Aitor Ruibal on Real Betis' prospects against Chelsea in the UEFA Conference League final

When Real Betis beat Valencia in the 2021/22 Spanish Cup final, Aitor Ruibal was blown away by the celebrations in the streets of Sevilla - and can only imagine how dramatic they would be if his side get the better of Chelsea in the UEFA Conference League final.

At the club since 2015, the 29-year-old has watched the transformation since the arrival of Manuel Pellegrini as coach in 2020. Their first European final is a massive achievement for a side that have been used to witnessing neighbours Sevilla celebrating European triumphs, and Aitor Ruibal is urging his team-mates to seize the opportunity with both hands

On his final advice to his younger team-mates

I'll tell them to enjoy it. Enjoy the moment. At the end of the day, it's football and you can win or lose, so you need to feel every moment, every celebration, every victory as if it were the last one because you never know when a chance like this will come about again.

[We had] the experience of [winning] the Copa del Rey final [in 2022]. I remember that I enjoyed every moment. The night before the final, [I imagined] what it would be like to win it. I was visualising our victory and I will try to instil this in the young players. An athlete's career is relatively short; there aren't many occasions like this. So, it's about making the most of every moment.

On Betis' strengths

We are a very united team in the changing room. It's like a family and I think that's key. Ultimately, we have a lot of very experienced players who know what it takes. We are very direct and efficient at taking our chances, and we need to make the most of that because the players in our team, such as Antony, Isco, Abde [Ezzalzouli], Jesús [Rodríguez], Baka [Cédric Bakambu] don't tend to waste their chances.

I also think we are very solid defensively and don't concede many goals, and I think our form in terms of set-piece goals is good, but I think our biggest strength is that we always play in the way we know how to, and we are a very compact team.

On Manuel Pellegrini and Isco

[Pellegrini's] results and stats are a testament to everything he is. He is a coach who lets the players get on with it; he gives them a lot of freedom because I don't think football has to be A or B, whatever the coach says. Ultimately, the results he has achieved have gone down in the history of Real Betis. He has achieved things no other coach has.

Isco is a world-class player. As a person, he is incredible. Everyone in the senior team, every youth player who comes through, they see how he is the one who presses the most, the one who runs the most, so all of that ultimately gives a boost to everyone. The other day, he played 45 minutes and, now, he's the first one already training really hard like a mad man because he wants more, he wants to improve.

Aitor Ruibal has been at Real Betis since 2015UEFA via Getty Images

On the possibility of winning the trophy

Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. I've been lucky enough to experience moments like that before, and it's something truly unique – the feeling, the joy of the people, everyone out in the streets, everything green... It's something special, something beautiful to experience, and all I can think about is winning and being able to give that happiness not just to my loved ones, not just to the team or the club, but to the millions of people who follow us everywhere, who are absolutely crazy about this club.

Experiencing something like that would be incredible, something truly unforgettable, and I want to be there – I want to give everything to make that victory and that title a reality for the fans.