Real Sociedad were in celebration mode on Sunday night, as the Basques have achieved their primary objective for the 2022/23 season, which was to secure Champions League qualification. Despite losing 2-1 away at Atlético de Madrid, La Real had already built up such a significant advantage over Villarreal CF that the Castellón side's failure to win in Vallecas secured a long-sought-after return to the top UEFA competition.
Since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992, the team from the north of Spain have only entered European football's top competition twice, in 2003/04 and in 2013/14. They have managed to keep up that run of qualifying for the tournament every decade by reaching the 2023/24 group stage.
When Real Sociedad qualified last time, they also did so by finishing fourth in LaLiga Santander, with FC Barcelona top, Real Madrid second and Atlético de Madrid third, the current order of the standings.
Back then, there was a need to navigate a qualifying playoff and Antoine Griezmann and Carlos Vela put Lyon to the sword, leading the Spanish side to a 4-0 aggregate victory. For many Real Sociedad fans, that remains an all-time highlight of supporting the club and it's common to see fans on the streets of San Sebastián donning the black away shirt that Griezmann was wearing when he scored his spectacular bicycle kick in Lyon.
The current Real Sociedad squad is very different. In fact, there isn't a single member who is still at the Reale Arena. Yet, Imanol Alguacil's 2022/23 squad is just as impressive to watch. In defence, Igor Zubeldia and Robin Le Normand have formed one of the best central defensive partnerships in LaLiga Santander, with the team conceding the third-fewest goals in the division at a rate of just 0.92 per 90 minutes. In midfield, the 24-year-old Martín Zubimendi has had his best season yet and has formed a dominant duo alongside Mikel Merino.
Up front, Real Sociedad have put together an impressive collection of creative players in Takefusa Kubo, Davis Silva, Brais Méndez and Mikel Oyarzabal, all of whom know how to dribble and pass and get the ball to centre-forward Alexander Sørloth. Making all the pieces of the puzzle fit together is Imanol Alguacil, the coach who knows Real Sociedad inside-out, having also been a player and youth coach.
It also helps that the majority of this Real Sociedad squad have come through the youth academy at Zubieta, many of them with Imanol. There are 16 academy graduates in the current first-team squad and they know exactly how La Real want to play, as well as understanding how special a return to the Champions League is, since they experienced the last participation as young fans of the club.
That is the case with Oyarzabal, who stated on Sunday: "We have achieved they objective that we wanted and we're very happy. We have had a great year, with ups and downs, but we've always kept fighting. Now it's time to celebrate. We want the last game at home to be a party and we'll give our all to win."
That sums up the winning mentality that exists at Real Sociedad. They are already certain to be in next season's Champions League, but they want three more points at home to Sevilla FC on Matchday 38.
