Real Sociedad Curiosities: Facts every fan should know

Real Sociedad is a club founded in Donostia-San Sebastian. Known for its men’s and women’s football teams, it has achieved great milestones and records throughout its history. In this post, we present the origins and interesting facts about this football club that every fan should know.

Brief history of the club

Real Sociedad dates back to the early 20th century. In 1907, the San Sebastian Cycling Club was founded. A velodrome was built in Atocha and the Spanish Track Cycling Championships were even held in the city in 1908. At the same time, the population’s interest in football gradually grew, a sport that became known when English students began to play it in different parts of Gipuzkoa. Thus, the San Sebastian Recreation Club was created in 1903 to respond to the growing popularity of the game. In 1908, the two clubs merged to form the Ciclista Foot-ball Club. The city’s first football ground was also opened during those years, located in Ondarreta.

After playing under that name for several years, the Football Club was officially created in 1909. The following year, King Alfonso XIII granted it the title of Real Sociedad de Fútbol, a “royal” (“real”) designation that the Spanish monarchy has bestowed on certain clubs. It was not until the 21st century that the creation of a women’s team was proposed, which was officially formed in 2004.

Iconic moments and records

On the one hand, Real Sociedad’s men’s team was the first to win the Spanish Super Cup in the 1982–1983 edition. This award had previously been given under other names, such as the Eva Duarte Cup, but this was the first time it was given that name.

Before this award, the team had already won other titles. They won their first in 1909 in the Spanish Championship, although at that time they were still known as Club Ciclista. Today, that award is called the King’s Cup, which they also won in 1986-87 and 2020-21.

In addition, it is one of nine teams to have won the First Division National League Championship. The first was in 1980-81 and the second and last in 1981-82.

On the other hand, the great milestone for the women’s team was winning the Queen’s Cup in 2018-19. It has also won the Euskal Herria Cup twice, a competition between women’s teams from the Basque Country (including Navarre and the French Basque Country).

It is worth mentioning that the women’s team has been honoured several times at the Gipuzkoa Sports Press Association Gala, which has been held annually for the past 26 years.

Legendary players

When it comes to legendary players, Jesus Maria Satrustegui is the first name that comes to mind, as he is the club’s all-time leading scorer. He scored around 165 goals between 1973 and 1986. As for the player who has played the most matches for the men’s team, Alberto Gorriz, alias Bixio, deserves a mention.

Something that many people already know is that the contemporary artist Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) was Real Sociedad’s starting goalkeeper in the 1940s. His career was short-lived, as he suffered an injury and had to give it up.

We should also mention one active player, Mikel Oyarzabal. He is the player with the most European matches in the club’s history (equalling the aforementioned Bixio), with 7 in the Champions League and 26 in the Europa League.

Do you know the chant “No pasa nada, tenemos a Arconada (Don’t worry, we’ve got Arconada)?” We haven’t mentioned one of Real Sociedad’s most legendary players: Luis Miguel Arconada Echarri. We’re talking about a phrase that fans who were at Anoeta in the 70s and 80s will be familiar with. He was the goalkeeper for the team where he played his entire career and is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Irene Paredes is one of the most iconic players Real Sociedad Women’s team has ever had. She played 89 matches for the team before joining others such as Athletic Bilbao and Futbol Club Barcelona, where she currently plays. Individually, she has been named one of the world’s top eleven players and Defender of the Season in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

One of the first players on the team’s roster was Aintzane Encinas. After her retirement in 2017, she will be remembered as the player who has played the most matches in the team’s history and as a key figure in its promotion to the First Division. Nahikari Garcia has also been Real Sociedad’s top scorer; she was the club’s captain when they won the Queen’s Cup.

Interesting facts and anecdotes

One interesting fact that many people in San Sebastian know is that rockets are launched during Real Sociedad matches at the Reale Arena. If the home team scores a goal, two rockets are launched; if the away team scores, only one. What many people don’t know is where this tradition comes from. It began when the team played at the Atotxa ground, as there were people who worked at the port or at sea and could not attend the match. So, to keep them informed of how their txuri-urdin team was playing, they began to use this method, which has continued to this day.

The 2022-23 men’s derby made history by attracting the largest attendance, with 38,342 spectators turning up at the Reale Arena. That record was only broken in the match against Paris Saint Germain a season later.

In 2012, the women’s team achieved an important milestone. It was one of the first clubs to offer employment contracts to its players. It is also one of the few that has had personalised sponsors, such as La Gula del Norte.

Currently, more than half of Real Sociedad’s women’s squad is from Gipuzkoa, and there have even been seasons when all the players were from the province. It is also one of the youngest clubs in the First Division.