Real Sociedad had done well to return to Europe last season, but they didn’t have a great 2017/18 campaign.
Part of this had to do with the fact that they didn’t bring in many new players last summer, while their home form also suffered due to the fact that work was being done on their stadium, thereby hampering the atmosphere.
It’s also true that coach Eusebio made some mistakes and became a little bit too predictable, so the decision was taken in March to sack him, with the team in 15th place and having been knocked out of the Europa League by RB Salzburg, and to replace him with B team coach Imanol Alguacil.
Even though Imanol Alguacil didn’t change the tactics much, generally keeping up the 4-3-3 system, he enjoyed a new manager’s bounce and they took 10 points from his first four games, before stuttering towards the end of the season.
This season can be written off from Real Sociedad’s point of view and they’ll hope to re-challenge for Europe next year with a new coach, whoever that may be.
While there will be a need to strengthen the squad somewhat, they do have several young players who have improved this season, and who should contribute even more next year, such as Alvaro Odriozola, Igor Zubeldia and Mikel Oyarzabal.
They’ve also signed the experienced Miguel Angel Moya, who can compete with Geronimo Rulli for the role of starting goalkeeper, which is important since Rulli had a disappointing campaign.
