Top Facts about Real Sociedad, The Los Txuri-Urdin
The Spanish club was founded over a century ago and it has seen its share of good and bad, so we decided to take a look at the Top Facts about Real Sociedad, its history and the major events it has been through.
Real Sociedad de Futbol, S.A.D., also known as Real Sociedad or La Real, is a Spanish professional football club based in San Sebastian, Basque Country. It was formed on September 7, 1909. Its home games are held at the Anoeta Stadium. Real Sociedad won the Liga in 1980–81 and 1981–82 and finished second in 2002–03.
In 1909, 1987, and 2020, the club won the Copa del Rey three times. It contests the Basque derby against rivals Athletic Bilbao. Real Sociedad was a founding member of La Liga in 1929, and it spent 40 seasons in the top division between 1967 and 2007.
Before signing the Republic of Ireland forward John Aldridge in 1989, the club had a policy (similar to that of its rival Athletic) of signing solely Basque players. While the club still has a strong Basque presence among its ranks, it now boasts non-Basque Spaniards and international players. Following the all-Basque era, the club's youth section has continued to produce internationally known players, including World Cup winners Xabi Alonso and Antoine Griezmann.
The club has qualified for the UEFA Champions League on two occasions. The team advanced to the round of 16 in the 2003–04 season before losing to Lyon. Real Sociedad has various sporting divisions, including track and field, field hockey, and basque pelota, in addition to football (which includes a women's squad).
The name of the club translates to "Royal Society of Football" in Spanish. In Basque, the club is known as Erreala or the txuri-urdin ("white-blue" due to the colors of their kit). The colors come from the San Sebastian flag, which has a blue canton on a white field.
Top Facts about Real Sociedad You Should Know
Before diving into any details, we’d like to tell you a number of quick facts, just to give a general idea of what the club is like.
Quick Facts
Full Name:
Real Sociedad de Futbol, S.A.D
Nicknames:
Los Txuri-Urdin (The White and Blues)
Date of Formation:
7 September 1909
Location:
Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Age:
112 years
Nationality:
Spanish
Home Stadium:
Anoeta Stadium
Home Colors:
White and Blue
President:
Jokin Aperribay
Head Coach:
Imanol Alguacil
Market Value:
€395.00m
League:
La Liga
Current Table Position:
6
Real Sociedad Beginning as one of the Founding Members of La Liga
Students and workers returning from Britain introduced football to San Sebastian in the early 1900s. They founded the San Sebastian Recreation Club in 1904, and the club won the Copa del Rey in 1905.
The San Sebastian Football Club was founded in May 1905 as a separate branch of the club. It applied to compete in the Copa del Rey in 1909, but due to registration issues, they had to compete as Club Ciclista de San Sebastian.
In the final, this team defeated Club Espanol de Madrid 3–1. The Sociedad de Futbol was formed on September 7, 1909, to clear up the uncertainty.
In 1910, Spanish clubs competed in two separate cup competitions, with Sociedad de Futbol competing as Vasconia de San Sebastian in the Copa UECF.
In the same year, King Alfonso XIII, who made San Sebastian his summer capital, gave patronage to the club, which was later renamed Real Sociedad de Futbol.
In 1929, Real Sociedad became a founding member of La Liga, one of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
The squad finished fourth, with Francisco "Paco" Bienzobas scoring the most goals. With the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, the team's name was changed to Donostia Club de Futbol, but following the Spanish Civil War in 1939, it was renamed back to Real Sociedad.
The squad has primarily rotated between the Primera and Segunda divisions, relegating and promoting seven times during one span (the 1940s). Eduardo Chillida, a sculptor, was the team's goalkeeper at the time until an injury ended his football career.
For the first time in 1979–80, the team finished second in
La Liga, with 52 points to Real Madrid's 53, and 13 points ahead of third-placed Sporting de Gijon.
Another one of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad is that at the end of the 1980–81 season, Real Sociedad won its first-ever Primera Division title, depriving Real Madrid of a fourth consecutive title, despite the fact that both teams had 45 points and Madrid had a greater goal difference, Sociedad was better in head-to-head matches.
La Real qualified for the 1981–82 European Cup but were knocked out in the first round by Bulgaria's CSKA Sofia, who hosted and won the first leg 1–0. In Spain, the second leg ended in a 0–0 tie.
Under Alberto Ormaetxea's management, the club won the Liga title again the following season, defeating
Barcelonaby 47 points to 45. With 16 goals, forward Jess Mara Satrustegui was the club's leading scorer in 1980–81.
The following season, he scored 13 points while Pedro Uralde led the team with 14. In the 1982–83 European Cup, the team defeated Vikingur of Iceland, Celtic, and Sporting Clube de Portugal in the semi-finals before losing 3–2 on aggregate to eventual champions Hamburger SV.
