There are few more impressive tales in European football than that of Real Sociedad in recent years. With a thriving academy and a clear pathway for young players to progress into the first team set-up, they’ve become a model of steady growth and one that’s the envy of many clubs around Spain and beyond.
Under the guidance of Imanol Alguacil, they’ve briefly threatened to mix it with the giants of Spanish football whilst laying the foundations for Europa League challenges at various points during what is nearing a five year reign for the Gipuzkoa-born coach.
However it is true that cracks have often started to show with the volume of games catching up on a young squad in the middle part of previous seasons. While it’s still early days in the 2023/24 campaign, there is a growing sense that this is no longer just a talented young side, but an increasingly mature one with a number of now seasoned campaigners who know how to handle different situations and know how to win ugly if needed.
Real Sociedad are sitting 5th in LaLiga and according to 1xBet odds, they are strongly expected to make it through to the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in twenty years. That alone would be a historic achievement for the Basque club who have already claimed impressive victories in Salzburg and Lisbon in the UCL group stage.
Take Kubo entering the elite
At the heart of everything for Real Sociedad this term, has been Japanese international Take Kubo.
The club were rocked by a serious ACL injury in pre-season for veteran midfielder David Silva, La Real’s creator in chief for much of the last three seasons. The 37 year old was forced to retire as a result, leaving Real Sociedad with a serious void to fill ahead of their first Champions League campaign in a decade.
While the club did spend €13m on 20 year old attacking midfielder Arsen Zakharyan, by far their biggest summer purchase, Imanol’s solution to the Silva setback has been to adapt his structure and place greater responsibility on the young shoulders of Kubo.
It’s a challenge, the 22 year old has certainly risen to. Kubo has been exceptional this season, registering 5 goals and 3 assists in all competitions. Mostly operating on the right flank, the switch to Donostia has proved the perfect way for Kubo to move on from three difficult loan periods and blossom into the fine player many hoped he would become when he started to draw attention as a talented teenager in Real Madrid’s academy.