Real Sociedad
The club
Real Sociedad de Fútbol was founded on 7 September 1909 in San Sebastián, in Spain's Basque Country, under the presidency of Adolfo Sáenz Alonso. The founders had first entered the 1909 Copa del Rey under the name Club Ciclista de San Sebastián, since that cycling club met the entry criteria the new football side did not; playing as Club Ciclista, they beat Athletic Club 4-2 in the quarter-finals and Club Español de Madrid 3-1 in the final to win the trophy, after which the players broke away to found the Sociedad de Fútbol in its own right. King Alfonso XIII granted the club the title "Real" (Royal) on 11 February 1910.
The club played first at Ondarreta (1909-1913), then at the Atotxa stadium (1913-1993), before moving into the Anoeta stadium, inaugurated on 13 August 1993. From 2019 the ground was known as the Reale Arena under a sponsorship deal with the insurer Reale Seguros, worth a reported €10 million; that arrangement ended after the 2024-25 season and the ground reverted to its original name, Anoeta. A renovation completed in 2019 removed the athletics track around the pitch and raised capacity to around 39,500-40,000.
Real Sociedad are one of Spain's clubs most closely identified with Basque identity, and for eight decades operated an unwritten policy of fielding only players born or trained in the Basque Country, matching the still-current policy of their regional rivals Athletic Club. That policy ended in 1989, in the aftermath of the forward Loren's high-profile transfer to Athletic; the club's board opted for a compromise under which it would sign foreign players but not players from elsewhere in Spain. The Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge signed from Liverpool on 14 September 1989 as the club's first non-Basque player in more than four decades, was initially met with hostile graffiti in San Sebastián, and went on to finish fourth in the Pichichi Trophy standings with 16 goals in his debut season. The club's white-and-blue colours are drawn from the flag of San Sebastián. Real Sociedad's academy has produced Xabi Alonso, Antoine Griezmann, Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi, all World Cup winners with Spain or France.
The head coach is Pellegrino Matarazzo, an American appointed on 20 December 2025 after Sergio Francisco was sacked on 14 December 2025 (with Ion Ansotegi in interim charge for less than a week). Matarazzo, previously in charge of Stuttgart (2019-2022) and Hoffenheim (2023-2024) in Germany, became the first American-born manager in La Liga history and led Real Sociedad to the 2025-26 Copa del Rey inside four months of taking over.
Recent seasons
Real Sociedad finished 6th in La Liga in 2023-24 with 60 points. They dropped to 11th in 2024-25 with 46 points, and finished 10th in 2025-26, also on 46 points, a season in which the head coach changed twice (from Sergio Francisco to Ion Ansotegi to Pellegrino Matarazzo) but which ended with the club lifting the Copa del Rey.
Honours and landmarks
Real Sociedad have won La Liga twice, in 1980-81 and 1981-82, under the coach Alberto Ormaetxea; the 1980-81 title was sealed with a goal from Jesús María Zamora at El Molinón, and the 1981-82 title was retained in a race that went to the final day. Luis Arconada was the goalkeeper for both championships. The club has won the Copa del Rey four times: in 1909 (as Club Ciclista de San Sebastián), in 1986-87 (beating Atlético Madrid 4-2 on penalties), in 2019-20, and in 2025-26 (beating Atlético Madrid on penalties again, detailed below). They also won the Supercopa de España in 1982.
In Europe, the club's best run remains reaching the semi-finals of the 1982-83 European Cup, in which they eliminated Víkingur, Celtic and Sporting CP before losing to the eventual winners, Hamburger SV; Real Sociedad have never reached a European final.
Notable scorelines
The club's record European away win is 6-0 at Vardar of North Macedonia in the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League group stage, played in Skopje on 19 October 2017. Their heaviest European defeat came in the 1975-76 UEFA Cup second round against Liverpool, who won the tie 9-1 on aggregate; the individual leg scores were not established from the sources read here. Domestically, the club's all-time record win and record defeat were not established from the sources read here.
European record
Real Sociedad's best European campaign came in 1982-83, when they reached the European Cup semi-finals before losing to Hamburger SV. As Spanish runners-up from 2002-03 (76 points, second only to Real Madrid's 78, with Nihat Kahveci top-scoring on 23 goals under coach Raynald Denoueix), they entered the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League and progressed from the group stage into the round of 16, where they lost 1-0 in Lyon on 25 February 2004 and 0-1 at home on 9 March 2004, going out 2-0 on aggregate.
After a period in the Spanish second division, Real Sociedad returned to the Champions League in 2013-14, beating Lyon in the play-off round 4-0 on aggregate (a 1-2 win in Lyon on 20 August 2013 followed by a 2-0 win at home) before finishing bottom of their group. The club went on to further Europa League group-stage campaigns in 2017-18 (including the 6-0 win at Vardar), 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2024-25. In 2023-24 they returned to the Champions League and progressed past the group stage for a second time, before losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Quotes
After the 2025-26 Copa del Rey final win over Atlético Madrid, Pellegrino Matarazzo said: "It was that moment when we realised that it was real, that we had achieved it. Until it's done, you can't comprehend that it really happened." Of goalkeeper Unai Marrero, named man of the match, he said: "He played a perfect game. I love the energy he has and that he overflows with the fans at certain moments." Looking ahead, Matarazzo said: "I feel that this is just the beginning." Addressing supporters from the balcony of San Sebastián's town hall, he said, in Basque and Spanish: "We are champions! I will try to do this in Basque, so I apologize for any mistakes I may make. What a wonderful start on this path we are taking together." (ESPN, football-espana.net)
Right now (2026/27)
Pellegrino Matarazzo remains head coach. Real Sociedad qualified for the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League league phase by winning the 2025-26 Copa del Rey, beating Atlético Madrid 2-2 after extra time (Ander Barrenetxea in the 1st minute and Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty in first-half stoppage time for Real Sociedad, Ademola Lookman and Julián Álvarez for Atlético) and winning the penalty shootout 4-3 at Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville on 18 April 2026, having eliminated Barcelona in the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate (losing 0-3 at home before winning 4-0 away). They open their Europa League league phase at home to AFC Bournemouth, playing their first-ever European tie, at Anoeta on 17 September 2026.
In La Liga, Real Sociedad have made an uneven start to 2026-27: a 0-1 defeat away to Real Betis on 21 August, a 1-4 defeat away to Real Madrid, a 2-1 home win over Espanyol on 29 August, a 0-0 home draw with Celta on 3 September, a 3-2 away win at Elche on 7 September, and a 0-3 home defeat to Atlético Madrid on 13 September, in which Alejandro Grimaldo's 81st-minute penalty (after a handball by Job Ochieng), a Jonathan David finish and a late Giuliano Simeone breakaway goal settled a game that had been close for long spells. That is two wins, one draw and three defeats from the opening six league matches. The precise league table position was not established from the sources read here, given conflicting figures across sources at time of writing.
Summer 2026 transfer business, per Real Sociedad's own listing on LaLiga's official transfers page, brought in Jon Martín on a free transfer from the club's own reserve side on 1 September 2026, Héctor Fort from FC Barcelona on 1 September 2026, and the winger Sarr on loan from Chelsea on 28 August 2026. Spanish media reported the departures of Jon Karrikaburu, Carlos Fernández and Brais Méndez (to Crystal Palace) during the same window, with Arsen Zakharyan and the goalkeeper Álex Remiro also reported as candidates to leave; none of those departures were confirmed from an official club source read here.
Sources
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Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.