Clearly, Real Betis is one of the most surprising teams in European football this season. Before the season, Betis appointed Quique Setién as their new manager. Setién was quite successful with Las Palmas the season before, installing a functional positional play that not only helped them win a game but also was fantastic to watch. At Real Betis, Setién repeated the process. The small difference is that Betis has players more suited to that style and with a higher individual class. This results in the successful season they enjoy right now—currently, Real Betis is fifth in the league. Behind them, clubs like Villareal, Celta Vigo, and their biggest rival, Sevilla FC, have to fight for points in order to qualify for the Europa League.
One of the discoveries this season was the young talented midfielder, Fabián Ruiz. Fabian´s abilities suit perfectly in the system of Quique Setién, which earned him a regular starting spot in Setién´s line-up. Normally, Fabián starts as one of the central midfielders in their 3-1-4-2 line-up. However, he also played as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the back-three. Where has he his strengths? And why does every top-team want to sign him?
The understanding of dynamic
First of all, Fabián is such a perfect fit for Setién´s system because of his passing abilities. He has a great technique and is able to play accurate passes even under pressure. Furthermore, he not only plays simple passes but also his through-balls are a real threat to many teams, which helps Betis create chances.
Besides his incredible technique, his vision and feeling for the game are his biggest strengths. Fabián is great at recognizing the dynamics of the game and potential open spaces in his opponents defensive shape, thanks to his teammates off-ball movements.
For instance, in that situation. The dribbling on the right side pushes Espanyol´s defence back. All the players shift over to the right side. Because certain Espanyol players are missing defensive movements, a wide-open space appears in front of the midfield line. At first, Fabián also moves to the right side, however, he realizes the open space and therefore quickly changes direction. With his positioning in the grey space, he also gives his teammate a passing option to maintain possession and the possibility to attack the far side.
After re
