José María de la Concha

José María de la Concha Meneses (11 November 1915 – 28 April 2005) was a Spanish sports leader who is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Real Betis, being a member of the club for nearly eight decades, from the late 1920s until he died in 2005, holding several positions at the club, such as player, manager, director, designer of the club's current crest, and even technical secretary under Benito Villamarín.

Early life Born on 11 November 1915 in Buenos Aires, De la Concha was seven years old when his family settled at La Puebla de Cazalla in 1922, before work reasons caused them to move again, this time to Seville in 1928. Two years later, in 1934, he returned to Betis, now as a non-professional player, thus being a member of the staff that won the 1934–35 La Liga, the club's first (and only) league title. Due to his frequent trips as a scout to Brazil, he was close with some members of the Brazilian technical staff, which allowed him to get the number 10 shirt of the team's star player, Pelé. Under his leadership, the Betis team that he had built player by player won the 1976–77 Copa del Rey title, beating Athletic Bilbao on a penalties in the final.

In the 1983–84 season, De la Concha served as president of the Real Betis electoral board, and in 1998–90, he was a director under president Hugo Galera. A few days later, on 7 May, the Heliópolis stadium observed a minute of silence in his memory before the Seville derby, which was won by Betis, who went on to win the 2005 Copa del Rey final.