Isco Alarcón, a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, couldn’t hold back his emotions as Real Betis secured a historic return to Europe’s elite competition after more than two decades. For the Malaga-born midfielder, this achievement carries even greater weight than his past triumphs—it comes at the end of the most challenging season of his professional life.
The campaign began with a nightmare. During a preseason match at La Rosaleda in August, a nasty kick reignited painful memories of a fractured fibula he had suffered the previous year, a blow that sidelined him for over six months. Again, he underwent surgery. Again, he faced a long, solitary recovery, working in silence while unable to help his team.
By November, light finally appeared at the end of the tunnel. He returned to training and made his comeback at the end of that month. However, in just his second match back—his first start of the season—a desperate attempt to chase a loose ball outside the box led to a violent collision of ankles with Amrabat. The result: another serious injury, this time a double blow. Doubts about his ability to play football again crept in.
Initial conservative treatment soon gave way to arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage. Weeks passed without news. The dressing room, coaching staff, and fans grew anxious. But through immense effort and pain management, the captain managed to put on the armband again and step onto the pitch where he belongs.
He returned in short, carefully measured minutes, avoiding contact, slowly regaining his rhythm. Always uncertain. But finally, he was with his teammates—the team he leads, the team that tonight returned to the Champions League. Facing a Betis side ready for Europe’s biggest stage, Isco could not stop the tears. Tears of joy, of emotion, of frustration from everything he had endured. It was a release after a terrible year with a happy ending.
“You’re going to the Champions League, sir. To the Champions League,” Bellerín said, embracing Isco amid the green-and-white celebration at La Cartuja. A captain cried uncontrollably because no one knows better than him what it took to get here—the suffering, the sacrifices, the disappointments, the relentless work to still feel like a footballer. Isco already has five Champions League titles to his name, but leading Betis to the tournament means as much, if not more, than any trophy he has ever won. Let’s hope to see him wearing the armband when the music plays at La Cartuja. That’s what Pellegrini wants, what his teammates want, what every Betis fan wants.