Real Betis strengthens its sports structure with in-house professionals

Real Betis Balompié has restructured its sports zone structure following the departure of previous manager Ramon Planes last January. The Club’s Board of Directors has made a commitment to its staff to strengthen the successful sporting model that has produced such good results in recent seasons.

Here, Manu Fajardo appointed sporting director of professional football and Miguel Calzado strengthens his position as director of training football. Both executives will report directly to the CEO of Real Betis in the organizational chart. Ramon Alarcon. Both Fajardo and Calzado will play a decisive role in the club’s sports commission. Besides, Alvaro Ladron de Guevara He will take up the position of technical secretary of the Green and Whites, working closely with Manu Fajardo.

Real Betis’ new sporting structure will strengthen the club’s commitment to improving and professionalizing all areas that impact football performance. Departments such as the first team, the technical secretariat, the application of new technologies and big data or the international network of relations with clubs and agencies will depend on the sports management of professional football. The Football Training Directorate will enhance the work already underway in the Recruitment, Methodology and Analysis Department, as well as improve training and residence management work, which is key to recruiting and developing top football players. The new facilities at the Rafael Gordillo Sports City represent an exponential improvement in Verdiblanco’s youth football facilities. Key elements such as physical training, medical care, physiotherapy and recovery, performance analysis, nutrition and psychology will also be improved across the entire Club structure.

Manu Fajardo Mateo (Seville, 1985) holds a degree in Law, a Master’s degree in Sports Management from LaLiga Business School and a Master’s degree in Big Data from UCAM. He began his professional career in the world of football in 2012 as an agent, providing sports advice to clubs and players. In 2018, he became technical secretary of AD Alcorcón and the following year became head of recruitment for Levante UD. In 2022 he will become technical secretary of Rayo Vallecano, and in the summer of 2023 he will move to the position of technical secretary of Real Betis Balompie. Throughout his career, he has been distinguished by his athletic success, re-evaluation of rosters and closeness to the day-to-day operations of professional teams.

Miguel Calzado Seville (Seville, 1982) is a UEFA Category B football coach, qualified as RFEF Sports Director and also studies Economics. Until 2016, he held various positions in the Sevilla youth academy and in sports management, and then took charge of the Malaga academy, from where he moved to the Real Betis youth football team in October 2017. Since March 2019, he has been part of the club’s youth team. director. During this period, players such as Edgar, Rodri, Paul, Juan Cruz, Raul Garcia, Assane Diao and Vietes joined the first team, as well as others who had already made their debuts, such as Dani Perez, Pablo Busto and Felix Garretta. During this period, more than 60 domestic players also played abroad, which is an absolute record in the history of the organization. At a collective level, all grassroots football teams have become champions of Andalusia at least once. The youth division of honor has been present in the national elite for three years in a row, and has also been promoted twice with Betis Deportivo Balompie. In the new Real Betis organization, Miguel Calzado will place great emphasis on the selection and development of pre-elite players.

Alvaro Ladron de Guevara (Seville, 1989) holds a degree in journalism from the University of Seville and the title of sports director of the RFEF and the Rey Juan Carlos University. I have been involved with the world of football since 2009. He worked as an international scout for Galatasaray for four seasons, and then was the sports director of the representative agency Go Pro Sports. In 2018, he became part of the technical secretariat of Real Betis Balompie as a scout, and since 2023 he has played the role of head of the scouting service of the white-green organization. He will now replace Manu Fajardo as technical secretary of Heliopolis.