Real Sociedad de Futbol, S.A.D., more commonly called Real Sociedad (pronounced [re'al sothje'dad[re'al sothje'dad]; Royal Society), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque is an Spanish professional soccer club that is located in San Sebastian, Basque Country established on September 7, 1909. The club plays home matches on Anoeta Stadium. Anoeta Stadium.
Real Sociedad won the Liga title in the years 1980-81 and 1981-82 and was runner-up in 1979-80, 1987-1988, and 2002-03. The club also been awarded three times the Copa del Rey three times from 1909 to 1987, and in 2020. It plays the Basque derby with rivals Athletic Bilbao. Real Sociedad was a founding member of La Liga in 1929; its longest stint in the top league was 40 seasons between 1967 and 2007.
Historically, the club had an approach (similar similar to the rival club Athletic) of securing only Basque players prior to the signing of Republic of Ireland forward John Aldridge in 1989. Although a large Basque presence has been maintained within the team, now all non-Basque Spaniards as well as foreign players are represented by the club. The club's youth section following the time of all-Basque has had a great success in the development of international stars, for example, World Cup winners Xabi Alonso and Antoine Griezmann.
The club has participated with the UEFA Champions League four times. For the season 2013-14, they came in 4th during the first group phase. In the 2003-04 season the club advanced into the final 16, but ended up defeating Lyon. The 1982-83 European Cup, its predecessor tournament, the team made the semifinals only to lose by a narrow margin against Hamburger SV. In 1981-82, the club was defeated in the opening round against CSKA Sofia
In addition to football (including women's teams), Real Sociedad also has several athletics teams which include track and field hockey, field hockey and Basque Pelota.
