The first time Real Betis left Seville to play a European match they went to France. To Paris, the city of light, in 1964. A beautiful adventure in which everything was new. There had been just six years since the last promotion and every step to the top was an unprecedented satisfaction. Like a dream that, at last, was at their grasp.

Perhaps for this reason, the fans who travelled with the team lived everything quite intensely. There are beautiful pictures of Benito Villamarín himself at Versailles surrounded but many béticos that did not want to miss such an event. All smiles.

Regarding football itself, things did not work out well, but it meant a beginning. Betis lost 2-0 at Parc des Princes against Stade Français and their brief journey through the Inter-Cities Fair Cup ended there. Maybe the best memory the Green and White players brought back was the gift they received from their rivals: beautiful golden cufflinks with the colours of the Parisian club, red and blue.

Since that first time, Real Betis have faced French league teams in four other times. Three in UEFA Cup and one in the previous rounds of the Champions League. The team never won in France and that's why there's confidence to get the first one in Rennes.

In 1995, in the Last 16 round of the UEFA Cup, Real Betis travelled to Bordeaux with eagerness. They have already eliminated Fenerbahce and Kaiserlautern and they were the favourites against Girondins. But the first leg went wrong. The team lost 2-0 and made the qualification quite complicated.

Things worked out even worse in 2002. That time at Auxerre. Betis went to Abbé-Deschamps Stadium with an advantage of one goal from the first leg but lost 2-0 in an unlucky night. The European adventure ended there, in a competiton in which previously the team had eliminated Zimbru Chisinau from Moldova and Viktoria Zizkov from Bulgaria.

The last time Real Betis played in France was already in the UEFA Europa League, on the 28th of November of 2013 against Olympique Lyon at Gerland Stadium. The team lost 1-0 but got through as they finished second in the group ahead of Portiguese side Victoria Guimaraes and Rijeka from Croatia.

In this count of visits, the best one, without a doubt, happened in Monaco on the 23rd of August of 2005, that magical night when Real Betis became the first team from Seville to play the Champions League.

An achievement that was possible thanks to the final score of 2-2 in the second leg of this previous round. Real Betis had won at home 1-0 (goal scored by Edu) and the second leg at Louis II Stadium seemed like an exciting deed.

These were the line-ups of the game, that was conducted by referee Lubos Michel.

Monaco: Warmuz, Maicon, Squillaci, Modesto, Evra, Gerard, Bernardi, Meriem (Maoulida 62'), Sorlin (Gigliotti 82'), Kapo, Adebayor.

Real Betis: Doblas, Melli, Juanito, Rivas, Luis Fernández, Assuncao, Rivera (Miguel Angel 76'), Joaquín (Varela 56'), Edu, Xisco (Nano 56'), Oliveira.

The hero of the day was Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira, who opened the score with a powerful header in the 16th minute. Monaco levelled the score up in the 33rd minute and soon after a penalty against Betis was awarded. Meriem shot and Doblas saved it. Just before half time, Juanito cleared the ball over the goal line. The team was suffering.

In the second half, the plot did not change. The Monegasque team managed to score their second in the 61st minute. Then, in a desperate situation, Oliveira signed a master piece that Betis fans will remember forever.

76th minute, 14 left to play. The Brazilian got the ball at half pitch, dribbled a defender and approached the area. Two French defenders came to shut him down but he overran them and surprised Warmuz with a powerful shot. It was the goal that put Betis inside the biggest tournament.

As it is natural, the Monaco deed was on the front page in the Spanish papers the following day. Praise for that great Betis that had qualified for the Champions League.

That night, in Seville, Betis fans went back to Plaza Nueva to continue celebrating the party started some months before when the team won the Copa del Rey.