Real Sociedad is playing for group victory in the Champions League. The club is already secure in the round of 16 – for the first time in 20 years. Then as now, Xabi Alonso has his fingers in the game.
The La Liga 2 season ended on May 27, 2022. Real Sociedad B lost to Real Zaragoza, but relegation had already been confirmed. The team returned to the third division after just one season in the Spanish second division. And coach Xabi Alonso was farewell after three years.
A story without a happy ending? Not really, because for the current Bayer Leverkusen coach, his stint at his hometown club turned out to be a career ladder. His players are also leaving their mark, which at Real Sociedad now leads to the Champions League – and soon possibly even to FC Bayern.
Alonso and his players are developing
The story of Alonso is well known: three months after the end of his time in San Sebastian, the Spaniard joined Bayer Leverkusen and is currently comfortably leading the Bundesliga table. But it’s not just the coach’s development that is interesting: several players from Alonso’s tenure in San Sebastian made it into Real Sociedad’s current professional squad, and the club has recently experienced an upswing.
Consistency was not a strong point for the Basques for a long time. San Sebastian sometimes landed in 15th place, sometimes in fourth place. Between 2007 and 2010 the Basques only played in the second division. In the past three seasons, however, San Sebastian has always been among the top six teams in La Liga and always played in the Europa League.
This season, coach Imanol Alguacil Barrenetxea’s team even managed to take part in the Champions League. After five group games without defeat, the only thing left to do on Tuesday (9 p.m.) against Inter Milan is to win the group – the round of 16 is already certain.
Zubimendi arouses interest from FC Bayern
One of Xabi Alonso’s former protégés, who is closely linked to the rise of Real Sociedad, is called Martin Zubimendi. The central midfielder became a regular for the first team in 2020, but played for Real Sociedad B in Xabi Alonso’s first season. Zubimendi has now played 129 games in La Liga (six goals). His skills as a six did not go unnoticed by the competition: FC Bayern are said to be interested in the 24-year-old, who matured into a professional and also a Spanish international at Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad, Leverkusen’s coach, an up-and-coming midfielder and FC Bayern – everything is moving closer together at a time when the team from the Basque Country is in the round of 16 of the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. Back then, in the 2003/2004 season, Real Sociedad also had a young midfield strategist in their ranks. His name: Xabi Alonso.
