Beto: Sevilla can beat Barcelona

Sevilla shot-stopper Beto has claimed that the Europa League winners are not afraid of European champions Barcelona ahead of their clash in the UEFA Super Cup match on August 11. Beto also commented on the team’s capability of winning another title this year, and has insisted that manager Unai Emery is focusing on improving the squad even further.

Sevilla won the Europa League title last season for the second time in a row, after defeating Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2 in the final. Sevilla met Real Madrid in the Super Cup last season, but were defeated 2-0 by Los Blancos. But Beto has insisted that Sevilla will try hard to shock everyone by defeating Barcelona in this year’s Super Cup match to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia on August 11.

Barcelona won a historic treble last season, thanks to Lionel Messi’s wonderful performances in the second half of the campaign. But Beto is confident about Sevilla’s chances against the Champions League holders, stating that they are not afraid of the daunting task ahead of them.

“The shirt alone doesn’t win titles. Sevilla have won the respect of everyone, Barcelona included,” the 33-year-old Portugal international told Radio Sevilla in an interview. “It’s a European final and we respect Barcelona for their amazing team, but we’re Sevilla and I think it’ll be a great match. Hopefully we’ll lift the trophy.”

Sevilla has lost many important players this season, including the likes of Stephane Mbia, Fernando Navarro, Alejandro Arribas, Mariano Barbosa, Piotr Trochowski and Carlos Bacca, who scored a double in the Europa League final against Dnipro.

But coach Unai Emery has brought in replacements in every department, signing Yevhen Konoplyanka, Adil Rami, Gael Kakuta, Steven N’Zonzi, Sergio Escudero and Michael Krohn-Dehli. Sevilla fans are eager to see a new-look Sevilla side with so many new faces, and Beto insists that Sevilla will only improve in the upcoming season.

“What you always want is to improve and grow. That’s Sevilla’s mentality and that of Unai. We can do even better. A big effort has been made to make the squad competitive. Now it’s up to us to prepare well and for the new players to integrate. In football only results count. We can go for another title this year, why not?”