Hometown glory
Real Sociedad were victorious in the most local of derbies on Saturday night, putting them within three points of Real Madrid.
On Sunday night, in Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Stadium, Barcelona and Real Madrid played out the final of the four-team Supercopa de Espana. Two sides, emblems of their respective cultures, playing for the theoretical honour of being the country’s Campeones de Campeones.
But the game of the weekend had already taken place the night before, in the Basque region on the northern-most tip of Spain, where Real Sociedad beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the first AP-8 derby of the season.
Even in a country of such prodigious player production, the Basque region stands out as a particular hotbed of talent. In the autonomous community of little over two million, the footballing culture runs deep; just look at the number of former players turned successful managers who hail from the region.
Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Julen Lopetegui and Xabi Alonso all honed their craft in the small wedge of land on the French border. All four of them turned out in the famous blue and white during their playing careers and Real Sociedad’s squad remains unmistakeably Spanish, but it looks positively cosmopolitan when compared to that of Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao.
Incredibly, Los Leones remain committed to their century-old policy of signing only players who were born, grew up, or became footballers in the Basque region.
In an increasingly globalised sport, one where the nation’s most successful club recently fielded an entire starting XI without a single Spaniard, restricting their talent pool to just 5% of the country’s population seems like it should hold them back. In reality, it has pushed them forward.
Athletic Bilbao are the third most successful club in Spain, and one of only three to have remained in the top tier throughout their entire history. No prizes for guessing who the other two are.
La Real enjoy the best of both worlds
But while Athletic are up there with Madrid and Barcelona in historic terms, it is Real Sociedad, known simply as La Real by supporters, who are closest to them in the present day.
Their Saturday night win at Estadio de Anoeta opened up a seven-point gap over Atletico Madrid in fourth and they’re performing well in Europe, topping a Europa League group which included Manchester United.
Like their Basque rivals, they too focus their recruitment on the local region and aim to stock two-thirds of their first-team squad with academy graduates. But, unlike their rivals, they do bring in outside quality when the opportunity presents itself.
Three of the stars of this iteration of La Real are testament to that, and they proved their worth in Saturday’s derby win. Their opener was the result of some domineering centre-forward play by Norwegian Alexander Sorloth, who bagged his 11th in 21 games.
Ten minutes later, 37-year-old David Silva pounced on a loose touch in the midfield, showing all of his nous and nothing of his age, before sliding a perfect through-ball into the path of Takefuso Kubo. The Japanese forward coolly skipped past Dani Vivian and curled the ball past the stranded Unai Simon.
La Real’s third came by way of a penalty, Basque-born Mikel Oyarzabal scoring his first goal since returning from injury to secure three points against the big rivals.
The team that head coach Imanol Alguacil has built since taking over in 2018 - after a nine-year stint with La Real as a player, of course – blends the fruits of the club’s academy with a sprinkling of outside talent. Whenever ‘outsiders’ are introduced to the squad, they are brought to fulfil a certain purpose, providing something that cannot be found in San Sebastian, a city of just 200,000 people.
On-loan forward Sorloth, for example, was a cheap replacement once Newcastle United had swooped for star man Alexander Isak last summer. Kubo was deemed surplus to requirements at Real Madrid and was picked up on the cheap.
When David Silva left Manchester City in 2020, at the age of 34, he opted against a lucrative move to Serie A side Lazio or a final pay day in the Middle East. Instead, he decided on a move to San Sebastian to lend his experience to an exciting young team. In his first season at La Real the club won a major honour – the Copa Del Rey – for the first time in 30 years.
Two years later, with the club desperate to extend the contract of a then 36-year-old Silva, he did so gladly.
“My family is very comfortable here and when you go out, the people are charming,” he said, upon announcing the extension.
“In two years, I have made many friends and that has been an important aspect to continue. They make you feel at home and that makes everything easier.”