Real Sociedad Finally Putting away the Basque-only Policy
Real Sociedad won the Supercopa de Espana at the start of the 1982–83 season, defeating
Real Madrid4–1 on aggregate after overcoming a 1–0 deficit in the first leg.
Real Sociedad beat Mallorca 10–1 in the Copa del Rey quarter-final on March 11, 1987, to set a new record for most goals in a quarter-final.
It defeated Athletic Bilbao 1–0 over two legs in the semi-finals of the same event. One of the
Top Facts about Real Sociedad
is that it won its only Copa del Rey trophy on June 27, 1987, when it defeated Atletico Madrid 4–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw.
The match took place in Zaragoza, Aragon, at La Romareda. Real Sociedad defeated Atletico Madrid again in the Copa del Rey the next season, after defeating them in the quarter-finals.
On March 30, 1988, they defeated Real Madrid 5–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals but lost 1–0 to Barcelona in the final at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The squad finished second in the 1987–88 La Liga for the first time since losing the title – with 51 points to Real Madrid's 62 – and three points ahead of third-placed
Atletico Madrid.
The club followed the example of its Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in signing only Basque players for many years.
When it signed Irish international John Aldridge from
Liverpoolin 1989, it ended the policy, one of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
Aldridge was the club's top scorer and the fourth-highest scorer in the league in his first season, as La Real finished fifth. La Real signed Dalian Atkinson of Sheffield Wednesday, an English striker, in 1990, and he became the club's first black player.
In his first season, he scored 12 goals, second only to Aldridge's 17 at the club. That was Aldridge's final season at La Real, and he moved to Tranmere Rovers in the lower English leagues, while Atkinson moved to Aston Villa in the top level.
Real Sociedad finished third in 1997–98, its best finish since finishing second for the first time in 1988. Its 63 points were 11 less than winners Barcelona, but just two less than runners-up Athletic Bilbao.
Due to a better goal difference, the club ended higher in the table than Real Madrid. Darko Kovacevic of Yugoslavia scored 17 goals in that season, putting him in fourth place in the league.
La Real qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup after finishing third, defeating Sparta Prague and Dynamo Moscow before losing to Atletico Madrid in the third round.
Real Sociedad, the End of a Glorious Run
Real Sociedad finished second in the 2002–03 La Liga season, their best finish since 1988, after finishing 13th for three consecutive seasons.
One of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad is that Its 76 points were only surpassed by Real Madrid's 78, while La Real had four points more than Deportivo de La Coruna in third place.
Raynald Denoueix, a Frenchman, was the club's manager. Nihat Kahveci, a Turkish striker, and Darko Kovacevic, a Yugoslav international, made up La Real's strikeforce.
With 23 and 20 goals, they were the league's third and fourth leading scorers, respectively. Sander Westerveld, a Dutch international goalkeeper, and
Xabi Alonso, a midfielder, were also part of the squad.
Alonso was named the best Spanish player in the league in 2003, while Kahveci was named the best foreign player and Denoueix was named the best manager.
Real Sociedad defeated Real Madrid 4–2 at the Anoeta Stadium in April, marking a turning point in the season.
It remained in top place in La Liga until the 38th game, when it was defeated 3–2 by Celta de Vigo, while Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 4–0.
This put Real Real Madrid two points ahead of Real Sociedad heading into the final game, in which La Real defeated Atletico Madrid 3–0 and Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao to win the title.
After finishing second, the squad qualified directly for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League; it was unbeaten at home, scored 71 goals in total, and only lost six times.
In the 2003–04 Champions League, Real Sociedad was placed in Group D alongside
Juventus, Galatasaray, and Olympiacos. To finish second and advance to the last 16, the team won two games, drew three, and lost away to Juventus.
It was eliminated after losing 1–0 in both games against Lyon, the first of which it hosted. The club's performance in La Liga dropped dramatically in 2003–04, with the club finishing 15th out of 20 teams. With 46 points, it was only five points ahead of relegated Real Valladolid.
Real Sociedad played its 2,000th La Liga match on September 9, 2006. Real Sociedad was relegated from La Liga in 2006–07 after placing 19th, ending a 40-year tenure in the top division, their longest ever, one of the
Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
On the recommendation of former Real Sociedad manager John Toshack, a key board member of the club, former Welsh international and
Fulhammanager Chris Coleman was named as the new club coach on July 9, 2007. On January 16, 2008, Coleman resigned.
Real Sociedad, Hiring & Firing a Slew of Managers
Real Sociedad finished fourth in the 2012–13 season, qualifying for the 2013–14 Champions League for the first time since the 2003–04 season, but this time in the play-offs.
