In San Sebastián, we support Real Sociedad and no one else. The club does not hide its pride in its Basque roots. The region’s derby against Athletic Club is an unmissable event in the eyes of supporters. Real players are nicknamed txuri-urdin, or “blue-white” in Basque, in reference to the team colors taken from the San Sebastian flag. His training center has always been coaxed within the club. In the middle of the 20th century, you had to be Basque to play for Real, which gradually softened its policy to completely detach itself from it today.
Speed, movement and aggression: these are some of the ingredients found in the office of coach Imanol Alguacil to concoct the explosive cocktail that is Real Sociedad in Spain. The Basque team has always finished in the top 6 of its championship since 2020. They like to have the ball and know how to take care of it. His technical quality allows him to follow the intensity specific to the Champions League. Advanced statistics also highlight his strong propensity to press very high, to asphyxiate his opponent. “We must underline our personality,” brandished Alguacil after the draw at Inter Milan on December 12 (0-0).
More often seen in the Europa League, Real Sociedad will play its first round of 16 in the Champions League since the 2003-04 season. At the time, they had surrendered against Olympique Lyonnais of Coupet, Essien and Juninho, victorious in the first leg and the return leg (0-1, 1-0). She only played in Europe again ten years later, with a C1 play-off against… Lyon, where Antoine Griezmann distinguished himself with a goal on an acrobatic return. Challenging PSG in February will therefore be nothing trivial for the Basques. “I feel happiness, emotion,” said Mikel Oyarzabal after securing 1st place in group D.
Real Sociedad has no shortage of good little footballers, from midfielder Mikel Merino to captain Mikel Oyarzabal, 322 matches at the club. But the sensation, in this squad with a strong Spanish accent, is Takefusa Kubo. Having passed through Barça between the ages of 10 and 14, the left-hander emerged with the nickname “Japanese Messi”, which gives an idea of his ability with the ball. Recruited by Real Madrid in 2019, he multiplied the loans until being sold to the Txuri-urdin in 2022.
At 22, he has established himself as one of the best players in La Liga, where he has 6 goals and 3 assists in 16 matches this season. “He is a world-class player, with the ball but also without it,” praised Barcelona coach Xavi. Subscribed to the right side, capable of winning and carrying the ball, Kubo has everything poisonous between the lines. Luis Enrique is warned.
A modest player with more than 100 matches with Real Sociedad in the 1990s, Imanol Alguacil returned to “his” club in 2011, at the age of 40, to coach the youth teams. He has since been deputy then N.1 of team B, then interim of team A before being kept there in 2018. Pure Basque, born in the small fishing port of Orio, he climbed the levels one by one, like his team, winner of the 2020 Spanish Cup, its first trophy in three decades.
“He was always sincere and direct, whether saying good things or bad things. If you don’t play, you need to know why, and Imanol tells you,” his former player Alain Oyazrun told Relevo last October. Known to be close to his flock, Alguacil has been the longest-serving coach at Real for 40 years, proof of his ability to readjust and maintain balance in a locker room. The Catalan press claims that FC Barcelona has been interested in him for two years, and does not forget him in case things go wrong with Xavi. Real can rest assured, Alguacil is not going to leave without leading his group at the Parc des Princes.
