person’s interpretations come in. I’m more concerned about my goalkeeper being the best… that worries me much more than the fact that my forwards miss chances. Because if you generate them that means you are doing your job. Forwards live a lot of streaks. We are not going to discover or criticize people like Bakambu or Vitor Roque. If Barcelona signed him for something, it will be. Sooner or later they will have a chance and score two goals, or they will accidentally touch it with their toe and it will go in… In the end they are streaks. The important thing is to generate opportunities. They will end up entering. “On Rayo day, their goalkeeper Batalla played a great game.”
The last one. There was a Betis coach, Setién, who even hinted in a press conference, after losing against Huesca, that the fans of El Alcoraz were more supportive than those of Villamarín.
I think they are no longer as tight as they were in my time. I went to see the cup tie they had a year ago against Rayo Vallecano and the truth is that between the day it was, the cold, etc., they didn’t play much. I don’t think that situation will arise. Let’s see, with a team of Betis’s caliber arriving, I’m sure the fans will give a plus in El Alcoraz. But what can I say that I have been lucky enough to have a fan base as great as Betis’s! The Betis fans push harder than any other.
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