“Welcome to the Bética family”, thus announced on January 10, 2019 the Real Betis hiring Diego Laínezone of the last jewels of Mexican soccer, who four years after his departure to soccer in Europe has not been able to consolidatefell to a lower level league than the Spanish one and suffers from the same lack of minutes, something that affected him so that he was not taken into account in the call for the Mexican National Team in the last World Cup 2022.
The path through the Old Continent has not been easy for the soccer player from Tabasco, because since he arrived in Seville has had to face the little activitysituation that has been extended at his new club, Braga de Portugalwhere he has not played in the League since October 9, 2022, and even in the resumption of competitions he has not been called up in the last two games.
With the shirt of BetisLainez, formed in the basic forces of America, disputed 72 gamesof which only in 29 jumped onto the pitch headline. He added only 2,646 minutes, leaving an average of 36 minutes per game, scored four goals (3 in the Copa del Rey and one in the UEFA Europa League), and provided six assists.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/UIRELZP3UBDXPEJAMDRHQI7O5Y.jpg)
After 41 months with the Spanish team, which paid around 14 million dollars for a five-year contract, Diego was transferred as loan in the summer of 2022 to the Sporting Bragaclub in which he made his debut as a starter on September 8 last year in a UEFA Europa League match where the Portuguese beat Malmö 2-0.
The new adventure started well, as the Mexican player managed to add four consecutive appearances in the First Division and even scored a goal, he was also active in three games in the Europa League. However, halfway through first part of the season The scenario became complicated for Diego, since he had to shape with dispute matches of Cupmissing the last six league games.
So far in the 2022-2023 campaign, Lainez has barely seen activity in 13 games, adding two goals, two assists and just 470 minutes, with an average equal to the one he had at Real Betis, of 36 minutes per game. It should be noted that the ex-American player has a purchase option for 7 million dollars, so we will have to wait and see if the Portuguese team makes it valid at the end of the campaign.
Did time prove Piojo and Tata right?
The trainers Miguel Herrera and Gerardo “Tata” Martino were among the main characters who questioned the March from Lainez to Betis at the time, to to consider that the then 18-year-old player was getting precipitating when going to the Old Continent.
“I told him, I discussed it with him. What it was too hastywho was doing things very well, was going in a process very well. I told him: ‘if they look for you right now and you continue to maintain this rhythm, they will come looking for you in six months and in a year'”, commented the louse herrera a few years ago for TUDN.
For his part, he daddy too questioned his inactivity in the bético club: “Today he is in a secondary plan in the Betis. Maybe we are missing a footballer who, if he started in America, as he was until he left, will be a player who would be in the national team for much longer.”
