This is a season to remember for Real Betis’ legendary captain Joaquin Sanchez. After winning Copa del Rey last month, he stands to make his 600th La Liga appearance when his team travels to face champions Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.Sanchez only needs to appear tonight, either as a starter or from the bench, to join Barcelona’s former goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta in the “600 Club”. The green and white hero could extend his tally significantly after agreeing to a new one-year contract with the Andalucian club.”I’m proud to have the chance to complete this unforgettable season by reaching 600 games in La Liga. When you are focused every day on helping the team achieve its goals, perhaps you do not realize the importance of achieving records like this. However, I’m sure that over time I will feel very pleased with my professional career.”Joaquin will make his 600th La Liga appearance if he’s given minutes for Real Betis against Real Madrid tonight. “It’s a pride to have the opportunity to close out this unforgettable season by reaching 600 games in the Primera.” pic.twitter.com/g9fe8k9G0J— Football España (@footballespana_) May 20, 2022 Betis’ number 17 is already the outfield player with the most La Liga appearances (599), the footballer with the most official matches played in the entire history of Betis (497), the player with the second-most seasons in the top flight (19) and the fifth-oldest player to score in La Liga.There aren’t many better football scenes on which to reach such a fantastic milestone.”Being able to play my 600th game in La Liga in a stadium like Bernabeu is nice, although the important thing for me is to help the team end the season in style. We’ve already won the Copa del Rey, but securing the fifth position in the table by beating the champions at their stadium would be a nice icing on the cake.”Zubizarreta’s record of 622 La Liga games doesn’t seem entirely so unattainable for the Betis’ legend – but he isn’t bothered about beating it.”Of course, it would be great to achieve it, but the most important thing for me is that Betis continues to grow. We’ve raised the bar for ourselves by earning a place in European competition next season, so we want to do well and bring more joy to our fans.”LA LIGA – ROUND 38Friday22.00: (1.95) Rayo Vallecano (3.60) Levante (3.80)22.00: (1.85) Real Madrid (3.70) Betis (4.10)Saturday18.30: (2.70) Valencia (3.25) Celta (2.65)18.30: (2.90) Elche (3.00) Getafe (2.65)Sunday21.00: (3.35) Osasuna (3.35) Mallorca (2.27)21.00: (1.49) Granada (4.40) Espanyol (7.25)21.00: (4.40) Alaves (3.50) Cadiz (1.91)23.00: (2.75) Sociedad (3.10) Atl.Madrid (2.75)23.00: (2.65) Sevilla (3.10) Ath.Bilbao (2.85)23.00: (2.14) Barcelona (3.50) Villareal (3.45)***odds are subject to change
