Real Sociedad news from every source, in real time: today's stories, matches, table and fixtures, the club's official content and its history, from back-to-back La Liga titles in 1981 and 1982 to three Copa del Rey trophies in San Sebastián.
La Liga
Alavés
Athletic Bilbao
Atlético Madrid, commonly known as La Real or Real Sociedad (pronounced [reˈal soθjeˈðað] es ; lit. 'Royal Society') in English and Erreala or Reala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country.
The club was founded on 7 September 1909 and is best known for its football team, which plays home matches at the 40,000-capacity Anoeta Stadium.
Real Sociedad won the Liga title in 1980–81 and 1981–82, and finished runner-up in 1979–80, 1987–88, and 2002–03. The club has also won the Copa del Rey four times, in 1909, 1987, 2020, and 2026, and the Spanish Super Cup once, in 1982. It contests the Basque derby against rivals Athletic Bilbao. Real Sociedad was a founding member of La Liga in 1929; its longest spell in the top flight was for 40 seasons, from 1967 to 2007. The club has competed in the European Cup / UEFA Champions League five times, between the 1981–82 and 2023–24 editions.
Traditionally the club followed a policy (similar to that of its rival Athletic) of signing only Basque players, before signing Irish forward John Aldridge in 1989. While a strong Basque contingent has been retained among its players, nowadays both non-Basque Spaniards and foreign players are represented at the club. Its youth academy subsequent to the all-Basque era has still been very successful in developing internationally renowned players, including World Cup winners Xabi Alonso, Antoine Griezmann, Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi.
Aside from football (including a women's team), Real Sociedad also has several sections in other sports, including track and field, field hockey, and Basque pelota.
Early history
Football was introduced to San Sebastián in the early 1900s by students and workers returning from Britain. In 1904, they formed San Sebastián Recreation Club, the first football club in the city, and in 1905 the club competed in the Copa del Rey. In 1907, a conflict between the club's members caused the team to split with several players (such as Alfonso and Miguel Sena and Domingo Arrillaga) leaving to create a new team in 1908, the San Sebastian Football Club. This team applied to enter the 1909 Copa del Rey, but complications over registration permits saw them compete as Club Ciclista de San Sebastián. This team convincingly defeated the powerful Athletic Club 4–2 in the quarter-finals and then beat Club Español de Madrid 3–1 in the final. A notable figure of this team was George McGuinness, who netted 6 goals in the tournament including the opener in the final.
A few months after this victory, the players who had won the tournament founded the Sociedad de Futbol on 7 September 1909. Sociedad applied to enter the 1910 Copa del Rey, but once again had to compete under a different name, Vasconia de San Sebastián, and once again they reached the final (UECF), where they were beaten by Athletic (0–1). In the same year, King Alfonso XIII – who used San Sebastián as his summer capital – gave the club his patronage, where it subsequently became known as Real Sociedad de Fútbol. The first final the club played as Real Sociedad was in 1913, where FC Barcelona needed three games to beat them. After a 15-year hiatus, La Real reached the 1928 final, which was remarkably similar to their previous one since Barcelona again needed three games to beat them at El Sardinero.
Real Sociedad was a founding member of La Liga in 1929. The team came fourth with Francisco "Paco" Bienzobas finishing as the top scorer. The team's name was changed to Donostia Club de Futbol in 1931 with the advent of the Second Spanish Republic, but changed back to Real Sociedad after the Spanish Civil War in 1939. The team has generally fluctuated between the Primera and Segunda divisions, in one period (during the 1940s) managing to be relegated and promoted seven times. Around that time, the sculptor Eduardo Chillida was the team's goalkeeper until injury put a stop to his football career.