Real Sociedad
Txuri-urdin · San Sebastián, Basque Country · LaLiga EA Sports
Zubieta remains the highest-yield academy per euro spent anywhere in Spain.
The club
Founded on 7 September 1909 in San Sebastián, Real Sociedad won back-to-back LaLiga titles in 1980–81 and 1981–82 and have four Copa del Rey wins. Like Athletic, they signed only Basque players for most of their history, abandoning the policy in 1989. The Zubieta academy is the club's engine: it produces to a defined tactical profile, so replacements arrive pre-trained.
Things worth knowing
- Won the 1909 Copa del Rey while registered as Club Ciclista de San Sebastián, because of a paperwork dispute, months before formally becoming Real Sociedad.
- The Basque-only signing policy ended in 1989 with the arrival of Irish striker John Aldridge from Liverpool.
- Beat Mallorca 10–1 in a 1987 Copa del Rey quarter-final.
- Spent 40 consecutive seasons in the top flight between 1967 and 2007.