The club qualified for the group stage by defeating Lyon 2–0 in both legs of the play-offs. Real Sociedad, on the other hand, did not advance from the group, earning only one point, one of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad named David Moyes as the new manager on November 10, 2014, after sacking Jagoba Arrasate following a string of dismal results.
Moyes became the club's sixth British manager; however, he was fired on November 9, 2015, after the team finished 16th in La Liga. He was replaced by Eusebio Sacristan later that day.
Sacristan agreed to a one-year contract that would expire on June 30, 2017. Sacristan's contract was renewed in 2017, however, he was eventually fired after a succession of poor performances dropped the team to 15th place in the table and dragged them into a relegation battle.
After arriving from Leganes, Aiser Garitano was named the new head coach. He was fired after only seven months on the job, with the squad in 15th place and only five wins in seventeen league games.
On December 26, 2018, Garitano was succeeded by Imanol Alguacil, the reserve team manager and a local boy.
He oversaw an attacking style of play that combined pace, precision, power, and exuberance during his time.
Inaki Badiola, the club's president at the time, accused the previous management of buying doping drugs during Real Sociedad's annual general meeting in 2008, another one of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
Between 2001 and 2007, Badiola accused Jose Luis Astiazaran's presidency of paying up to €300,000 to Eufemiano Fuentes to drug players on the team in an extensive interview. Real Sociedad president Jose Luis Astiazaran, who served from 2001 to 2005, denied the allegations.
Real Sociedad defeated
Athletic Bilbaoin a Basque derby on 3 April 2021, nearly a year after the 2020 Copa del Rey Final was postponed due to COVID-19.
According to the Spanish Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas, out of 2,473 adults interviewed in 49 provinces in 2007, 1.3 percent of the Spanish population has more feelings for Real Sociedad than any other club, and 1.5 percent has more feelings for La Real than any other club apart from their favorite.
In recognition of the importance of the fans to the club – "The fans are the soul, the nourishment, and the reason for Real Sociedad," said club president Jokin Aperribay – the players each wore the name of a randomly selected club member on their shirt for the match against Sevilla in December 2012, one of the
Top Facts about Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad Home Stadium
Anoeta Stadium is a football stadium in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain, that was opened in 1993. It is presently known as the Reale Arena for sponsorship purposes.
The stadium is part of the Anoeta Sports Complex and is mostly utilized for football events, with Real Sociedad playing their home games there.
The stadium's original seating capacity of 32,000 was reduced to around 26,800 due to redevelopment work; its capacity for the September 2019 completion has been quoted as 39,313 seats (with the option of expanding to 42,300 if necessary), making it Spain's 11th-largest stadium and the Basque Country's second-largest.
One of the Top Facts about Real Sociedad is that this is their third home stadium, following Ondarreta (1909–1913) and Atocha (1913–1993). A bust of the late Alberto Ormaetxea, the club's manager during their successful early 1980s period, can be found on the external concourse area.
Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad's Basque rivals, were also allowed to play their first home game of the 2013–14 La Liga season at Anoeta because their own new stadium (San Mames) was still under construction.
The stadium has hosted four friendly matches for the unofficial Basque Country team (1993, 1998, 2004, 2012).
It has also been used for concerts in recent years, as well as occasional Heineken Cup rugby union matches by nearby Top 14 club Biarritz Olympique (based in France but very near to San Sebastian).
Biarritz and fellow Pays Basque team Aviron Bayonnais have played their home matches at the Anoeta since the 2009–10 Top 14 season, as it is the closest large stadium to their towns.
Anoeta hosted the final of the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League later stages, which were held in the Basque Country.
The initial building expenditures for Anoeta were estimated to be 3 billion pesetas (about €21 million at the time).
On August 13, 1993, the stadium was formally opened during a friendly match between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid. Loren, a Txuriurdin forward, scored the game's opening goal, and the game ended 2–2.
Jose Luis Astiazaran, the president of Real Sociedad at the time, launched Gipuzkoarena in 2004. The stadium was set to be expanded to 42,000 seats in 2007, with the athletics track being removed.
Fans had long complained about the stadium's original shape, which caused a distance between the stands and the field itself, resulting in a "cold" atmosphere during games.
Among other things, the proposal planned to build a hotel and shops. The city council quickly rejected this proposal, and it was abandoned.
At the end of 2007, Inaki Badiola, a Real Sociedad presidential candidate, proposed that the club purchase the stadium. The city council quickly rejected this as well. Badiola, now the president, proposed two further stadium plans in 2008, one of which was identical to Gipuzkoarena.
The city council was supposed to look at these proposals, but Badiola had stepped down as president of the club on December 20. Later, Jokin Aperribay, his successor, began a new effort to renovate the stadium.
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