A goat crossed the Guadalquivir, which was when they knew. They had been made to wait until the last day of summer and on the footage it was a CGI creature scuttling over the Isabel II bridge (no animals were harmed in the making of this announcement) but Real Betis had actually done it. There were four hours left on deadline day and they had signed Antony Matheus dos Santos, or Antonio of Triana as they call him. When they’re not calling him the Goat.
Triana is the Betis neighbourhood, Seville’s artistic heart on the west bank of the river, and Antony could not be more popular there. Last season he arrived on a six-month loan and changed everything, leading them to a European place, a derby win that was celebrated like it was the World Cup, and a European final. He had been changed too, happy again, the footballer he was supposed to be. This was his place, somewhere they loved him. He had wanted to come back the moment he left and they had been desperate for him to return.
